defecation
See also: défécation
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- defaecation
- defæcation (chiefly archaic)
Etymology edit
17th century, borrowed from Late Latin dēfaecātiō.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
defecation (countable and uncountable, plural defecations)
- The act or process of voiding feces from the bowels.
- Any of several processes for the removal of impurities, or for clarifying various materials.
- 1883, National Academy of Sciences (US), Investigation of the Scientific and Economic Relations of the Sorghum Sugar Industry, page 84:
- The juice after it leaves the mill has a more or less green color, due to the presence of large quantities of chlorophyl and other vegetable substances, which must be removed. This process is known as defecation.
Synonyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:defecation
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
act or process of voiding excrement
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process of removing impurities
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References edit
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “defecation”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.