sputum

Definition

Matter coughed up and expectorated from the mouth, composed of saliva and discharges from the respiratory passages such as mucus, phlegm or pus.

Etymology

From New Latin, from Latin sputum (“that which is spit out, spittle”), from spuere (“to spit”).

Example Sentences

• "In the early 1890s the work in the laboratory consisted of postmortems, urinalyses, and examination of sputums."
• "At the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the boy’s sputum sat for a month, waiting for its turn in a slow process of antibody-matching analysis."