Odor Is Neutral, but Rarely Used That Way
An odor is a smell. Technically the word carries no judgement, yet in practice it usually does.
An odor is a smell or scent, spelled *odour* in British English. Dictionaries define it neutrally, but usage has quietly loaded it: almost nobody says a rose has a lovely odor. English keeps a whole ladder of smell words sorted by approval — *fragrance* and *aroma* at the top, *scent* and *smell* in the middle, *odor* and *stench* at the bottom — and speakers choose the rung before they choose the word. Latin *odor* gives *odious*, *redolent* and *olfactory*.
- A smell. *A faint odor.*
- Body odor. *Body odor.*
- Odorous — having a smell. *Odorous.*
- Odour — British spelling. *Odour.*
- Latin — *odor*, a smell. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | odor | An odor. |
| Plural | odors | Odors. |
| Adjective | odorous | Odorous. |
| Adjective | odorless | Odorless. |
| Latin | odor | A smell. |
- An odor of damp.Smell.
- Odour is the British spelling.Variant.
- Nobody praises a rose's odor.Usage.
The ladder of smell words
- Fragrance — pleasant, usually deliberate
- Aroma — pleasant, often of food or coffee
- Scent — neutral to pleasant, often faint
- Smell — fully neutral, the default word
- Odor and stench — neutral in theory, negative in practice
Latin *odor*, a smell, through Old French *odour*.
Is odor a negative word?
Not by definition, but usage has made it so. A pleasant smell is almost never called an odor.
Is odour related to odious?
No. Odious comes from Latin odium, hatred, and only resembles odor by accident.