Cacodorous

/kəˈkɒdərəs/ adjective

Definition

Having a foul, unpleasant, or bad smell; stinking or malodorous.

Etymology

From Greek 'kakos' (bad) + 'odor' (smell) + '-ous' suffix. This adjective combines the Greek prefix for 'bad' with the Latin word for smell.

Kelly Says

Cacodorous was a favorite word of Victorian and Romantic-era writers describing everything from rotting corpses to swamps to moral corruption—bad smells were seen as signs of evil itself!

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