to remove noxious or poisonous air from something; to purify by removing harmful vapors or miasma.
From 'de-' (remove) + 'miasma' (bad air in medieval theory) + '-ize.' A pseudo-scientific term from periods when 'miasma' theory blamed disease on bad air.
When doctors believed disease came from 'bad air' (miasma), they invented terms like 'demephitize' to describe attempts at decontamination — a reminder that even wrong theories create real words.
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