miasma

noun

Etymology: First attested in 1665. From Ancient Greek μίασμα (míasma, “stain; pollution”).

1. A noxious atmosphere or emanation once thought to originate from swamps and waste, and to cause disease.

   “There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came through the fouler air.”

2. A noxious atmosphere or influence, an ominous environment.

   “In 1883, the contract came up for renewal, the L.N.W.R. received it, and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was set aside. But there was a certain miasma of secrecy about the affair, so that many, especially in Ireland, looked for information and insisted on getting it.”

   “It was into this lossy compression miasma that aptX was born.”