Adjacent Words

Perfume definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PERFU'ME, n. [L. per and fumus, smoke, or fumo, to fumigate.]
1. A substance that emits a scent or odor which affects agreeably the organs of smelling, as musk, civet, spices or aromatics of any kind; or any composition of aromatic substances.
2. The scent, odor or volatile particles emitted from sweet smelling substances.
No rich perfumes refresh the fruitful field.
PERFU'ME, v.t. To scent; to fill or impregnate with a grateful odor; as, to perfume an apartment; to perfume a garment.
And Carmel's flower top perfumes the skies.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a distinctive odor that is pleasant [syn: aroma, fragrance, perfume, scent]
2: a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor [syn: perfume, essence] v
1: fill or impregnate with an odor; "orange blossoms perfumed the air in the garden" [syn: perfume, aromatize, aromatise]
2: apply perfume to; "She perfumes herself every day" [syn: perfume, scent]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle French perfum, probably from Old Occitan, from perfumar to perfume, from per- thoroughly (from Latin) + fumar to smoke, from Latin fumare, from fumus smoke — more at fume Date: 1533 1. the scent of something sweet-smelling 2. a substance that emits a pleasant odor; especially a fluid preparation of natural essences (as from plants or animals) or synthetics and a fixative used for scenting Synonyms: see fragrance II. transitive verb (perfumed; perfuming) Date: 1531 to fill or imbue with an odor

Britannica Concise

Fluid preparation used for scenting, composed of natural essences or synthetics and a fixative. Perfumes are concocted by the artful blending of certain fragrant substances in appropriate proportions. The art of perfumery was apparently known to the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans; references to perfumes are found in the Bible. Raw materials used in perfumery include natural products, of plant or animal origin, and synthetic materials. Fine perfumes may be blends of more than 100 ingredients.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a sweet smell. 2 fluid containing the essence of flowers etc.; scent. --v.tr. also (usu. as perfumed adj.) impart a sweet scent to; impregnate with a sweet smell. Derivatives: perfumy adj. Etymology: F parfum, parfumer f. obs. It. parfumare, perfumare (as PER-, fumare smoke, FUME): orig. of smoke from a burning substance

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perfume Per*fume", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perfumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Perfuming.] [F. parfumer (cf. Sp. perfumar); par (see Par) + fumer to smoke, L. fumare, fr. fumus smoke. See Fume.] To fill or impregnate with a perfume; to scent. And Carmel's flowery top perfumes the skies. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perfume Per"fume, n. [F. parfum; cf. Sp. perfume. See Perfume, v.] 1. The scent, odor, or odoriferous particles emitted from a sweet-smelling substance; a pleasant odor; fragrance; aroma. No rich perfumes refresh the fruitful field. --Pope. 2. A substance that emits an agreeable odor. And thou shalt make it a perfume. --Ex. xxx. 35.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(perfumes, perfuming, perfumed) 1. Perfume is a pleasant-smelling liquid which women put on their skin to make themselves smell nice. The hall smelled of her mother's perfume. ...a bottle of perfume. = scent N-MASS 2. Perfume is the ingredient that is added to some products to make them smell nice. ...a delicate white soap without perfume. N-MASS 3. If something is used to perfume a product, it is added to the product to make it smell nice. The oil is used to flavour and perfume soaps, foam baths, and scents. ...shower gel perfumed with the popular Paris fragrance. VERB: V n, V-ed with n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Fragrance, balminess, aroma, redolence, incense, pleasing scent, grateful odor, sweetness of smell, bouguet. 2. Sweet-smelling, substance. II. v. a. Scent, impregnate or imbue with grateful odor.

Moby Thesaurus

aerate, aerify, ambergris, ambrosia, aroma, aromatic, aromatic gum, aromatic water, aromatize, atomize, attar, attar of roses, balm, balm of Gilead, balminess, balsam, bay oil, bergamot oil, bouquet, carbonate, cense, champaca oil, chlorinate, civet, distill, embalm, emit, essence, essential oil, etherify, etherize, evaporate, exhale, extract, fixative, fluidize, fractionate, fragrance, fragrancy, fruitiness, fume, fumigate, gasify, give off, heliotrope, hydrogenate, incense, jasmine oil, lavender oil, musk, muskiness, myrcia oil, myrrh, nose, nosegay, odor, odorize, oxygenate, parfum, perfumery, redolence, reek, rose oil, scent, send out, smell, smoke, spice, spiciness, spray, steam, sublimate, sublime, sweet savor, sweet smell, thurify, toilet water, vaporize, volatile oil, volatilize