perfume

See also: perfumé

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French parfum, perfum. Doublet of parfum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜːfjuːm/
• (US) pûr'fyo͞om", IPA^(key): /ˈpɝfjuːm/ or enPR: pər-fyoo͞m', IPA^(key): /pɚˈfjuːm/
• (General American):

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈpɚfjuːm/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /pɚˈfjuːm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US, General American) -uːm

Noun

perfume (countable and uncountable, plural perfumes)

1. A pleasant smell; the scent, odor, or odoriferous particles emitted from a sweet-smelling substance; a pleasant odor
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:

     Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

2. (cosmetics) A substance created to provide a pleasant smell or one which emits an agreeable odor.
   • 2014 March 7, Nicole Vulser, “Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 190, number 13, page 30:

     The perfume industry is facing a major problem: maintaining constant levels of quality is crucial, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain a regular supply of all the necessary natural ingredients.

Synonyms

• (pleasant smell): aroma, fragrance, scent
• (substance providing a pleasant smell): fragrance, parfum, scent

Derived terms

• acoustic perfume
• Arizona perfume
• beperfumed
• perfume ball
• perfumed
• perfumelike
• perfumer
• perfumery
• perfumey, perfumy
• perfumier
• unperfumed

 

Related terms

• parfumerie
• parfumier

Translations

pleasant smell

• Albanian: aromë (sq) f, hosi (sq) f, kadis m
• Arabic: أَرِيج m (ʔarīj), عَبِير m (ʕabīr), شَذًا m (šaḏan), عِطْر m (ʕiṭr), شَذًى m (šaḏan)

  Hijazi Arabic: عِطِر m (ʕiṭir)

• Armenian: բույր (hy) (buyr), անուշահոտություն (hy) (anušahotutʻyun), բուրմունք (hy) (burmunkʻ)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܹܝܚܵܐ ܗܲܢܝܼܐܵܐ m (rēḥā hanīˀā), ܗܹܪܘܿܡܵܐ m (hērōmā), ܥܸܛܪܵܐ m (ˁiṭrā)
• Azerbaijani: gözəl iy, gözəl qoxu
• Belarusian: во́дар m (vódar), арама́т m (aramát), пах m (pax), духмя́насць f (duxmjánascʹ)
• Bengali: সুগন্ধ (bn) (śugondho), খোশবু (bn) (khōśbu)
• Bikol Central: mahamot (bcl)
• Bulgarian: благоуха́ние (bg) n (blagouhánie), арома́т (bg) m (aromát)
• Burmese: ရနံ့ (my) (ra.nam.), အမွှေး (my) (a.hmwe:), ရေမွှေး (my) (rehmwe:)
• Catalan: perfum (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 香味 (hoeng¹ mei⁶), 芬芳 (fan¹ fong¹), 香氣 / 香气 (hoeng¹ hei³)

  Hakka: 香味 (hiông-mi), 香氣 / 香气 (hiông-hi)

  Hokkien: 芳味 (zh-min-nan) (phang-bī), 芳氣 / 芳气 (phang-khì)

  Mandarin: 香味 (zh) (xiāngwèi), 芬芳 (zh) (fēnfāng), 香氣 / 香气 (zh) (xiāngqì), 芳味 (zh) (fāngwèi), 芳氣 / 芳气 (zh) (fāngqì), 芬郁 (zh) (fēnyù), 芳澤 / 芳泽 (zh) (fāngzé), 芬香 (zh) (fēnxiāng)

• Czech: vůně (cs) f
• Danish: duft (da) c
• Dutch: parfum (nl) n, aroma (nl) n
• Esperanto: parfumo
• Estonian: lõhnaõli (et)
• Finnish: tuoksu (fi)
• French: parfum (fr) m, fragrance (fr) f
• Galician: perfume (gl) m
• Georgian: არომატი (aromaṭi), სუნამო (sunamo)
• German: Duft (de) m
• Greek: άρωμα (el) n (ároma), ευωδιά (el) f (evodiá)

  Ancient: εὐωδία f (euōdía)

• Hindi: इत्र (hi) m (itra), अतर (hi) (atar), महक (hi) f (mahak), सुगंध (hi) m (sugandh), ख़ुशबू f (xuśbū)
• Hungarian: illat (hu)
• Iban: angit
• Icelandic: ilmur (is) m
• Indonesian: parfum (id)
• Italian: profumo (it) m
• Japanese: 香り (ja) (かおり, kaori), 香気 (ja) (こうき, kōki)
• Khmer: គន្ធ (km) (kŭən)
• Korean: 향기(香氣) (ko) (hyanggi)
• Kyrgyz: атыр (ky) (atır)
• Lao: ຄັນທະ (khan tha), ຄັນຫາ (khan hā), ສຸຄົນ (su khon)
• Latin: odor
• Latvian: aromāts m, smarža f
• Lithuanian: aromatas m, kvepėjimas m
• Luxembourgish: Doft m, Geroch m
• Macedonian: мирис (mk) m (miris), аро́ма f (aróma)
• Malay: wangian (ms)
• Maltese: fwieħa f
• Maori: kakara
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: анхилга (mn) (anxilga)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: duft (no) m, aroma (no) m, godlukt m or f

• Old English: æþelstenċ m, wyrtbrǣþ m
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: عَطْر (atr), عِطْر (etr), خوشْبو (xošbu), خوشْبوی (xošbuy)

• Polish: woń (pl) f, zapach (pl) m, aromat (pl) m
• Portuguese: fragrância (pt) f, perfume (pt) m, cheiro (pt) m
• Romanian: parfum (ro) n
• Russian: благоуха́ние (ru) n (blagouxánije), арома́т (ru) m (aromát)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: аро́ма f

  Roman: aróma (sh) f

• Slovak: vôňa f
• Slovene: vonjava f
• Spanish: aroma (es) m
• Sranan Tongo: switismeri
• Swedish: doft (sv) c
• Tajik: атр (atr), хушбӯй (tg) (xušbüy), хушбӯ (tg) (xušbü)
• Thai: กลิ่นหอม (glìn-hɔ̌ɔm)
• Turkish: ıtır (tr), burcu (tr), rayiha (tr)
• Ukrainian: арома́т (uk) m (aromát), па́хощі f pl (páxošči), духмя́ність f (duxmjánistʹ)
• Urdu: عَطْر m ('atr), عِطْر ('itr), خوشْبُو f (xośbū)
• Uzbek: xushboʻy (uz)
• Vietnamese: mùi thơm, hương thơm (vi), hương vị (vi)

substance providing a pleasant smell

• Albanian: parfum (sq) m
• Arabic: أَرِيج m (ʔarīj), شَذًا m (šaḏan), عِطْر m (ʕiṭr)

  Egyptian Arabic: برفان m (barfān), برفانات f pl (barfānāt)

• Armenian: օծանելիք (hy) (ōcanelikʻ)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܹܝܚܵܐ ܗܲܢܝܼܐܵܐ m (rēḥā hanīˀā), ܗܹܪܘܿܡܵܐ m (hērōmā), ܥܸܛܪܵܐ m (ˁiṭrā)
• Azerbaijani: ətir (az)
• Belarusian: духі́ n pl (duxí), парфу́ма f (parfúma) (colloquial)
• Bengali: সুগন্ধি (bn) (śugondhi)
• Bikol Central: pahamot (bcl)
• Bulgarian: парфю́м (bg) m (parfjúm)
• Catalan: perfum (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 香水 (hoeng¹ seoi²)

  Eastern Min: 香水 (hiŏng-cūi)

  Gan: 香水 (xiong¹ sui³)

  Hakka: 香水 (hiông-súi)

  Hokkien: 芳水 (zh-min-nan) (phang-chúi)

  Mandarin: 香水 (zh) (xiāngshuǐ)

  Wu: 香水 (¹shian-sy)

• Coptic: ϣⲟⲟⲩ (šoou)
• Czech: parfém (cs) m, voňavka (cs) f
• Danish: perfume c
• Dutch: parfum (nl) n
• Esperanto: parfumo
• Estonian: parfüüm, lõhnaõli (et)
• Finnish: hajuvesi (fi) (used by people), hajuste (fi), hajuaine (used on substances), parfyymi (fi)
• French: parfum (fr) m
• Galician: perfume (gl) m
• Georgian: სურნელება (surneleba)
• German: Parfüm (de) n, Duftstoff (de) m, Parfum (de) n
• Greek: άρωμα (el) n (ároma)

  Ancient: μύρον n (múron)

• Hebrew: בושם / בֹּשֶׂם (he) m (bósem)
• Hindi: ख़ुशबू f (xuśbū)
• Hungarian: parfüm (hu), illatszer (hu)
• Icelandic: ilmvatn (is) n
• Indonesian: parfum (id), minyak wangi (id)
• Irish: cumhrán (ga) m
• Italian: profumo (it) m
• Japanese: 香水 (ja) (こうすい, kōsui)
• Jarai: ia kluñ
• Kazakh: әтір (ätır)
• Khmer: គន្ធរស (kŏənthĕəʼrŭəh), ទឹកអប់ (tɨk ʼɑp)
• Korean: 향수(香水) (ko) (hyangsu)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: parfûm (ku), perfûm (ku)

• Kyrgyz: атыр (ky) (atır), духи (duhi)
• Lao: ນ້ຳອົບ (nam ʼop)
• Latin: unguentum n, costum n, hēdycrum n
• Latvian: parfīms m
• Lithuanian: kvepalai pl
• Luxembourgish: Parfum m
• Macedonian: парфе́м (mk) m (parfém), мирис (mk) m (miris)
• Maguindanao: mamut
• Malay: minyak wangi (ms), minyak attar
• Maori: hinu kakara
• Maranao: randag
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: сүрчиг (mn) (sürčig)

• Navajo: tó łikání halchiní
• Ngazidja Comorian: marashi class 6
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: parfyme (no) m

  Nynorsk: parfyme m

• Old English: wyrtġemang n
• Pashto: عطر (ps) m ('atər)
• Persian:

  Dari: عَطْر (atr), عِطْر (itr)

  Iranian Persian: عَطْر (atr), عِطْر (etr)

• Polish: perfumy (pl) pl
• Portuguese: perfume (pt) m
• Romanian: parfum (ro) n
• Russian: духи́ (ru) m pl (duxí), парфю́м (ru) m (parfjúm) (colloquial)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: па̀рфе̄м m

  Roman: pàrfēm (sh) m

• Slovak: vôňa f, voňavka f
• Slovene: parfum (sl) m
• Spanish: perfume (es) m
• Swahili: marashi (sw)
• Swedish: parfym (sv) c
• Tagalog: pabango (tl)
• Tajik: атр (atr)
• Thai: น้ำหอม (th) (náam-hɔ̌ɔm)
• Tok Pisin: sanda
• Turkish: parfüm (tr)
• Turkmen: atyr (tk)
• Ukrainian: духи́ n pl (duxý), парфу́м m (parfúm)
• Urdu: عَطْر m ('atr), عِطْر ('itr), خوشْبُو f (xośbū)
• Uyghur: ئەتىر (etir)
• Uzbek: atir (uz), duxi
• Vietnamese: nước thơm, nước hoa (vi)
• Welsh: peraroglau m
• Zhuang: raemxhom

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} parfüm (tr)

Verb

perfume (third-person singular simple present perfumes, present participle perfuming, simple past and past participle perfumed)

1. (transitive) To apply perfume to; to fill or impregnate with a perfume; to scent.

Derived terms

• perfumed
• perfumer

Translations

to apply perfume to

• Arabic: عَطَّرَ (ʕaṭṭara)
• Belarusian: душы́ць impf (dušýcʹ), надушы́ць pf (nadušýcʹ)
• Bulgarian: парфюми́рам impf or pf (parfjumíram)
• Czech: navonět pf, parfémovat impf or pf, naparfémovat impf
• Danish: parfumere
• Dutch: parfumeren (nl)
• Finnish: hajustaa (fi), parfymoida (fi)
• French: parfumer (fr)
• Galician: perfumar (gl)
• German: parfümieren (de)
• Greek: αρωματίζω (el) (aromatízo)
• Hebrew: בישם (bisém)
• Hungarian: illatosít (hu), beparfümöz
• Ido: moskizar (io), parfumizar (io)
• Italian: profumare (it)
• Luxembourgish: parfüméieren
• Macedonian: намирисува impf (namirisuva), намириса pf (namirisa), парфими́ра impf or pf (parfimíra)
• Maori: whakakakara
• Polish: perfumować (pl) impf, naperfumować pf
• Portuguese: perfumar (pt)
• Russian: души́ть (ru) impf (dušítʹ), надуши́ть (ru) pf (nadušítʹ)
• Slovak: navoňať pf
• Slovene: parfumirati impf, naparfumirati pf
• Spanish: perfumar (es)
• Swedish: parfymera (sv)
• Ukrainian: напа́хувати impf (napáxuvaty), напаха́ти pf (napaxáty), души́ти impf (dušýty), надуши́ти pf (nadušýty)
• Vietnamese: xịt nước thơm (vào
• Yiddish: פּאַרפֿומירן (parfumirn)

References

• “perfume”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁˈfũ.mi/ [pehˈfũ.mi]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁˈfũ.mi/ [pehˈfũ.mi]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /peɾˈfũ.mi/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /peʁˈfũ.mi/ [peχˈfũ.mi]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /peɻˈfu.me/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾˈfu.mɨ/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ũmi, (Portugal) -umɨ
• Hyphenation: per‧fu‧me

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Occitan perfum.

Noun

perfume m (plural perfumes)

1. perfume (pleasant smell)

   Synonyms: aroma, cheiro, fragrância

2. (cosmetics) perfume (substance providing a pleasant smell)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

perfume

1. inflection of perfumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾˈfume/ [peɾˈfu.me]
• Rhymes: -ume
• Syllabification: per‧fu‧me

Etymology 1

Deverbal from perfumar.

Noun

perfume m (plural perfumes)

1. perfume

   Synonyms: olor, aroma, fragancia

Related terms

• perfumar
• perfumería
• perfumero
• perfumista

 

Etymology 2

Verb

perfume

1. inflection of perfumar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “perfume”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10