different between smell vs mephitic
smell
English
Etymology
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 sm?len (“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 ?????? (smolá, “resin, tar”). Compare smoulder, smother.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: sm?l, IPA(key): /sm?l/
- Rhymes: -?l
Noun
smell (countable and uncountable, plural smells)
- A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
- The penetrating smell of cabbage reached the nose of Toad as he lay prostrate in his misery on the floor, and gave him the idea for a moment that perhaps life was not such a blank and desperate thing as he had imagined. But still he wailed, and kicked with his legs, and refused to be comforted. So the wise girl retired for the time, but, of course, a good deal of the smell of hot cabbage remained behind, as it will do, and Toad, between his sobs, sniffed and reflected, and gradually began to think new and inspiring thoughts: of chivalry, and poetry...
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
- (physiology) The sense that detects odours.
- A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.
- 2018 Schroers, Carl (February 8, 2018) , “Chapter 8”, in Wrestling with Time Lost, Lulu Press
- “I’m just saying, this has a bad smell to it.”
- 2018 Schroers, Carl (February 8, 2018) , “Chapter 8”, in Wrestling with Time Lost, Lulu Press
Usage notes
- Adjectives often applied to "smell": acrid, awful, bad, disgusting, fishy, foul, fragrant, fresh, funny, funky, good, great, horrible, metallic, musty, nasty, nice, odd, pervasive, penetrating, pleasant, powerful, pungent, putrid, rancid, rank, rotten, sour, spoilt, salty, strange, stinky, strong, sweet, terrible, unpleasant.
Synonyms
- (sensation): see Thesaurus:smell
- (pleasant): aroma, fragrance, odor/odour, scent; see also Thesaurus:aroma
- (unpleasant): niff (informal), pong (informal), reek, stench, stink; see also Thesaurus:stench
- (sense): olfaction (in technical use), sense of smell
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
smell (third-person singular simple present smells, present participle smelling, simple past and past participle smelled or smelt)
- (transitive) To sense a smell or smells.
- Synonyms: detect, sense
- (intransitive, copulative) Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
- Synonyms: (informal) pong, reek, stink, (informal; these words refer to unpleasant smells) whiff
- (intransitive, without a modifier) To smell bad; to stink.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
- 1649, John Milton, Eikonoklastes
- Praises in an enemy are superfluous, or smell of craft.
- 1649, John Milton, Eikonoklastes
- (obsolete) To exercise sagacity.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
- To detect or perceive; often with out.
- (obsolete) To give heed to.
- 1552, Hugh Latimer, the first sermon upon the Lord's Prayer
- From that time forward I began to smell the Word of God, and forsook the school doctors.
- 1552, Hugh Latimer, the first sermon upon the Lord's Prayer
- (transitive) To smell off; to have a smell of
Usage notes
- The sense “to smell bad, stink” is considered by some to be an incorrect (euphemistic) substitute for stink.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- anosmia
- sense
References
- smell in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- smell in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Anagrams
- Mells, Mlles, mells
Icelandic
Verb
smell (strong)
- first-person singular present indicative of smella
- second-person singular imperative of smella
Verb
smell (weak)
- second-person singular imperative of smella
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From the verb smelle.
Noun
smell n (definite singular smellet, indefinite plural smell, definite plural smella or smellene)
smell m (definite singular smellen, indefinite plural smell or smeller, definite plural smellene)
- a bang (sudden loud noise)
References
- “smell” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sm?l?/
Etymology 1
From the verb smelle.
Noun
smell n (definite singular smellet, indefinite plural smell, definite plural smella)
smell m (definite singular smellen, indefinite plural smellar, definite plural smellane)
- a bang (sudden loud noise)
Etymology 2
Noun
smell m (definite singular smellen, indefinite plural smellar, definite plural smellane)
- a knock, an impact
References
- “smell” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
smell From the web:
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- what smell do roaches hate
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mephitic
English
Etymology
From Latin mephiticus, from mefitis, mephitis: compare French méphitique.
Adjective
mephitic (comparative more mephitic, superlative most mephitic)
- Foul-smelling or noxious, particularly of a gas or atmosphere.
Derived terms
- mephitic acid
- mephitic air
Anagrams
- chip time
mephitic From the web:
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