Odoriferous

The Word of the Day for October 8 is "odoriferous."

odoriferous: (adjective) Having a natural fragrance.

Synonyms: sweet-scented, sweet-smelling, perfumed, scented, odorous, sweet, aromatic.
Although it often has the connotation of something pleasant-smelling, it can also be a straight synonym for "malodorous" or bad-smelling.

Usage: There were large bottles filled with serpents, ticketed according to their species; dried lizards shone like emeralds set in great squares of black wood, and bunches of wild odoriferous herbs.

or

The odoriferous corpse lay in the bathtub for a full week before anyone thought to do anything about it. By then, the doorway to the bathroom was buzzing with a moving curtain of blowflies.

Relevance to my life: When I've just fixed my gin and tonic, I like to hold it my hand first and breathe in the lovely odoriferous fume of lime, tonic and juniper before diving in for that first crisp sip that dances on my tongue.

Example from literature: In Walter Scott's Ivanhoe,* Cedric the Saxon receives some unexpected visitors one evening, one priest, another one a knight and both of them Normans, so Cedric wants to overdo the hospitality a bit so that his house guests would have no reason to scoff at Saxon hospitality. There was a bit of a "divide" between the Normans and the Saxons in the 12th century. It was that whole Norman invasion of 1066. It sort of changed things. Forever. It actually changed the English language, but that's another topic for another day. :)

"Oswald, broach the oldest wine-cask; place the best mead, the mightiest ale, the richest morat, the most sparkling cider, the most odoriferous pigments, upon the board; fill the largest horns--Templars and abbots love good wines and good measure-- Elgitha, let the lady Rowena know we shall not this night expect her in the hall, unless such shall be her especial pleasure."

*I love this book. I don't even know how many times I've read it. My copy is an old one, too - one of those fabric-bound hardcover books. It reeks of that old-book smell, you know what I mean? I love that smell even though it tends to make me sneeze.

I also liked the movie adaptation they made of it way back in the 80s. I had the hugest crush on Anthony Andrews. Oh yeah.

And now, for your entertainment, some jousting!

HUZZAH!

Ok, after watching that twice I don't know whether to read the book again or watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. heh