The act of sending out something, such as gas, light, heat, or sound. It often refers to gases released into the air, especially from cars and factories.
From Latin 'emissio' (a sending out), from 'emittere' (to send out), from 'e-' (out) + 'mittere' (to send). English adopted it for physical and later technical contexts. The environmental meaning about pollution became especially prominent in the 20th century.
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