Smell
/smɛl/noun
To perceive or detect the odor or scent of something through the nose.
Did you know?The Old English word for smell, 'smellan', is linked to ritualistic practices where scents were believed to connect humans with the divine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*smalwōną
“To smell or perceive odor.”
Old English
Old English
smellan
“To smell, to perceive a scent.”
Middle English
Middle English
smellen
“To emit a scent; to have a strong odor.”
Modern English
English
smell
“To perceive an odor through the olfactory senses.”