perfume

English Online Dictionary. What means perfume‎? What does perfume mean?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French parfum, perfum. Doublet of parfum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜːfjuːm/
• (US) pûr'fyo͞om", IPA^(key): /ˈpɝfjuːm/ or enPR: pər-fyoo͞m', IPA^(key): /pɚˈfjuːm/
• (General American):

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈpɚfjuːm/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /pɚˈfjuːm/

• Rhymes: (US, General American) -uːm

Noun

perfume (countable and uncountable, plural perfumes)

1. A pleasant smell; the scent, odor, or odoriferous particles emitted from a sweet-smelling substance; a pleasant odor
2. (cosmetics) A substance created to provide a pleasant smell or one which emits an agreeable odor.

Synonyms

• (pleasant smell): aroma, fragrance, scent
• (substance providing a pleasant smell): fragrance, parfum, scent

Derived terms

Related terms

• parfumerie
• parfumier

Translations

Verb

perfume (third-person singular simple present perfumes, present participle perfuming, simple past and past participle perfumed)

1. (transitive) To apply perfume to; to fill or impregnate with a perfume; to scent.

Derived terms

• perfumed
• perfumer

Translations

References

• “perfume”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ũmi, (Portugal) -umɨ
• Hyphenation: per‧fu‧me

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Occitan perfum.

Noun

perfume m (plural perfumes)

1. perfume (pleasant smell)

   Synonyms: aroma, cheiro, fragrância

2. (cosmetics) perfume (substance providing a pleasant smell)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

perfume

1. inflection of perfumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

References

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾˈfume/ [peɾˈfu.me]
• Rhymes: -ume
• Syllabification: per‧fu‧me

Etymology 1

Deverbal from perfumar.

Noun

perfume m (plural perfumes)

1. perfume

   Synonyms: olor, aroma, fragancia

Related terms

Etymology 2

Verb

perfume

1. inflection of perfumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “perfume”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10