effusion

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an abundant or unrestrained expression of emotion or words

   Her speech ended with an effusion of gratitude to the volunteers.

2. 2
   noun

   medicine: an abnormal escape or accumulation of fluid in a body cavity or tissue

   The scan revealed a small pleural effusion around the patient's lung.

3. 3
   noun

   physics: the passage of gas particles through a hole smaller than their mean free path

   The experiment compared the rates of effusion of helium and nitrogen.

Borrowed through French from Latin effusio, 'a pouring out,' from effundere, 'to pour out or shed,' formed from ex-, 'out,' + fundere, 'to pour.' The emotional, medical, and physical senses all preserve the central image of something flowing or escaping outward.

Topics