Skip to content

"smell (odour)" in seven languages

Meaningsmell (odour)

Spanish

olor

/oˈloɾ/

masc.inherited

Its d turned into l, probably under the pull of the verb oler 'to smell'.

French

odeur

/odœʁ/

fem.inherited

Feminine, like most French nouns from Latin -OR: la couleur, la chaleur.

Italian

odore

/oˈdore/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

cheiro

/ˈʃejɾu/

masc.other source · Portuguese cheirar 'to smell', from Latin FLAGRĀRE 'to blaze'

Romanian

miros

/miˈros/

neut.other source · Greek myrízō 'to smell sweet'

Catalan

olor

/uˈlo/

fem.inherited

Feminine in Catalan (una olor), unlike Spanish el olor.

English

smell

/smɛl/

native English · Middle English smel, of unknown origin

Borrowed odour is the shared word.

English → Italiansmell (odour)odoreNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: odour, odor, deodorant.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

ODŌREM‘smell’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Latin -OR nouns were masculine, and Spanish and Italian kept them so; French made them feminine: el olor, il odore, but la odeur.

English relatives: odour, odor, deodorant

Learn it

Practice the Ideas deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¡Qué olor tan rico!
  • frQuelle bonne odeur !
  • itChe buon odore!
  • ptQue cheiro bom!
  • roCe miros plăcut!
  • caQuina olor més bona!
  • enWhat a lovely smell!

More in Ideas

All Ideas words