a noxious or foul-smelling gas or vapour.

what a foul mystery it is, this accursed phenomenon of stink, that loathsome affliction which doth afflict the flesh of men, though they be noble or ignoble, comely or unsightly. To be beset by such noisome odors is, perchance, an unavoidable plight that nature hath heaped upon the whole of humankind. Forsooth, it is an offense most rank, a burden borne by all, yet held aloft by few in earnest reflection.