Lexicon of Smell: Etymologies for L (part one)
Etymologies for the part of the L's have been added to the Lexicon of Smell (experimental glossary of scent free to the public):
lacquibeau - (noun) a suave scent.
Etymology
From lacquer (borrowed from French lacque [“a sort of sealing wax”], from Portuguese laca, lacca [“gum lac”], from Persian لاک [lâk], from Hindi लाख [lākh], from Sanskrit लाक्षा [lākṣā, "a species of plant" or "a kind of red dye, lac (obtained from the cochineal or a similar insect as well as from the resin of a particular tree)"]) + beau (borrowed from French beau, from Latin bellus [“beautiful”]).
lacquile - (noun) a suave, oily scent.
Etymology
From lacquer (borrowed from French lacque [“a sort of sealing wax”], from Portuguese laca, lacca [“gum lac”], from Persian لاک [lâk], from Hindi लाख [lākh], from Sanskrit लाक्षा [lākṣā, "a species of plant" or "a kind of red dye, lac (obtained from the cochineal or a similar insect as well as from the resin of a particular tree)"]) + huile (French ["oil, liquid fat"], from Middle French huyle, from Old French oile, from Latin oleum, from olea [“olive”], from Ancient Greek ἐλαία [elaía, “olive”]; the h was added in Middle French to indicate that the u was a vowel, as in typography u and v were used interchangeably at the time).
lacquisalt - (noun) a suave, savory scent.
Etymology
From lacquer (borrowed from French lacque [“a sort of sealing wax”], from Portuguese laca, lacca [“gum lac”], from Persian لاک [lâk], from Hindi लाख [lākh], from Sanskrit लाक्षा [lākṣā, "a species of plant" or "a kind of red dye, lac (obtained from the cochineal or a similar insect as well as from the resin of a particular tree)"]) + salt (from Middle English salt, from Old English sealt, from Proto-West Germanic *salt, from Proto-Germanic *saltą, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₂ls [“salt”]; doublet of sal, ultimately from Latin sāl [“salt”], which it superseded as the general term for "salt").
lacquislope - (noun) a suave, rich scent.
Etymology
From lacquer (borrowed from French lacque [“a sort of sealing wax”], from Portuguese laca, lacca [“gum lac”], from Persian لاک [lâk], from Hindi लाख [lākh], from Sanskrit लाक्षा [lākṣā, "a species of plant" or "a kind of red dye, lac (obtained from the cochineal or a similar insect as well as from the resin of a particular tree)"]) + ski slope (as a metonym for the rich).
lacridoor - (noun) the open scent in your nasal passages and sinus cavities after crying; this phenomenon.
Etymology
From lachrymose (borrowed from Latin lacrimōsus, from lacrima [“tear”] + -osus [“-ful”], from Old Latin dacrima, from Proto-Indo-European *dakru-, cognate with English tear) + door (from Middle English dore, dor, from Old English duru [“door”], dor [“gate”], from Proto-West Germanic *dur, from Proto-Germanic *durz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwṓr, from *dʰwer- [“doorway, door, gate”]).
lenscent - (noun) the scent of the inside of your nose, which filters everything else that you smell.
Etymology
From lens (borrowed from Latin lēns [“lentil”], in Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of "lens", from unknown, likely a borrowing from an unidentified source; compare Old High German linsa, Lithuanian lęšis, Old Church Slavonic лѧща [lęšta], and Albanian lend [Proto-Albanian *lenta], sounding too similar for a coincidence, however different enough to prohibit reconstruction of a common PIE protoform; may also be related to Ancient Greek λάθυρος [láthuros]; if ultimately a non-IE loanword, locating the source is virtually impossible because cultivation of lentil was widespread in the region since the Neolithic) + scent (from c.1400, borrowed from Old French sentir [“to feel, perceive, smell”], from Old French sentire ["to feel, perceive, sense"], from Latin sentīre, present active infinitive of sentiō; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- [“to feel”], and thus related to Dutch zin [“sense, meaning”], German Sinn [“sense”], Low German Sinn [“sense”], Luxembourgish Sënn [“sense, perception”], Saterland Frisian Sin [“sense”], West Frisian sin [“sense”]; the -c- appeared in the 17th century, possibly by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science).
levicensce - (noun) an aroma with levity in a metaphysical or spiritual sense.
Etymology
From levitate + incense + sense.
limacane - (noun) the lime-sugar-frost aroma of Froot Loops.
Etymology
From lime + cane (as, "sugarcane").
It’s well known among people who work in the area of olfaction that the English language is a wasteland when it comes to vocabulary for scent. This is especially painful when it is your job to describe perfume and you have to resort to “smells like” and “has the smell of” over and over. The Lexicon of Smell is an experimental glossary that aims to fill this void with new words for olfactory experience. It offers neologisms to go alongside the more descriptive vignettes of The Language of Smell. New entries will be shown in color until the next update, when they will be changed permanently to black.
If you’d like to receive email updates of additions to the Lexicon of Smell, email abby@wildveil.com with “lexicon” in the subject line.
© 2023, Abby Hinsman for Wild Veil Perfume.