English Explanatory Dictionary

smell

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
  2. The sense that detects odours.
  3. A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.
verb
  1. To sense a smell or smells.
  2. To detect or perceive; often with out.
  3. Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
  4. To smell of; to have a smell of
  5. To smell bad; to stink.
  6. To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
  7. To give heed to.

Pronunciation

smĕl /smɛl/ En-us-smell.ogg

Word forms

smell smells smelling smelled smelt

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *smel- Proto-West Germanic *smalljan Old English *smiellan Middle English smellen English smell From Middle English smellen, smillen, smyllen, smullen, from Old English *smyllan, *smiellan (“to smell, emit fumes”), from Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (“to glow, burn, smoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *smel- (“to burn, smoke, smoulder; tar, pitch”). The noun is from Middle English smel, smil, smul (“smell, odour”). Related to Saterland Frisian smeele (“to smoulder”), Middle Dutch smōlen (“to burn, smoulder”) (whence Dutch smeulen (“to smoulder”)), Middle Low German smölen (“to be hazy, be dusty”) (whence Low German smölen (“smoulder”)), Low German smullen (“emit smoke”), West Flemish smoel (“stuffy, muggy, hazy”), Danish smul (“dust, powder”), Lithuanian smilkyti (“to incense, fumigate”), Lithuanian smilkti (“to smudge, smolder, fume, reek”), Lithuanian smalkinti (“to fume”), Middle Irish smál, smól, smúal (“fire, gleed, embers, ashes”), Russian смола́ (smolá, “resin, tar”). Compare smoulder, smother.

Synonyms

fragrance odor odour scent pong reek stench stink flair smell aroma niff olfaction sense of smell detect sense whiff

Related words

nose anosmia sense

Derived words

code smell money does not smell money has no smell new-car smell sense of smell smaste smell-alike smell blindness smell-brain smell-feast smell fox smellful smell-o-meter smell-o-rama smell-o-vision smellproof smellscape smell-smock smellsome smell trap sweet smell of success foresmell besmell come out smelling like a rose come out smelling of roses come up smelling like a rose come up smelling of roses foul-smelling outsmell resmell smellable smell a fox smell a rat smell blood smell blood in the water smellevision smell fishy smellfungus smellie smelling bottle smelling salt smell like a rose smell like a tart's bedroom smell like a tart's boudoir smell like a tart's handbag smell like a tart's handkerchief smell of an oily rag smell of the lamp smell of the shop smell one's own farts smell out smell test smell the barn smell the coffee smell the roses smell up smell what someone is stepping in smelly smell ya later smell you later

Translations

Afrikaans: ruik Arabic: شَمَّ Arabic: اِشْتَمَّ Arabic: شم Arabic: شَمَّمَ Armenian: հոտ քաշել Armenian: հոտ առնել Armenian: հոտոտել Armenian: հոտ արձակել Armenian: հոտ ունենալ Armenian: բուրել Aromanian: anjurdzescu Aromanian: njurzescu Aromanian: anjurzescu Assamese: শুঙা Asturian: goliflar Asturian: goler Asturian: goliquiar Azerbaijani: iyləmək Azerbaijani: qoxumaq Azerbaijani: iyi gəlmək Azerbaijani: qoxulanmaq Basque: usaindu Belarusian: адчува́ць пах Belarusian: чуць Belarusian: ню́хаць Belarusian: па́хнуць Bengali: গন্ধ পাওয়া Bulgarian: ду́ша Bulgarian: мири́ша Burmese: နမ်း Catalan: sentir olor de Catalan: olorar Catalan: odorar Catalan: ensumar Catalan: flairar Catalan: fer olor de Chinese Cantonese: 聞 /闻 Eastern Min Chinese: 鼻 Chinese: 鼻 Chinese Mandarin: 聞 /闻 Chinese Mandarin: 嗅 Chinese Mandarin: 發出氣味 /发出气味 Czech: cítit Czech: čichat Czech: vonět Czech: být cítit Czech: páchnout Danish: lugte Danish: dufte Danish: stinke Dutch: ruiken Dutch: geuren Dutch: stinken Esperanto: flari Esperanto: odori Estonian: haistma Estonian: lõhnama Extremaduran: golel Faroese: lukta Finnish: haistaa Finnish: tuoksua Finnish: haista Finnish: löyhkätä Finnish: lemuta Finnish: döfätä French: sentir French: humer French: flairer French: odorer French: exhaler French: fleurer Friulian: sintî Galician: cheirar Georgian: ყნოსვა Georgian: სუნის დენა German: riechen German: stinken Greek: μυρίζω Greek: ὄσδω Gujarati: સૂંઘવું Haitian Creole: santi Hebrew: הֵרִיחַ Hindi: सूँघना Hindi: गँधाना Hindi: महँकना White Hmong: hnia Hungarian: szagol Hungarian: megszagol Hungarian: érez Hungarian: illatozik Hungarian: bűzlik Hungarian: szagú Hungarian: illatú Hungarian: … szaga van Hungarian: … illata van Icelandic: finna lykt(ina) af Icelandic: lykta Ido: flarar Ido: odorar Indonesian: mencium Indonesian: berbau
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