perfume
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: perfumé
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French parfum, perfum.[1] Doublet of parfum.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpɜːfjuːm/
- (US) pûr'fyo͞om", IPA(key): /ˈpɝfjuːm/ or enPR: pər-fyoo͞m', IPA(key): /pɚˈfjuːm/
- (General American):
Noun
perfume (countable and uncountable, plural perfumes)
- A pleasant smell; the scent, odor, or odoriferous particles emitted from a sweet-smelling substance; a pleasant odor
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:
- Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
- (cosmetics) A substance created to provide a pleasant smell or one which emits an agreeable odor.
- 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:
- The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
pleasant smell
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substance providing a pleasant smell
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
perfume (third-person singular simple present perfumes, present participle perfuming, simple past and past participle perfumed)
- (transitive) To apply perfume to; to fill or impregnate with a perfume; to scent.
Derived terms
Translations
to apply perfume to
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References
- “perfume”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “perfume, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2005.
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