MEPHITIS • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Mephitis

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noun

Mephitis n.

Noxious, pestilential, or foul exhalations from decomposing substances, filth, or other source.

(Zool.) A genus of mammals, including the skunks.

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Etymology of 'Mephitis'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Mephitis" Quotes from Famous Books

... round me assumed a very doleful and frog-coloured appearance; and within an hour the number of those on deck was lessened by one half. I was giddy, but not sick, and the giddiness soon went away, but left a feverishness and want of appetite, which I attributed, in great measure, to the saeva Mephitis of the bilge- water; and it was certainly not decreased by the exportations from the cabin. However, I was well enough to join the able-bodied passengers, one of whom observed not inaptly, that Momus might have discovered an easier way to see ...

— Biographia Literaria • Samuel Taylor Coleridge

... satisfaction feels them all safely tucked away in her feathers. In the morning she is walking about disconsolately, attended by only two or three of all that pretty brood. What has happened? Where are they gone? That pickpocket, Sir Mephitis, could solve the mystery. Quietly has he approached, under cover of darkness, and one by one relieved her of her precious charge. Look closely, and you will see their little yellow legs and beaks, or part of a mangled form, lying about on the ground. Or, before the hen has hatched, he may find her ...

— Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers • John Burroughs