Odorants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances that emit a distinctive smell, often used in fragrances or for masking other scents
2. Chemicals added to products to produce a pleasant aroma, enhancing sensory experience
3. Elements designed to provide scent in industrial or household applications, improving air quality or product appeal

Etymology: "Odorants" is the plural of "odorant", a noun for a substance that has a smell. The word is built on the Latin "odor", meaning smell or scent, with the suffix "-ant" (from the Latin present participle ending) that gives the sense of something that does a particular action, here producing an odour. The base "odor" goes back to Latin, and English has used the spelling "odor" alongside the British "odour" for centuries. The noun "odorant" is a modern scientific coinage rather than an old word. It belongs to the vocabulary of chemistry and of the senses, where it names the molecules that trigger the nose's receptors, so it describes a technical category more than a common quality of things.

Synonyms: fragrance, aroma, scent, perfume, smell