Noun

(en-noun)

A gaseous or vaporous emission, especially a foul-smelling one.

*

* 1906 , O. Henry,

And he breathed the breath of the house—a dank savour rather than a smell—a cold, musty effluvium as from underground vaults mingled with the reeking exhalations of linoleum and mildewed and rotten woodwork.

A condition causing the shedding of hair.

* .

, page=1136 , chapter=Diseases of hair , author=Dr. Otto Braun-Falco, et al. , title=Dermatology , year=2000 , pageurl=http://books.google.ca/books?id=HkOty7O_KlkC&pg=PA1126&lpg=PA1126&dq=effluvium&source=bl&ots=c0IUVta7lw&sig=7kSrWoLAwio-IA764fIXiYR6OLw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W5kBULGkFMq5rQG-l5ixDA&redir_esc=y

v=onepage&q=effluvium&f=false

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