Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “olfactory” come from?

Olfactory comes from Latin olfactorius, derived from olfactus, the past participle of olfacio, meaning to smell, which combines facio, to make or do, with oleum, oil.

olfactory (English): Concerning the sense of smell; An olfactory...

Definitions

  1. Concerning the sense of smell; An olfactory...

Ancestry of “olfactory”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinolfactoriusOf or pertaining to smell or to one who smells
2Latinolfactussmelled, scented; smelling; sense of smell
3Latinolfaciō—
4Latinfaciō—
5Latin-toriumnominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative...
6Latin-tōrius—
7Latin-tor-er
8Proto-Italic-tōr—
9Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
10Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—

Words derived from “olfactory”

  • olfactorily
  • nonolfactory
  • subolfactory
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →