Odorometer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device used to measure the strength or intensity of smells in the air or in a sample
2. An instrument that gauges how strong an odor is, typically for scientific or industrial testing
3. Equipment designed to quantify the concentration of a scent or smell in a given environment

Etymology: "Odorometer" is a technical coinage, built from the Latin "odor," meaning smell, and the Greek-derived suffix "-meter," meaning a device for measuring. Together they name an instrument for measuring odours, and the word is a plain compound rather than something inherited from antiquity. The Latin "odor" itself is an old and well-attested word for scent, good or bad, which is why it has supplied many English terms relating to smell, such as "odour" and "odorous." The "-meter" element, from Greek "metron" (measure), is the same suffix found in "thermometer" and "barometer," so the word follows a familiar pattern of pairing a subject with a measuring device.

Synonyms: olfactometer