perfume
Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French parfum, perfum.

Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈpɜːfjuːm/
  • (America) pûr'fyo͞om", IPA: /ˈpɝfjuːm/ or enPR: pər-fyoo͞m', IPA: /pɚˈfjuːm/
  • (General American):
  • (noun) IPA: /ˈpɚfjuːm/
  • (verb) IPA: /pɚˈfjuːm/
Noun

perfume

  1. 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.
  2. (cosmetics) A substance created to provide a pleasant smell or one which emits an agreeable odor.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Verb

perfume (perfumes, present participle perfuming; simple past and past participle perfumed)

  1. (transitive) To apply perfume to; to fill or impregnate with a perfume; to scent.
Translations


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