odoriferous

English

Alternative forms

odouriferous

Etymology

From Latin. By surface analysis, odor +‎ -i- (“bearing, carrying”) +‎ -ferous.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌəʊdəˈɹɪfəɹəs/, /ˌəʊdəˈɹɪfɹəs/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌoʊdəˈɹɪfəɹəs/, /ˌoʊdəˈɹɪfɹəs/
Rhymes: -ɪfəɹəs

Adjective

odoriferous (comparative more odoriferous, superlative most odoriferous)

Having an odor or fragrance.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], chapter 1, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 3, section 1, member 3:
  Lewis the eleventh had a conceit everything did stinke about him, all the odoriferous perfumes they could get, would not ease him, but still hee^[sic] smelled a filthy stinke.
- 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Enchantress, page 20:
  True, the rich spices, the perfumed woods, the fragrant oils, which would feed the sacred fire of my funeral pyre, would save my mortal remains from that corruption which makes the disgust of death even worse than its dread. A few odoriferous ashes alone would be left for my urn.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 77, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
  Moreover, as that of Heidelburgh was always replenished with the most excellent of the wines of the Rhenish valleys, so the tun of the whale contains by far the most precious of all his oily vintages; namely, the highly-prized spermaceti, in its absolutely pure, limpid, and odoriferous state.
- 1874, Charles Darwin, “Secondary Sexual Characters of Mammals—continued”, in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. […], 2nd edition, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, Part II (Sexual Selection), page 529:
  The males, and rarely the females, of many kinds of bats have glands and protrudable sacks situated in various parts; and it is believed that these are odoriferous.
- 2018, Dan Schneider, Daniel Warren, “Magical Beefery Tour”, in The Adventures of Kid Danger, season 1, episode 7:
  Frankini disguised as Mr. Beefo: "Who wants to get out and smell that wet beef?"
  Captain Man: "Me, I do, Me! Oh yes, so odoriferous!"

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

having an odor — see odorous