Exhalations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of expelling air from the lungs ; the air, vapor, or gas that is released during this process
2. The action of sending breath out from the body ; any odor, gas, or mist exuded into the air when breathing out
3. The act of releasing air or breath outward ; clouds of vapor or scent emitted by living beings or objects upon breathing

Etymology: "Exhalations" is the plural of "exhalation", which is itself a noun built from the verb "exhale". Its root is the Latin "exhālātiō", formed from "exhālāre" (to breathe out), which combines "ex-" (out) with "hālāre" (to breathe). The Latin verb "hālāre" is the same base that gives English "inhale" and "halitosis" family relatives, so the word's core idea has stayed the same for two thousand years: air moving outward from the body. The English noun "exhalation" follows the familiar pattern of "exhale" plus "-ation", a suffix that turns a verb into a noun for the act or result of doing it. That makes the plural "exhalations" simply the many separate acts of breathing out, though the word has also come to describe things that rise or are given off from the earth or from a substance, such as mists or vapours.

Synonyms: breaths, outflows, discharges

Antonyms: inhalations, intakes