Where does “smell test” come from?
smell test (English) comes from English Test, from German testen, from German Test, from English test, from Middle English teste, from Old French teste, from Latin testis, from Latin terstis — to stand.
smell test (English): An assessment of a subject's ability to detect and distinguish odors
Definitions
- An assessment of a subject's ability to detect and distinguish odors
Ancestry of “smell test”, step by step
smell test traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Test
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Test | a Test match |
| 2 | German | testen | to test |
| 3 | German | Test | test; melting pot |
| 4 | English | test | A challenge, trial; A cupel or cupelling hearth... |
| 5 | Middle English | teste | — |
| 6 | Old French | teste | head |
| 7 | Latin | testis | witness; one who testifies or attests; testicle |
| 8 | Latin | terstis | — |
| 9 | Latin | trīstis | sad, unhappy, melancholy, morose |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | tristh₂s | a third party standing, after the two parties to... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |
via English smell
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | smell | A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by... |
| 2 | Middle English | smellen | To sense a smell or smells; To give off an odor;... |
| 3 | Old English | smiellan | to fume, reek |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | smallijan | to glow, burn, smoulder |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | smel- | to burn, smoulder, smoke; tar, pitch; to burn,... |