scent

Meanings

Noun

• A distinctive smell.
• A smell left by an animal that may be used for tracing.
• The sense of smell.
• A substance (usually liquid) created to provide a pleasant smell.
• Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.
• Sense, perception.

Verb

• To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.
• To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).
• To have a suspicion of; to detect the possibility of (something).
• To impart an odour to, to cause to have a particular smell.
• To have a smell; (figuratively) to give an impression (of something).
• To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Origin

• From c.1400, from Middle English sent and senten, from Old French sentir ("to feel, perceive, smell"), from Old French sentire "to feel, perceive, sense", from Latin sentīre, present active infinitive of sentiō. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- ("to feel"), and thus related to Dutch zin ("sense, meaning"), German Sinn ("sense"), Low German Sinn ("sense"), Luxembourgish Sënn ("sense, perception"), Saterland Frisian Sin ("sense"), West Frisian sin ("sense"). The -c- appeared in the 17th century, possibly by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science.