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Definition of: effluvium
(i·fl
′vē·əm) noun plural ·vi·a (-vē·ə)
1. An invisible emanation.
2. A noxious or ill–smelling exhalation from decaying matter: commonly in the plural: the effluvia from foul drains.
3. A theoretic imponderable agent formerly regarded as the source of the electric and magnetic forces of certain substances. [<L, a flowing out]
—ef·flu′vi·al, ef·flu′vi·ous adjective
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