English
odor
Odor comes from Latin odor ‘a smell, perfume, stench’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ed-‘to smell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃édōsreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*odōsreconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEodōs
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEodor‘a smell, perfume, stench’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400odor
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400odour
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500odour‘a pleasant or appealing smell or scent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526odor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ed-‘to smell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃édōsreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*odōsreconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEodōs
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEodor‘a smell, perfume, stench’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400odor
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400odour
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500odour‘a pleasant or appealing smell or scent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526odor
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “On the morowe after the ſaboth / erly in…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- ‘to smell’
dental, tooth, dent, zinc, annoy, ozone, egregious, tusk, dens, odious, dancy, osmium, redolent, odium, 68 more
through Latin odor ‘a smell, perfume, stench’
Today it means
noun Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- / odor