Editing Mefitis (section)

==Etymology and derivatives==
The etymology of the name ''Mefitis'' is controversial, but according to the Italian linguist Alberto Manco, the system of the epithets that identified the goddess from place to place would prove her relationship with a water-based dimension.<ref>Alberto Manco, "Mefītis: gli epiteti", AION Linguistica 31/2009, 301-312.</ref> Many hypotheses have been put forward concerning the etymology of the name of the goddess. Poccetti suggested the derivation from the words "medhio-dhuīhtis" means “that which burns within”<ref name=":1" />

"Mephitic", derived from ''Mefitis'', is now an adjective in the English language meaning "offensive in odour"; "noxious"; and "poisonous". In Italian, a mefite is also a ''solfatara'' or [[fumarole]] (i.e., a gaseous fissure).

The name of the family of animals [[Mephitidae]] (mephitids, or skunks and their kin) and of the genus ''[[Mephitis (genus)|Mephitis]]'' (skunks of North and Central America) are both related to ''mephitic'', so named for the noxious secretions of their scent glands.