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单词 smell
释义

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 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.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: smĕl, IPA(key): /smɛl/
  • Audio (GA)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛl

Noun

smell (countable and uncountable, plural smells)

  1. A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
    I love the smell of fresh bread.
    • 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, OCLC 305520:
      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 […]
  2. (physiology) The sense that detects odours.
  3. 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.”

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

  • bad smell
  • code smell
  • good smell

Derived terms

  • code smell

Translations

Verb

smell (third-person singular simple present smells, present participle smelling, simple past and past participle smelled or smelt)

  1. (transitive) To sense a smell or smells.
    Synonyms: detect, sense
    I can smell fresh bread.
    Smell the milk and tell me whether it's gone off.
  2. (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
    The roses smell lovely.
    Her feet smell of cheese.
    The drunkard smelt like a brewery.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Philander went into the next room[...]and came back with a salt mackerel[...]. Next he put the mackerel in a fry-pan, and the shanty began to smell like a Banks boat just in from a v'yage.
  3. (intransitive, without a modifier) To smell bad; to stink.
    Ew, this stuff smells.
  4. (intransitive, figurative) To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
    A report smells of calumny.
    • 1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], OCLC 1044608640:
      Praises in an enemy are superfluous, or smell of craft.
  5. To detect or perceive; often with out.
    • c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or VVhat You VVill”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:
      I smell a device.
  6. (obsolete) To give heed to.
    • 1552, Hughe Latymer [i.e., Hugh Latimer]; Augustine Bernher, compiler, “[The First Sermon]”, in Certayn Godly Sermons, Made uppon the Lords Prayer, […], London: […] John Day, […], published 1562, OCLC 12219849, folio 5, verso:
      So from that tyme forwarde I began to ſmell the word of god, and forſoke the ſchole doctors and ſuch foolries.
  7. (transitive) To smell of; to have a smell of
    • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i]:
      I do smell all horse-piss

Usage notes

  • The sense “to smell bad, stink” is considered by some to be an incorrect (euphemistic) substitute for stink.

Derived terms

  • besmell
  • sense of smell (see olfaction)
  • smell a rat
  • smell blood
  • smell like a rose
  • smell of an oily rag
  • smell test
  • smell the barn
  • smelly
  • smell ya later, smell you later
  • wake up and smell the ashes
  • wake up and smell the coffee
  • wake up and smell the roses

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

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)

  1. first-person singular present indicative of smella
  2. second-person singular imperative of smella

Verb

smell (weak)

  1. 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)

  1. a bang (sudden loud noise)

References

  • “smell” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /smɛlː/

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)

  1. a bang (sudden loud noise)

Noun

smell m (definite singular smellen, indefinite plural smellar, definite plural smellane)

  1. a knock, an impact

References

  • “smell” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
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