---
title: miasma — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «miasma» in the school dictionary: A cloud of bad-smelling, unhealthy air, such as the smell from rotting things or a swamp. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# miasma

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** cloud, heavy unpleasant feeling, bad air, People, John, miasma · **What happens:** smell, rot, hang, cause, discover, blame · **To what, where:** place, diseases, germs, cholera, miasma, dirty water

<!-- .vabout -->
«miasma» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [miasma in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/miasma.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A cloud of bad-smelling, unhealthy air, such as the smell from rotting things or a swamp.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:m1:1
# text = A cloud of bad-smelling, unhealthy air, such as the smell from rotting things or a swamp.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cloud	cloud	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	smelling	smell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	unhealthy	unhealthy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	14	case	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	fixed	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	rotting	rot	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	17	amod	_	_
17	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	swamp	swamp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smell** | gerund | a cloud and unhealthy air and the smell from rotting things or a swamp *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn smell\_emission-43.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **rot** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: figurative — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A heavy, unpleasant feeling that hangs over a place: «a miasma of gloom».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:m2:1
# text = A heavy, unpleasant feeling that hangs over a place: «a miasma of gloom».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	unpleasant	unpleasant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	feeling	feeling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	hangs	hang	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	over	over	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	gloom	gloom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hang** | present | a heavy unpleasant feeling |  |  | a place |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent over place=Location |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: history of science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old wrong idea that diseases like cholera were caused by «bad air» (miasma), before germs were discovered.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:m3:1
# text = The old wrong idea that diseases like cholera were caused by «bad air» (miasma), before germs were discovered.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	obj	_	_
6	diseases	disease	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	cholera	cholera	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	caused	cause	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl:relcl	_	_
11	by	by	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
20	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
21	germs	germ	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	nsubj:pass	_	_
22	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux:pass	_	_
23	discovered	discover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | past · passive | bad air | diseases like cholera |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Causer subject=Theme that=Eventuality |
| 2 | **discover** | past · passive |  | germs |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A miasma rose from the rotting swamp.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x1:1
# text = A miasma rose from the rotting swamp.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	rose	rose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	rotting	rot	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	swamp	swamp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rot** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People once blamed cholera on miasma, or bad air.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x2:1
# text = People once blamed cholera on miasma, or bad air.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	3	advmod	_	_
3	blamed	blame	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	cholera	cholera	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blame** | past | People | cholera |  | miasma |  | bad air *obl*; once *property* | vn judgment-33.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cholera=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
John Snow showed that dirty water, not miasma, spread cholera.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x3:1
# text = John Snow showed that dirty water, not miasma, spread cholera.
1	John	John	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	Snow	Snow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	dirty	dirty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	spread	spread	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
12	cholera	cholera	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | John | dirty water |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent water=Recipient |
| 2 | **spread** | participle | miasma *not said here* | cholera |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location cholera=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A miasma of cigarette smoke filled the old pub.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x4:1
# text = A miasma of cigarette smoke filled the old pub.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	cigarette	cigarette	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	filled	fill	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	pub	pub	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fill** | past | a miasma of cigarette smoke | the old pub |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent pub=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A miasma of sadness hung over the empty house.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x5:1
# text = A miasma of sadness hung over the empty house.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	sadness	sadness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	hung	hang	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hang** | participle · passive |  | a miasma of sadness |  | the empty house |  |  | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme over house=Destination |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Miasma theory was replaced by germ theory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x6:1
# text = Miasma theory was replaced by germ theory.
1	Miasma	Miasma	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	theory	theory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	replaced	replace	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	germ	germ	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	theory	theory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **replace** | past · passive | germ theory | Miasma theory |  |  |  |  | vn substitute-13.6.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme subject=Co-Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The dragon's cave was full of a foul miasma.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x7:1
# text = The dragon's cave was full of a foul miasma.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	foul	foul	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the dragon's cave |  |  |  |  | of a foul miasma; full *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Florence Nightingale also believed in miasma, but her cleaning still saved lives.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:miasma:x8:1
# text = Florence Nightingale also believed in miasma, but her cleaning still saved lives.
1	Florence	Florence	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	Nightingale	Nightingale	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	believed	believe	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	miasma	miasma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	cleaning	cleaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	still	still	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	saved	save	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
13	lives	life	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | past | Florence |  |  | miasma |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **save** | past | Florence's cleaning | lives |  |  | still |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent life=Theme |
| 3 | **clean** |  | Florence |  |  |  |  |  | nom cleaning «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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