A stink over ‘odoriferous’
Q: I used to consider “odoriferous” a barbarous lengthening of “odiferous.” I was in my 30s when I deigned to look it up and discovered that the shortening “odiferous” was the barbarism. Pride goeth …
A: You’ll be surprised to hear this, but “odoriferous” and “odiferous” showed up in English around the same time in the late 15th century, and both adjectives have appeared in writing ever since. The longer form is recognized now by more standard dictionaries, but neither is very common.
Interestingly, both “odoriferous” and “odiferous” originally meant pleasant smelling, but the odor can now either be pleasant or unpleasant, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The OED, an etymological dictionary, says the two terms originally described something “that bears or diffuses a pleasant scent; sweet-smelling; fragrant.” In later use, Oxford adds, they describe something “that has or emits a (pleasant or unpleasant) odour; strong-smelling; odorous.”
Some standard American dictionaries suggest the odor is usually unpleasant. American Heritage, for example, defines “odoriferous” as “having or giving off an odor, especially a strong or unpleasant one,” and gives this example: “an odoriferous bag of garbage.”
