stench
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English stench, from Old English stenċ (“stench, odor, fragrance”), from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz (“smell, fragrance, odor”), from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- (“to push, thrust”). Cognate with Dutch stank (“stench, odor”), German Stank, Gestank (“stench, odor, smell”), Danish stank (“stench”), Swedish stank (“stench”), Icelandic stækja (“stench”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
stench (plural stenches)
- a strong foul smell; a stink.
- (figuratively) A foul quality.
- the stench of political corruption
- (obsolete) A smell or odour, not necessarily bad.
- a. 1701, John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 432:
- Black bulls, and bearded goats on altars lie; / And clouds of ſav'ry ſtench involve the ſky.
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
a strong foul smell, a stink
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metaphorically, a foul quality
VerbEdit
stench (third-person singular simple present stenches, present participle stenching, simple past and past participle stenched)
- (obsolete) To cause to emit a disagreeable odour; to cause to stink.
- 1729, Edward Young, Imperium Pelagi:
- Dead bards stench every coast
- To stanch.
Middle EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old English stenċ, from Proto-Germanic *stankwiz; conflated with Old English stynċ, from Proto-Germanic *stunkwiz.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
stench (plural stenches)
- A stench; a displeasing or repulsive smell.
- Something which causes or has such a repulsive smell.
- The smell of the fires of hell (thought to be of sulphur)
- The smell or odour of sinfulness or iniquity.
- (rare, Early Middle English) A smell or scent (good or bad).
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “stench, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-10-24.