▪ I. scent, n.
(sɛnt)
Forms: 4–7 (9 rare) sent, 5–6 sente, 6 cent, 7– scent.
[ME. sent, f. sent scent v.
Orig. a term of hunting. It is possible that there may have been an AF. *sent, verbal noun from sentir to scent.]
1. a. The faculty or sense of smell. Chiefly, and now exclusively, with reference to animals (esp. dogs) which find their prey or recognize objects by this sense.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 26 In Gyllisland thar was that brachell brede, Sekyr off sent to folow thaim at flede. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist Scot. I. 20 Fisches lurking amang the stanes thay [sc. dogs] seik out with thair sent. 1642 Jer. Taylor God's Judgem. ii. vii. 110 He had all the Aromaticks and Odoriferous Perfumes to delight his sent in smelling. 1735 Somerville Chase i. 94 The perfect Hound, in Scent and Speed Unrivall'd. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 621 The sight is pleas'd The scent regal'd. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 277 The dog, having the help of scent as well as of sight, is superior to the savage. |
b. fig.| 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. Wks. (Grosart) I. 218 It may be I am of some better sente then you take me for, and finding a Machiauellian tricke in this plot..I was [etc.]. 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 237 An eminent Evangelical Divine..long celebrated for the keenness of his scent in ‘legacy hunting’. 1838 Prescott Ferd. & Is. (1846) I. i. 104 The courtiers, with the quick scent of their own interest,..soon turned their attention to the same polite studies. 1857 J. G. Holland Bay Path xxvi. 315 All of them had a scent for heresy so subtle and acute that [etc.]. |
¶ c. In etymological sense: Perception by the senses, feeling.
Obs. (?
nonce-uses.)
| 14.. Hoccleve Jereslaus' Wife 850 And ther-to eek as sharp punisshement As þat dyuyse ther kowde any wight, Thow sholdest han y-preeued by the sent. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 43 He bids thee to him send for his intent A fit false dreame, that can delude the sleepers sent. |
2. a. The odour of an animal or man as a means of pursuit by a hound; hence a track or trail as indicated by this odour.
cold scent: see
cold a. 12.
hot scent: see
hot a. 8 a.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 500 [The sleuthhund] hym luffit swa, That fra he mycht anys feill The kyngis sent..he vald change it for na thyng. c 1400 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) i. 7 b, For the fuos of somme hares is of hotter sent thenne some. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 141 The sloith stoppyt..Rycht wa thai [sc. the Englishmen] war that losyt was thair sent. 1576 Turberv. Hunting xiv. 36 When they haue well beaten and founde the tracke or sent of the Harte. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 24 He [sc. a hound]..twice to day pick'd out the dullest sent. 1686 R. Blome Gentl. Recr. ii. 88/2 When one or more of them [sc. foxhounds] opens, 'tis a sure sign that he is upon the Scent. 1693 Humours Town 8 It would be to as little purpose to seek you, as to follow the Chace upon a wrong Scent. 1726 DeFoe Hist. Devil ii. ii. (1840) 190 We can follow as hounds do a fox upon a hot scent. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 329 What adds to this entertainment is the strong scent which the fox leaves, that always keeps up a full cry. 1885 Field 7 Feb. 147/2 Once in the open, it was obvious that there was only half a scent. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 583/1 Scent—The odour given off by the fox... It is burning if..strong; breast-high, if so good that the hounds do not stoop to it; moving, if it is so fresh that it must be recent..; flighty or catchy, if variable; holding, if good enough, but not very strong. |
b. fig.| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. ii. v. 134 He is now at a cold sent. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. ii. 30 His tale..hath as plain a sent as a man need to wish, to fynd out a fable by. 1656 Heylin Extran. Vapulans 15 Follow this Game a little further, now we are on the sents. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) II. 144 The scent of preferment will draw aspiring men after it. 1765 Sterne Tr. Shandy iv. xviii, Trim found he was upon a wrong scent. 1872 Q. Rev. Jan. 267 Another false scent by which the Proletariat have long been led astray is that [etc.]. |
c. transf. in the game of
Hare-and-hounds: Fragments of paper scattered on the ground by the ‘hares’ to serve as a track for the ‘hounds’.
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. vii, It's the turn of our house to find scent for..Hare-and-Hounds. |
d. Phrases.
to follow (or rarely pursue) the scent,
to get (a or the) scent of,
to have (a) scent of,
lit. and
fig. to lay, put (hounds) on or upon the scent; hence
fig. to put (a person) on or off the scent, also
on a false, wrong scent.
to lose, recover the scent,
lit. (of hounds) and
fig.; also,
to lose the scent, (of the game) to baffle the hounds by passing through water.
to carry a or the scent, (of ground) to retain the scent of the game; also (of fox-hounds) to follow the scent.
† full scent (
advb.): ? of a hound, excited by the perception of the scent (in
quot. transf.).
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1040 Bot thow moste seke more southe..ffor he [sc. the giant] wille hafe sent hym selfe sex myle large. 14.. Hoccleve Jereslaus' Wife 272 [There was] An Erl..Beforn whos howndes was a fox rennynge,..And as þat they ran they hadden a sent Of the lady and thidir be they went. 1655 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 350 This is to let my Sec. Ni. know that I am still close following the same sent. 1683 Temple Mem. Wks. 1731 I. 399 All further Thoughts of a present Peace ended, and left me only to pursue the cold Scent of a Mediation in the common Forms. 1688 in Phil. Trans. XVII. (1693) 784 One day there came three or four full sent to tell me they were certain they smelt the Pines. 1711 Spect. No. 116 ¶5 He immediately called in the Dogs, and put them upon the Scent. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 51 He had got a scent of it. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 446 Oft in the full-descending flood he [the stag] tries To lose the scent. 1781 [see lay v.1 15 h]. 1821 Scott Kenilw. vii, ‘Thou hast lost the scent, said Varney, ‘of thy comrade Tressilian.’ 1832 John Bull 26 Nov. 379/2 The hounds were for some time at fault. They soon, however, recovered the scent. 1832 ‘Nimrod in Q. Rev. Mar. 219 The scent being seldom sufficient to enable the hound to carry it up to his [sc. the fox's] kennel. 1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley xxx, How if she..wished to throw my poor friend off the scent by this false announcement? 1878 ‘Brooksby’ Hunting Countries i. 8 The surrounding country being strongly fenced, and carrying a good scent, a bad hunter is of little use here. 1882 Ainger Lamb vi. 116 Lamb had a love of..putting his readers on a false scent. 1884 L. J. Jennings Croker Papers I. iii. 77 The police..had got scent of the intended affray. |
3. In wider sense: Distinctive odour. Now almost exclusively applied to agreeable odours,
e.g. those of flowers.
| 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) I. 41 Every man rose fro the table abhorryng & eschewyng the sente and sauour of the dede man. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. iv. iv. (1555) C ij b, And in my mouthe, it had a marueylous cent Of dyuers spyces. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 148 The fragrant sents of flowry banks. 1635 Stafford Fem. Glory (1869) 116 It is impossible to handle perfumes, without bearing away part of their sent. 1718 Pope Iliad vi. 359 Her rich Wardrobe..Where treasur'd Odors breath'd a costly Scent. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 226 The Negroe nations..of Guinea..have an insupportable scent. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 140 There is scarcely a scent odious or agreeable that may not be met with in the insect world. 1862 Longfellow Wayside Inn i. Prol. 195 His garments breathed a spicy scent Of cinnamon and sandal blent. |
| fig. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (Sommer) 266 One..would haue iudged that his eies would haue run into him & his soule out of him; so vnkindly did either take a sent of danger. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. Wks. (Grosart) I. 212 When I see the theefe, and the sente of Church-robbers is in my nosthrils. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. viii. 252 Perhaps some scent of the coming danger reached him. |
4. An odoriferous liquid prepared by distillation from flowers, etc.; a perfume.
| 1750 Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 74 It has the smell and colour of myrrh, and is used as a scent. 1898 Cassell's Mag. June 42 A certain celebrated scent, made from the original recipe. |
5. attrib. and
Comb.: simple
attrib., as
scent-ball,
scent-casket,
scent-sachet; instrumental, as
scent-laden adj.; objective, as
scent-snuffing adj.; special comb.:
scent-bag, (
a) a pouch, sac, or gland found in some animals, containing a secreted odoriferous substance; (
b) a bag containing a strong-smelling substance drawn over ground to make an artificial scent for hounds; (
c)
= sachet 3;
scent-bean, an aromatic bean carried with the snuff in a snuff-box;
scent-bottle, (
a) a bottle of scent;
spec., an ornamental bottle containing scent, smelling-salts, etc. for the toilet-table or pocket; (
b) a bottle designed to contain scent;
scent-box, (
a) a box for carrying scent; (
b)
Pugilistic slang, the nose;
scent-dog Sc., a pointer;
scent-gland, a gland which secretes an odoriferous substance;
scent-holder,
-jar, an ornamental vase or jar, usually with perforated top, in which odorous substances are kept to perfume an apartment;
scent-organ Ent. and
Zool., an organ that secretes scent, a scent-bag, scent-gland;
scent-scale Ent., a perfumed scale found on the males of some Lepidoptera;
scent-spray, an ornamental scent-bottle with apparatus for distributing the scent;
† scent-strong a., having great scenting powers;
scent-tuft Ent., a brush-like scent-bearing organ (Webster
Suppl. 1902);
scent-vase = scent-jar;
scent-wood, a Tasmanian evergreen shrub,
Alyxia buxifolia (
Treas. Bot. 1866).
| 1682–3 E. Tyson in Phil. Trans. XIII. 38 Two Baggs which I have taken the liberty to call the *Scent-baggs [in a viper]. 1889 C. D. Warner in Harper's Mag. Oct. 726/2 The young men..expended an immense amount of energy..in riding at fences after the scent-bag. 1892 Cooley's Cycl. Pract. Receipts 1487/1 Scent-bags. See Sachets. |
| 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgr. Land of Burns 85 Their mouths were dry as snuff-boxes, and their tongues rattled therein like unto *scent beans. |
| 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. iv, Cut-glass *scent bottles. 1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. xxv. 262 She flew for the scent-bottle, while her father bent over Margaret. 1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 714/2 Scent Bottles—Fancy,—A large assortment in Stock. 1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. 219 Sterling silver and cut glass scent bottle. 1930 T. S. Eliot tr. St.-J. Perse's Anabasis 37 And a man strode forth at the threshold of the desert—profession of his father: dealer in scent-bottles. 1975 J. O'Faolain Woman in Wall iii. 55 Translucent scent-bottles of glass and alabaster. |
| 17.. in Ashton Social Life (1882) I. 158 A Cane with a Silver Head and *Scent Box. 1826 Sporting Mag. XVIII. 315 Pat napped him on the scent-box. |
| 1879 Piesse Perfumery (ed. 4) Index, *Scent-casket. |
| 1894 Crockett Raiders 29 Nosing them for myself like a *Scent-Dog after birds. |
| 1683 E. Tyson in Phil. Trans. XIV. 377 Those scent-bags, or *scent-glands, I have formerly mentioned to be in other Animals. 1866 Owen Anat. Vertebr. I. 615 [During the breeding-season] the anal scent-glands are in active function in both groups [sc. Lizards and Serpents]. |
| 1832 G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 22 A *scent-jar, forty-four inches high... The scent is allowed to escape through hexagonal openings in the neck. |
| 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxi. (1818) II. 245 Another insect..furnished with osmateria, or *scent-organs. |
| 1892 B. Hinton Lord's Return 206 A silken coverlet, quilted and perfumed like a *scent-sachet. |
| 1898 Packard Text-bk. Entomol. 198 To these *scent-scales is applied the term androconia. |
| 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 692 For there his smell with others being mingled, The hot *sent-snuffing hounds are driuen to doubt. |
| 1897 Daily News 9 July 6/3 A silver and Venetian glass *scent spray. |
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 660 The *sent-strong Swallow sweepeth to and fro. |
▪ II. scent, v. (
sɛnt)
Forms: 5–7 (9
rare)
sent, 6–7
sente, (7
cent), 7–
scent.
[ME. sent, a. F. sentir to feel, perceive, spec. to smell; = Pr., Sp., Pg. sentir, It. sentire:—L. sentīre to feel, perceive. The spelling
scent (for this and the
n.) does not occur in our material until the 17th c. A revival of the etymological spelling
sent was attempted by A. and J. C. Hare (
Guesses at Truth,
ed. 1838).]
1. trans. Of a hound or other animal: To find or track (game, prey, etc.) by the smell; also,
to scent out. In later use said also, with wider application, of persons and animals: To become aware of the presence or approach of, or to recognize at a distance, by the sense of smell; also (
rarely), to inhale the smell of, to smell at.
| c 1400 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) i. 7 b, Whan hares be ygete with the kynde of a conynge..the houndes lust nor sentith hem nought so wele. 1575 Turberv. Venerie 117 By that time he have gone xx or xxx paces, the slot is better, and the hounds shall sent him much better. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. v. 58 Ghost. But soft, me thinkes I sent the Mornings Ayre; Briefe let me be. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 179 Let us goe cent the Caspyan ayre. 1721 R. Keith tr. T. à Kempis' Soliloquy of Soul x. 177, I myself have even scented from afar the celestial Spices. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) III. 200 The refreshment which is felt on scenting the pungent vapour of carbonate of ammonia. 1834 Pringle Afr. Sk. ix. 307 Our oxen had scented the water at a distance. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 239 A bear and two cubs, that had..been scenting our foot-marks of the day before. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. iv. 230 These animals [sc. sheep-dogs] scent the traveller from an incredible distance. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 295 Like vultures scenting their prey afar. |
b. fig. To perceive as if by smell; to find out instinctively; to detect.
| 1553 Respublica 164 Nowe a wheale on suche noses..That so quicklie canne sente where hidden golde dothe lye. c 1620 Fletcher & Mass. Double Marriage i. ii, Fer. Is Virolet in [the conspiracy]? Ron. The head of all, he onely scented me. 1658 Cleveland Rustick Rampant (1687) 416 Perhaps not senting the Design of the Clowns. 1833 I. Taylor Fanaticism ii. 26 The religious classes who..will scent a heresy in every such definition. 1870 A. R. Hope Schoolboy Fr. xiv. 182, I thought he would scent us out. 1897 L. J. Trotter John Nicholson xix. 227 Chamberlain, scenting possible mischief, made a forced march to Amritsar. |
† c. In etymological sense: To discern, perceive.
Obs. rare.
| 1586 Bright Melanch. xix. 115 Soules haue sense of thinges without organicall senses: and when they bee but fancies, yet that which ministreth the object..is sented with the minde only. 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. (1623) B 4, Hir horns..are the proper organum of the sense of feeling; by which, with the least touch, the Bee sodainely senteth any tangible object. |
2. intr. Of a hound or other animal:
† a. To perceive the smell
of (the quarry).
Obs. b. To hunt by the sense of smell; also, to ‘smell about’, sniff the air for a scent.
| c 1400 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii. 11 And he shall kepe hym..always in þe myddell of the water for cause that the houndes shall not sent of hym. 1598 Marston Pygmal. iv. 151 But Grillus subtile-smelling swinish snout Must sent, and grunt, and needes will finde it out. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 279 So sented the grim Feature, and upturn'd His Nostril wide into the mirky Air. 1730 Swift Answ. Delany's Fable 8 The hound would scent; the wolf would prowl. |
| fig. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 20 But at length they began to sent after the Egyptians gods. |
3. To exhale an odour, to smell. [So F.
sentir.] Now
rare or
Obs.| c 1400 Beryn 2765 This gardeyn is..ful of may flouris,..The wich been so redolent, & sentyn so a boute. 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. xliii. 63 The seede is small and black, and senting like Rosin. 1664 Hubert Catal. Rarities (1665) 66 A stone that smells only when it is blown on, and the harder one blowes, the stronger it sents. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 182 The Fruit when Green scents like Turpentine. 1843 tr. Custine's Empire of Czar I. 125 This perfumed Cerberus, for he scented of musk at the distance of a league, released us. |
| fig. 1632 Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry iv. i, Season now your youth With one braue thing, and it shall keep the odour..and on your Tombe Sent like sweet oyles and Frankincense. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xvi. 321 Such is the fresh nature of some Embassages, if not spent presently, they sent ill. 1826 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Genteel Style in Writing, They [sc. Sir William Temple's essays] scent of Nimeguen, and the Hague. 1831 Fraser's Mag. IV. 584 The very air scents of knavery. |
4. trans. [From the
n.] To impregnate with an odour; to perfume.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 636 With Smoak of burning Cedar scent thy Walls. 1725 Pope Odyss. viii. 398 An hundred altars rise, And breathing odours scent the balmy skies. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 147 To decoy him, the hunters scent the ground with a drug. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vii, The hundred perfumes of the little flower-garden..scented the air around. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 762 The ointment may be scented with any essential oil. |
▪ III. scent obs. form of
saint.