scent
noun
- dog skill
- the smell of something
verb
- fill with the odor of
- catch the scent of
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /sɛnt/
noun
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.
- A distinctive smell.
“the scent of flowers / of a skunk”
“to give off / release / exude a scent”
- A smell left by an animal that may be used for tracing.
“The dogs picked up / caught the scent but then quickly lost it.”
“He […] twice to-day pick’d out the dullest scent; / Trust me, I take him for the better dog.”
- The sense of smell.
“I believe the bloodhound has the best scent of all dogs.”
“His houndes espyde him where he was, and Blacksoote first of all / And Stalker speciall good of sent began aloud to call.”
- A substance (usually liquid) created to provide a pleasant smell.
“a scent shop”
“a scent bazaar”
- Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.
“The minister's off-hand remark put journalists on the scent of a cover-up.”
“The tip put the detectives on a false scent / the wrong scent.”
- Sense, perception.
“A fit false dreame, that can delude the sleepers sent.”
verb
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.
- To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.
“The hounds scented the fox in the woods.”
“methinks I scent the morning air.”
- To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).
“I paused to scent the breeze as I entered the valley.”
“One night he sprang from sleep with a start, eager-eyed, nostrils quivering and scenting,”
- To have a suspicion of; to detect the possibility of (something).
“I scented trouble when I saw them running down the hill towards me.”
“Cope seemed to scent a challenge and accepted it.”
- To impart an odour to, to cause to have a particular smell.
“Scent the air with burning sage before you begin your meditation.”
“Balm, from a Silver box distill’d around, / Shall all bedew the roots and scent the sacred ground;”
- To have a smell; (figuratively) to give an impression (of something).
“Thunderbolts & lightnings […] do sent strongly of brimstone:”
“1647, John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, The False One, Act III, Scene 2, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies, London: John Martyn et al., p. 325, I smell him now: fie, how the Knave perfumes him, / How strong he scents of Traitor?”
- To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.