scent English · revision 39433

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la sentiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /sɛnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|senten]], [[bor|fro|sentir|t=to feel, perceive, smell]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) from [[la|sentiō|t=to feel, perceive by the senses]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the verb behind [[sense]], [[sentiment]] and [[sentient]].^(Ayto 2005) The noun was formed from the verb,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) probably helped by [[xno|sente|t=the characteristic smell of an animal]].^(OED 2026) Weekley also suspected contact with [[frm|sente|t=path, track]], from [[la|sēmita]].^(Weekley 1921) The ''c'', first seen in the 16th and 17th centuries, is not etymological: it has been put down to the model of [[ascent]] and [[descent]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) of [[science]],^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) or of words such as [[scene]] and [[sceptre]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To feel or perceive something by the senses: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The hunting sense, to perceive by smell, follows in ''The Master of Game'' (about 1410).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''sent'' belonged to the language of hunting: a hound scented its quarry, and the noun was the smell of the animal by which it was tracked,^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) a sense found from 1375 in Barbour's ''Bruce'' according to Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) from about 1422 in the OED.^(OED 2026) Figurative uses for any pursuit or investigation followed in the 16th century,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and to scent danger, to sense it before it arrives, is recorded from about 1553.^(OED 2026) The noun's general sense of an odour, especially a pleasant one, is recorded in Caxton (about 1473),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and a fragrant liquid, a perfume, from 1596.^(OED 2026) The older sense "perception, feeling", nearer the Latin, died out by about 1590.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1375 – the noun, a smell used in tracking (Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1398 – the verb, to feel or perceive.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1410 – to perceive by smell.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1422 – the noun, in the OED's first quotation.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1473 – an odour, especially a pleasant one.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1596 – a perfume.^(OED 2026)

+ * 17th century – the spelling with ''sc-'' becomes usual.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A distinctive smell, especially a pleasant one.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' [[perfume|alt=Perfume]].^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # The smell left by an animal or person, by which it can be [[track|alt=tracked]]; the trail itself, also figuratively.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The sense of smell, or an instinctive ability to find things out.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A faint sign of something to come.^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To detect by smell, or to sense as if by smell.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fill with a pleasant smell; to perfume.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a hound: to hunt by smell.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scentless]]

+ * [[scented]]

+ * [[scent gland]]

+ * [[scent hound]]

+ * [[scent mark]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sense]]

+ * [[sentiment]]

+ * [[sentient]]

+ * [[consent]]

+ * [[assent]]

+ * [[dissent]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Peeblesshire ''scent'' could mean a bad smell, and a ''scent-bean'' was a fragrant bean kept in a snuffbox.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}