entry
effusion
/ɪˈfjuːʒən/A pouring out; an outpouring
From Latin ex (out) + Latin fund (to pour).
from Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin effūsiō (“outpouring”). Displaced native Old English āgotennes. === Pronunciation ===
Word Ancestry
from Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French effusion (14c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin effūsiō (“outpouring”). Displaced native Old English āgotennes. === Pronunciation ===
This word is basically a tiny Roman plumbing accident. Latin speakers took ex-, meaning “out,” and fundere, “to pour,” and built effusio: something sloshing outward, like wine from a tipped amphora or blood from a wound. The same pouring family gives us fusion, profuse, and confuse, while ex- turns up everywhere from exit to export, always with a sense of going out. By the 1650s English had broadened the word beyond liquids, so an effusion could be a gush of tears, words, or feeling — the kind of emotional spill that makes a room go quiet. And if you ever hear physicists talk about gas “effusing” through a pinhole, that’s the same old idea: something sneaking out, molecule by molecule, with Roman etymology still leaking through the cracks.
The Story
This word is basically a tiny Roman plumbing accident. Latin speakers took ex-, meaning “out,” and fundere, “to pour,” and built effusio: something sloshing outward, like wine from a tipped amphora or blood from a wound. The same pouring family gives us fusion, profuse, and confuse, while ex- turns up everywhere from exit to export, always with a sense of going out. By the 1650s English had broadened the word beyond liquids, so an effusion could be a gush of tears, words, or feeling — the kind of emotional spill that makes a room go quiet. And if you ever hear physicists talk about gas “effusing” through a pinhole, that’s the same old idea: something sneaking out, molecule by molecule, with Roman etymology still leaking through the cracks.
Kin & Kindred
From 'ex'·out, forth
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'fund'·to pour
Derived Terms
English words from this root