fragrance
ˈfreɪɡrəns
noun
Origin
Latin
fragrare — to emit a sweet smell
Overview
Meaning Now
- A pleasant smell or scent, especially from perfume, flowers, or aromatic substances.
- A perfumed product used to give a person, room, or object a pleasant smell.
Literal older meaning
An act or quality of emitting a sweet smell
Language path
Latin → Old French → English
Earliest form
fragrance
Earliest period
Middle English period
Journey
The word belongs to a large set of English vocabulary that came through French after the Norman Conquest or via later learned borrowing. In English, it developed from a general sense of a pleasing odor to a broader word for perfume and scented products.
Evolution
- Latin
fragrare
“to emit a sweet smell”
Source verb behind the Romance forms.
- Old French
fragrance
“sweet smell; fragrance”
Borrowed into English through French.
- Middle English
fragrance
“sweet smell; pleasant odor”
Entered English as a learned and literary noun.
- Modern English
fragrance
“pleasant smell; perfume”
Now commonly used both for natural scents and perfumery products.
Connections
Word parts
fragr-
root
sweet smell; scent
-ance
suffix
state, quality, or result
Related across languages
French
fragrance; scent
Italian
fragranza
fragrance; scent
Spanish
fragancia
fragrance; scent
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Related to fragrance
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.