smell

Pronunciation: /smɛl/

The English word “smell” has 10 meanings listed here.

noun

A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
The sense that detects odours.
A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.

verb

To sense a smell or smells.
To detect or perceive; often with out.
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
To smell of; to have a smell of
To smell bad; to stink.
To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
To give heed to.

Etymology

From Middle English smellen, smillen, smyllen, smullen, from Old English *smyllan, *smiellan (“to smell, emit fumes”), from Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (“to glow, burn, smoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *smel- (“to burn, smoke, smoulder; tar, pitch”). The noun is from Middle English smel, smil, smul (“smell, odour”). Related to Saterland Frisian smeele (“to smoulder”), Middle Dutch smōlen…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.