smell

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

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/
• 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.
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.

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

Collocations

Translations

Verb

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

2. (transitive) To sense a smell or smells.

   Synonyms: detect, sense

   2. (by extension) To detect or perceive; often with out.
4. (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

   2. (by extension, intransitive, copulative) To smell of; to have a smell of
   4. (intransitive, without a modifier) To smell bad; to stink.

   6. (intransitive, figurative) To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
5. (obsolete) To give heed to.

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

Anagrams

• Mlles, Mells, mells, Mlles.

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)

Etymology 2

Noun

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

1. a knock, an impact

References

• “smell” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.