Defn: Pertaining to, or resembling, the devil Mephistopheles, "a crafty, scoffing, relentless fiend;" devilish; crafty.
MEPHITIC; MEPHITICAL Me*phit"ic, Me*phit"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. mephiticus, fr. mephitis mephitis: cf. F. méphitique.]
1. Tending to destroy life; poisonous; noxious; as, mephitic exhalations; mephitic regions.
2. Offensive to the smell; as, mephitic odors. Mephitic air (Chem.), carbon dioxide; — so called because of its deadly suffocating power. See Carbonic acid, under Carbonic.
MEPHITIS
Me*phi"tis, n. Etym: [L. mephitis : cf. F. méphitis.]
1. Noxious, pestilential, or foul exhalations from decomposing substances, filth, or other source.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A genus of mammals, including the skunks.
MEPHITISM
Meph"i*tism, n.
Defn: Same as Mephitis, 1.