English
olfaction
Olfaction comes from Latin olfaciō ‘to smell (transitive)’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEolfaciō‘to smell (transitive)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEolfactusperfect passive participle of olfaciō
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600olfaction//olefaction
- Englishearliest quotation 2019olfaction
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEolfaciō‘to smell (transitive)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEolfactusperfect passive participle of olfaciō
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600olfaction//olefaction
- Englishearliest quotation 2019olfaction
Earliest quotation: 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants: “‘I think the single most extraordinary aspect of olfaction…”
Every English word from Latin olfaciō
Today it means
noun The sense of smell; the detection of airborne molecules.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin olfaciō / olfaction