Odour

/ˈoʊdər/ noun

Definition

A smell, either pleasant or unpleasant; the scent that something gives off.

Etymology

From Latin odor meaning 'smell.' The word entered English through French, and the British spelling retains the 'u' while American English uses 'odor' without it.

Kelly Says

Humans can detect over 1 trillion different odors, but we have no words for most of them—we usually describe smells using other senses ('bright' smell, 'heavy' smell). It's one of the weird limitations of language compared to our actual sensory abilities.

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