olfactory, a. and n.
(ɒlˈfæktərɪ)
[ad. L. *olfactōri-us adj. (found only in the absol. olfactōria bouquet), f. olfactor; see above and -ory.]
A. adj. Of or pertaining to the sense of smell, connected or concerned with smelling.
| 1658 Phillips, Olfactory, belonging to the sense of smelling. 1670 Phil. Trans. V. 2060 Vesalius was the first, that rightly observed the Olfactory Nerves. 1799 Med. Jrnl. I. 243 Daily experience proves the importance of the olfactory sensations. 1880 Günther Fishes 109 The olfactory organ is single in Branchiostoma and the Cyclostomes. |
B. n. An organ of smelling.
| 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 166 Persons..who keep their olfactory out of the effluvia of other's ills. 1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter (1892) 64 Something..that affects the mind through the olfactories. |
† b. (See quots.) Obs. rare—0.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Olfactory, a Posie or Nose-gay, any thing to smell to. 1775 Ash, Olfactory, the power of smelling. |
Hence olˈfactorily adv., in the sense of smell.
| 1888 Century Mag. XXXV. 363 He was olfactorily impressed. 1944 R. W. Moncrieff Chemical Senses ix. 187 Structurally, the esters bear the same relation to the acids as the ethers do to the alcohols... Olfactorily, however, there is a difference. 1969 Psychol. Bull. LXXI. 60/1 Olfactorily acting and oral pheromones. |