aromatic

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aromatik, also aromatyk,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French aromatique^[5][6][4] and directly borrowed from Late Latin arōmaticus,^[3][2] from Ancient Greek ἀρωματικός (arōmatikós),^[5][7][6] from ἄρωμα (árōma, “seasoning, spice”), genitive ἀρώματος (arṓmatos),^[3][7] which is of unknown origin.^[3][7] The Anglo-Norman aromatic is recorded from the first quarter of the 13th century, both as an adjective and as the name of a fragrant medicinal drink.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having the fragrant smell and warm taste of spices: 1366, in Mandeville's Travels as the OED dates it;^[5] Etymonline dates the word to about 1400,^[3] and the MED's first quotation, from a herbal, is from perhaps before 1390.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it described spices, scents and spiced wine, and as a noun a fragrant tree or shrub.^[2] The noun, a spice or fragrant drug or plant, is recorded from before 1513.^[5][6] In chemistry the word was applied from 1869 to the large group of organic compounds based on benzene,^[5] defined today by their unsaturated rings of alternating double and single bonds;^[9][10] an aromatic, such a compound, is from 1925.^[5] The noun aroma, which first meant a spice, took its modern sense of a pleasant smell only in 1814.^[3]

Timeline

• 1366 – fragrant, spicy.^[5] Etymonline dates it to about 1400.^[3]
• before 1513 – noun, a spice or fragrant substance.^[5]
• 1869 – in chemistry, of the benzene group of compounds.^[5]
• 1925 – noun, an aromatic compound.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having a strong, usually pleasant smell; fragrant or spicy: an aromatic sprig of rosemary.^[9][6][5]
2. (chemistry) Of an organic compound: containing a benzene ring or a similar unsaturated ring of alternating double and single bonds.^[9][10][6]

Noun

1. A plant, spice or drug with a fragrant smell and often a warm, pungent taste, such as ginger or cinnamon.^[6][9][5]
2. (chemistry) An aromatic compound.^[6][5]

Word family

• aromatically
• aromaticness
• aromaticity
• nonaromatic

Related words

• aroma

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press