Etymologically
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odore

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Pronunciation

Forms

odore m (plural odori)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin odor (“smell, scent; stench”), from the accusative “odōrem”.[2][3][4][1] Nocentini counts it as a learned borrowing, while Spanish olor continues the spoken variant Latin olor directly;[2][1] Wiktionary calls “odore” a doublet of olore.[2][1] The same word is French odeur and Old Occitan odor.[2][5]

Latin “odor” goes back to an older “odōs”, with the change of /s/ to /r/ between vowels, and to Proto-Italic *odōs.[6][7][1] It belongs to the root Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (“to smell”), as do Ancient Greek ὄζω (ózō, “to smell”), Ancient Greek ὀδμή (odmḗ, “odour”), Old Armenian հոտ (hot, “smell”) and Lithuanian uosti (“to smell”).[6][2] The verb Latin oleō (“to smell”) is from the same root, with /d/ turned into /l/, and gave Italian olire and olezzare.[6][8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is figurative, “hint, inkling”, in Lotto Pisano (13th century); the literal sense, an emanation perceived by smell, is in Dante's Purgatorio (1313–1319): “Chi crederebbe che l'odor d'un pomo / sì governasse…” (“who would believe that the smell of an apple could so govern…”).[3][9]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio uses odore for a scented substance (1348–1353), a sense now literary, as in acqua d'odore “perfume”.[3][10] In the plural, odori are the herbs used in cooking, such as parsley, basil and sage, recorded from 1768.[3][4] The phrase morire in odore di santità, to die with a reputation for holiness, comes from the belief that the bodies of saints give off a sweet smell when they die;[3][11][12] in odore di now also means “suspected of” or “close to”.[3][11][12]

Derivatives include odorare (before 1250), odorato “sense of smell” (before 1292), odoroso (Boccaccio) and odorino (1615); inodore “odourless” is from 1856 and deodorante from the early 20th century.[3][2]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Lotto Pisano uses odore figuratively.[3]
  • Before 1250 – Odorare “to give off a smell” is recorded.[3]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni has odorato.[3]
  • 1313–1319 – Dante uses odore for a smell.[3]
  • 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for a scented substance.[3]
  • 1768 – The plural odori names cooking herbs.[3]
  • 1856 – Inodore is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. smell, odour: the sensation perceived by the sense of smell, or what a substance gives off: In cucina c'era odore di caffè.[4][13][14]
  2. (euphemistic) A bad smell: Che odore! Apri la finestra.[4][13]
  3. (literary) A scented substance, perfume.[4][13][10]
  4. In the plural, cooking herbs.[4][14][10]
  5. (figurative) A hint, a sign: Sento odore di guai.[4][14][10]

Word family

  • odorare
  • odorato
  • odoroso
  • odorino
  • odorifero
  • inodore
  • deodorante
  • subodorare
  • odorabile
  • odorante
  • olore
  • olezzare
  • olire
  • ozono
  • Latin odor

Usage notes

In odore di santità means “with a reputation for holiness”, and in odore di alone “suspected of” or “in line for” (in odore di promozione).[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  6. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  10. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  13. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  14. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse