odeur

Odeur is a French noun meaning smell or odor. It designates the quality or sensation experienced when volatile chemical substances are detected by the sense of smell. In common usage, odeur can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant scents, but it is typically neutral and can be contrasted with parfum, which emphasizes a consciously created fragrance, or with odeur corporelle, meaning body odor.

Etymology: The word derives from Latin odor, odoris, meaning smell, and entered Old French as odeur before becoming the modern French form.

In science, odor refers to the perceptual experience produced by odorants. Odorants are volatile molecules that bind to olfactory receptors in the nasal cavity, initiating neural signals that are processed by the olfactory bulb and higher brain regions. Perception of an odeur depends on concentration, volatility, molecular structure, and context, and it can be influenced by adaptation, learning, and culture.

In cultural and practical contexts, odours play roles in food, personal care, medicine, and environmental assessment. French speakers distinguish between odeur and parfum: odeur denotes the general smell, while parfum denotes a fragrance that is intentionally created or a perfumed product. Common phrases include une odeur agréable for a pleasant smell and une mauvaise odeur for an unpleasant one. The topic intersects with chemistry, neuroscience, and lexicography, reflecting how language encodes perceptual experience.