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
WWD, 22 Nov. 2024
Hand-poured in Hollywood by actual struggling actors (including the brand’s founder, Michael Filippone), these candles take their olfactory inspiration from the silver screen.
—Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024
Buy Now on Tom Dixon: $170 Photo : Frédéric Malle
Frédéric Malle Country Home
Frédéric Malle fragrances are an institution; the olfactory world takes notice whenever a new scent is released.
—Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2024
This intricate connection is rooted in the anatomy of our brains within the olfactory system that sits near the brain’s region responsible for emotion and memory.
—Dr. Brittany Chambers, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Olfactory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/olfactory. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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olfactory
adjective
Medical Definition
olfactory
adjective
ōl-
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