Vents

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Outlets that provide a means for air or gas transfer in buildings
2. Passages designed for the movement of air or gas in and out of enclosed spaces
3. Structures that allow air or gas to flow within spaces ; acts of releasing feelings or thoughts verbally or through actions

Etymology: "Vents" is the plural of "vent", and the noun traces back to the Latin "ventus", meaning wind. The original sense was simply a passage that let air in or out, which is why the same root gave English "wind" itself. A "vent" was thus a breathing-hole, and the idea of a gap through which something escapes came later. The verb has a separate and rather less breezy pedigree. It comes from French "éventer", which meant to expose something to the air, to air it out, or to fan it, and this sense of letting something out into the open carried into English as a way of giving free expression to feelings. Ventilation and ventriloquism are cousins in the same family tree: the Latin root gave us words about moving air, but English later clipped "ventriloquism", the art of speaking from the belly, down to a single syllable that now also names a slot or opening.

Synonyms: outlets, openings, apertures, exhausts, channels