scent
/sɛnt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.82 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).
Example Sentences
- "the scent of flowers / of a skunk"
- "to give off / release / exude a scent"
- "to breathe in / inhale a scent"
- "hunger and thirst at once, / Powerful perswaders, quick’nd at the scent / Of that alluring fruit,"
- "The scent of these arm-pits is aroma finer than prayer,"
- "Behind me the forest stood wrapped in mist, its scents still sleeping."
Etymology
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.