''miasma'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

↩ 🔳 🔳 🔳

---

Primary

⁀➴

''miasma'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260125204041-00-⌔

miasma - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

miasma (plural miasmas or miasmata)

• A noxious atmosphere or emanation once thought to originate from swamps and waste, and to cause disease.
  • ✤ There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler air.¹
• (figurative) A noxious atmosphere or influence, an ominous environment.
  • ✤ In 1883, the contract came up for renewal, the L.N.W.R. received it, and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was set aside. But there was a certain miasma of secrecy about the affair, so that many, especially in Ireland, looked for information and insisted on getting it.²
  • ✤ It was into this lossy compression miasma that aptX was born.³

Etymology

First attested in 1665. From Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain; pollution”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /miˈæzmə/, /maɪˈæzmə/
• (US) enPR: mī-ăz’mə, mē- ăz’mə, IPA: /maɪˈæzmə/, /miˈæzmə/
• Audio (US): 🔊
• Audio (US): 🔊
• Rhymes: -æzmə
• Homophone: my asthma

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1897, Bram Stoker, “Jonathan Harker ’s Journal”, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC, chapter XIX, page 276: ↩

2. 1960 May, K. A. Murray, “Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire”, in Railway Magazine, page 305: ↩

3. 2020 September 15, Geoffrey Morrison, “aptX: Everything you need to know about the wireless Bluetooth enhancement”, in CNET ‎${}^{[1]}$: ↩

Link to original

Secondary

• • •

---