emission
Pluralemissions
- 1The act of sending something forth or putting it into circulation.
The emission of greenhouse gases has increased sharply since industrialization.
The central bank approved the emission of new currency into the economy.
Similarrelease, discharge, issue
Note
Here the word names the process, not the product, and it usually travels with of and from: the emission of light from the sun, of heat from a fire, of smoke from a depot. That frame is the easiest way to tell it apart from the thing sent out, which can stand alone. The same act also covers putting money into circulation, so the word reaches from physics to finance.
- 2Something that is emitted or sent out; a discharge or issue.
The greenish emission from the reaction slowly filled the glass flask.
Astronomers detected a strong radio emission from the distant galaxy.
Similardischarge, emanation, release
Note
The thing that comes out, rather than the coming out. Latin ēmissiō, "sending forth," from ex "out" and mittō "send," reached English through Middle French by 1607. It counts like any ordinary noun, so a fluid, a glow or a signal can each be an emission. The word can also turn wry: Wayne Jancik's The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders (1990) calls soft-rock harmonies "mellow folkie emissions."
- 3A television or radio program; a broadcast show.
The evening emission drew millions of viewers across the country.
She produces a weekly cultural emission for the public channel.
Similarbroadcast, program, show
Note
This sense came in separately, borrowed from French émission along with its broadcasting meaning. It surfaces mainly in the English of non-native speakers, so a native reader may at first picture something leaking rather than something airing. Recognize it when you read it, but in fluent English choose program or show when you write or speak.
Practice
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Origins
First attested in 1607, from Middle French émission, from Latin ēmissiō (“sending forth”), from ēmittō (“send out”), itself from ex (“out of”) plus mittō (“send”).
Borrowed from French émission.