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odor - 7 dictionary results
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o⋅dor
[oh-der] 
–noun
| 1. | the property of a substance that activates the sense of smell: to have an unpleasant odor. |
| 2. | a sensation perceived by the sense of smell; scent. |
| 3. | an agreeable scent; fragrance. |
| 4. | a disagreeable smell. |
| 5. | a quality or property characteristic or suggestive of something: An odor of suspicion surrounded his testimony. |
| 6. | repute: in bad odor with the whole community. |
| 7. | Archaic. something that has a pleasant scent. |
Also, especially British, odour.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF < L
1250–1300; ME < OF < L
Related forms:
o⋅dor⋅ful, adjective
o⋅dor⋅less, adjective
Synonyms:
3. aroma, redolence, perfume. Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts: the odor of sanctity. Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used: the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation. In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative: the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair. Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells: the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man. Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive: the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.
3. aroma, redolence, perfume. Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts: the odor of sanctity. Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used: the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation. In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative: the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair. Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells: the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man. Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive: the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To odor
| o·dor (ō'dər) n.
[Middle English odour, from Old French, from Latin odor.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Odor
O"dor\, n. [OE. odor, odour, OF. odor, odour, F. odeur, fr. L. odor; akin to olere to smell, Gr. ?, Lith. ? Cf. Olfactory, Osmium, Ozone, Redolent.] [Written also odour.] Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume. Meseemed I smelt a garden of sweet flowers, That dainty odors from them threw around. --Spenser. To be in bad odor, to be out of favor, or in bad repute.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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odor
c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. odour, from O.Fr. odor (Fr. odeur), from L. odorem (nom. odor) "smell, scent," from PIE *od- (cf. L. olere "emit a smell, to smell of," with Sabine -l- for -d-; Gk. ozein "to smell;" Armenian hotim "I smell;" Lith. uodziu "to smell"). Odorous "fragrant" (1550) is from M.L. odorosus, from L. odorus "having a smell," from odor. Good or bad odor, in ref. to repute, estimation, is from 1835. Odor of sanctity (1756) is from Fr. odeur de sainteté (17c.) "sweet or balsamic scent said to be exhaled by the bodies of eminent saints at death or upon disinterment."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: odor
Variant: or chiefly British odour /'Od-&r/
Function: noun
1 : a quality of something that affects the sense ofsmell
2 : a sensation resulting from adequate chemical stimulation of the receptors for the sense of smell odor> odor> —odored or chiefly British odoured adjective —odor·less or chiefly British odour·less adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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odor o·dor (ō'dər)
n.
- The property or quality of a thing that affects, stimulates, or is perceived by the sense of smell.
- A sensation, stimulation, or perception of the sense of smell.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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odor
the property of certain substances, in very small concentrations, to stimulate chemical sense receptors that sample the air or water surrounding an animal. In insects and other invertebrates and in aquatic animals, the perception of small chemical concentrations often merges with perception via contact of heavy concentrations (taste), and with other chemoreceptive specializations. See also smell.
Learn more about odor with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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