Link Centre Dictionary

scent

UK/sɛnt/ US/ˈsɛnt/ fairly common
noun (3) verb (3)

noun

1.
2.

an odor left in passing by which a person or animal can be traced

3.

verb

1.

cause to smell or be smelly

Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

catch the scent of; get wind of

  • “The dog nosed out the drugs”
Synonyms
3.

apply perfume to

  • “She perfumes herself every day”
Synonyms

Origin

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

Phrases

  • false scent
  • hay-scented fern
  • information scent
  • scent gland
  • scent hound
  • scent mark
  • scent out
  • scent pad

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Causes

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.