olfactory
adjective
ōl-
Did you know?
No, olfactory is not a noun meaning “a place that makes scents”; for that, you want perfumery, which makes more sense. Olfactory is instead an adjective used to describe things related to one’s sense of smell, that which lets you detect fruit with your snoot, a leek with your beak, Shiraz with your schnozz. Olfactory comes from the Latin word olfacere (“to smell”), which in turn combines two verbs, olēre (“to give off a smell”) and facere (“to do”). It often appears in scientific contexts (as in “olfactory nerves,” the nerves that pass from the nose to the brain and contain the receptors that make smelling possible), but it is occasionally used in less technical writing and speech. The pleasant smell of hot mulled cider, for example, might be considered an “olfactory delight,” depending on the spices and your own sensibilities, of course. As they say, the nose knows.
Examples of olfactory in a Sentence
Heather Margonari, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2024
The festive note mingles with floral and gourmand tones for a wonderfully aromatic yet ancient-feeling olfactory experience.
—Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 26 Nov. 2024
The results: a sweet and spicy cocktail for the most refined olfactory palettes.
—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 25 Nov. 2024
To further enhance the taste experience in these scenarios, the researchers drew on the strong connection between smell and taste by adding an olfactory component.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Olfactory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/olfactory. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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olfactory
adjective
Medical Definition
olfactory
adjective
ōl-
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