I. ekˈskrēshən, ik- noun
( -s )
Etymology: excrete + -ion
1. : the process of eliminating useless, superfluous, or harmful matter (as the waste products of metabolism) from the body of an organism or from its protoplasm, usually through the action of special cells or tissues — compare secretion
2.
a. : something eliminated by the process of excretion comprising chiefly the urine and sweat in man and other mammals and comparable materials in other animals, characteristically including products of protein degradation (as urea or uric acid), usually differing from ordinary bodily secretions by lacking any further utility to the organism that produces it, and being distinguished from waste materials (as feces) that have merely passed into or through the alimentary canal without being incorporated into the body proper
b. : a waste product (as urine, feces, vomitus) eliminated from the confines of an animal body : excrement — not used technically
c. : any of various materials stored in or secreted by plants (as certain intracellular crystals, nectar, or the water and carbon dioxide produced in respiration) that are believed to have a basically excretory function
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin excretion-, excretio, from Latin excretus (past participle of excrescere to grow out) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at excrescence
obsolete : excrescence