scent

pronunciation

How to pronounce scent in British English: UK [sent] word uk audio image

How to pronounce scent in American English: US [sent] word us audio image

Noun:

a distinctive odor that is pleasant
an odor left in passing by which a person or animal can be traced
any property detected by the olfactory system
Verb:

cause to smell or be smelly
catch the scent of; get wind of
apply perfume to

Word Origin

scent: scent: [14] Scent comes ultimately from the same source that gave English sensation, sense, sentient, and sentiment – namely, Latin sentīre ‘feel, perceive’. It arrived via Old French sentir, and at first was sent in English (‘Fishes lurking among the stones [the dogs] seek out with their sent’, James Dalrymple, Leslie’s history of Scotland 1596). The modern sc- spelling did not begin to emerge until the 17th century. It is not known what the reason for it was, although it may have been a resolution of a possible confusion with the past form of send.=> sensation, sense, sentient, sentiment

scent (v.): late 14c., sent "to find the scent of," from Old French sentir "to feel, smell, touch, taste; realize, perceive; make love to," from Latin sentire " to feel, perceive, sense, discern, hear, see" (see sense (n.)). Originally a hunting term. The -c- appeared 17c., perhaps by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science. This was a tendency in early Modern English, also in scythe and for a time threatening to make scite and scituate. Figurative use from 1550s. Transitive sense "impregnate with an odor, perfume" is from 1690s. Related: Scented; scenting.

scent (n.): late 14c., "scent, smell, what can be smelled" (as a means of pursuit by a hound), from scent (v.). Almost always applied to agreeable odors.