redolence

scent, smell

TRANSLATION

redolence = die Eigenschaft, stark nach etwas zu riechen oder Eigenschaften (insbesondere Gerüche) zu haben, die einen an etwas anderes denken lassen

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

“Smoke rolls in as fog, billowing like a grey muslin curtain across the streets, down unlit alleyways where something always hides, into starless night. And hidden in its cloak, a REDOLENCE of pitch, of damp woods hidden in a sunless forest where huge-eyed animals watch with sunblind eyes.”

Lauryn Beer — Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur Review (31st March 2021)

Did you
know?

redolence (usually used with ‘of’)
noun

- the quality of smelling strongly of something or of having qualities (especially smells) that make you think of something else

- the quality of having a pleasant odor; fragrance

- the quality of smelling like a certain thing

The Cambridge Dictionary / Dictionary dot com


WORD ORIGIN

From Middle English redolence, from Latin redolentia, from redolēre meaning "to emit fragrance", from re- "again" + olēre "to smell, emit odour".

The Latin root word olēre is also the source of English words like "olfactory" and "odour". The prefix re- indicates repetition or intensity.

So redolence refers to something having a strong, pleasant smell or fragrance.

The word first appeared in English in the 15th century — its use and spelling has remained relatively consistent up to the present day.


THE NOSE KNOWS

A dog’s sense of smell that puts humans to shame. Dogs sniffing other dogs can identify the latest meals eaten, the where and when of visited locations, the emotions of fear or aggression, sexual interest, pregnancy, health, contact to other animals and humans,... and much more!

It’s estimated that a dogs’ sense of smell is at least 10,000 times more acute than humans. If you make the analogy to vision, what you and I can see at a third of a mile, a dog could see just as well more than 3,000 miles away. Or put another way, while we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or the equivalent of two Olympic-sized pools.*

The English language offers several interesting phrases: if a person or situation feels suspicious, we say that something “smells fishy” or we “smell a rat”. We "sniff around" if we want to get a feeling for a new situation, and we "follow our nose" if we sense that a given direction is likely to lead to success.

Data from James Walker (Sensory Research Institute, Florida State University)


SYNONYMS for "smell"

air, aroma, atmosphere, bloom, bouquet, breeze, breath, cloud, cologne, dankness, deodorant, emanation, essence, flavour, fragrance, gust, haze, incense, miasma, musk, niff, nuance, odour, odoriferousness, overtone, pungency, pong, potpourri, puff, REDOLENCE, reek, savour, sachet, scent, smack, snuff, smokiness,  spice, stench, stink, suggestion, tang, tincture, toilet water, trace, undertone, vapour, whiff, wind


SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“This Pinot Noir has a smoky, savoury, and slightly earthy aroma with a REDOLENCE of sweet plum and guava."


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