effusion meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

effusion

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French effusion, from Latin effūsiō (“outpouring”). Displaced native Old English āgotennes.

A liquid outpouring.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Process of gases passing through a hole or holes considerably smaller than the mean free path of the gas molecules.

Broadly, Figuratively An outpouring of speech or emotion.

1930; George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby; Animal Crackers, Paramount Pictures Captain Spaulding: My friends, I am highly gratified by this magnificent display of effusion […]
The housekeeper, a very decorative brunette of thirty-five with a pseudo-English accent, greeted him with a mixture of grateful effusion and condescending patronage.1946, William Hatfield, Buffalo Jim, Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege, page 70:

Medicine, Sciences The seeping of fluid into a body cavity; the fluid itself.

pleural effusion

Derived terms: choroidal effusion, effusiometer, noneffusion
Related terms: effusive