olfactory

olfactory \ol-FAK-tuh-ree; -tree; ohl-\, adjective:

of smell; having to do with smelling

What stirred this olfactory reminiscence was the confession of a Philadelphia newsman that the situation in his home town was "stinking."
-- Stinking, Time, October 26, 1937

Mr. Lichter's visitor inhaled the rich sour aroma of the establishement and remarked upon its olfactory munificence.
-- Richard F. Shepard, Pickles, Peppers and Other Puckery Palate-Pleasers, New York Times, March 30, 1971

by 1658, from Latin olfactorius, from olfactus, pp. of olfacere "to get the smell of, sniff," from olere "give off a smell of" + Latin facere "make"

mot juste

mot juste \moh-ZHOOST\, noun:

a word or phrase that exacts fits the case

The poet's concern for the mot juste nearly always makes his prose a thing of interest and beauty.
-- Robert Peel, Lyrical Impressions, Christian Science Monitor, September 19, 1930

"My west window," says the ancient Canon D'Ascoyne, showing a visitor around his ancient church, "has all of the..." he searches for the mot juste, "exuberance of Chaucer, without any of the... concomitant crudities."
-- Vincent Canby, Sir Alec: Amid the Laurels, Very Hardy, New York Times, April 25, 1983

With his high forehead, beard and meticulous concentration on the mot juste, Mr. MacNicol could almost pass for the great minor poet that Mark Van Doren deemed Richard to be.
-- Frank Rich, 'Richard II' in the Park, New York Times, July 9, 1983

from French mot "word" and juste "right"

footless

footless \FOOT-lihs\, adjective:

1. without a foot or feet
2. figuratively, without support; not substantial
3. inept, awkward

The argument of each league that it has the best team in the land is more footless than most such controversies, since the strongest teams play on courts of different sizes under rules differently interpreted.
-- Basketball: Midseason, Time, February 18, 1930

Alvarez thinks it fairly certain that the patient is wearing herself out with footless worry.
-- Hints for Busy Doctors, Time, August 15, 1939

There is occurring in international circles here a speculation, which may admittedly be footless, that the European Common Market may fly apart before the issue of British admission ever has to be resolved.
-- Frederic W. Collins, Economic Echoes, Christian Science Monitor, October 19, 1957

by 1398, from "foot" and "-less"

epicure

epicure \EP-ih-kyur\, noun:

1. a person who enjoys eating and drinking and who is very particular in choosing fine foods and beverages; gourmet
2. a person who is fond of luxury and pleasure

The journalists, bloggers, chefs and others who make up the Fat Pack combine an epicure's appreciation for skillful cooking with a glutton's bottomless-pit approach.
-- Kim Severson, The Fat Pack Wonders if the Party's Over, New York Times, March 18, 2004

While taking courses at City College in the late 1930's, he became active in its Young Communist League, where he stood out as the only black person, as a talented organizer and as an epicure who introduced his comrades to good wines, cheeses and pates.
-- Alan Brinkley, One Was a Multitude, New York Times, March 1, 1993

As a confirmed epicure, I have eaten just about every meat acceptable in the Western world.
-- Robert V. Camuto, My Verona, Washington Post, May 3, 2004

c.1380, "follower of Epicurus," from Latin Epicurus, from Greek Epicouros (341-270 B.C.E.), the Athenian philosopher who taught that pleasure is the highest good and identified virtue as the greatest pleasure; the first lesson recalled, the second forgotten, and the name used pejoratively for "one who gives himself up to sensual pleasure" (1641), especially "glutton, sybarite" (1774). Epicurus's school opposed by Stoics, who first gave his name a reproachful sense.

aquiline

aquiline \AK-wuh-lyn; -lin\, adjective:

1. curved like an eagle's beak
2. of or like an eagle

To a page at his court, Gian Maria Angiolello, he appeared 'of medium height, fat and fleshy; he had a wide forehead, large eyes with thick lashes, an aquiline nose, a small mouth with a round copious reddish-tinged beard, a short thick neck, a sallow complexion, rather high shoulders and a loud voice'.
-- Philip Mansel, Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924

At 72, he looks weathered but unbowed, his white hair cropped close like a Roman consul's, with a large, aquiline nose to match.
-- Anthony Quinn, Dirty young man comes of age, Daily Telegraph, June 14, 2001

1646, from Latin aquilinus "of or like an eagle," from aquila "eagle." Originally in English, referring to long, hooked noses.

addle

addle \AD-'l\, verb:

1. to make or become muddled or confused
2. to make or become rotten or putrid

As TV audiences saw, it was enough to addle Fellow Oscar Winner Jon Voight's brain for the rest of the night.
-- Frank Rich, Pros at Play, Time, May 6, 1975

United Nations troops waited to take up their posts as guards to ensure that no liquor, women or bribe money was smuggled in to addle the judgment of the Deputies.
-- Empty Campus, Time, July 13, 1957

You'd think you'd have to be seriously dumb to be fooled in this way but there's undeniably something about residential property, whether an investment or simply a family home, that can addle the brains of otherwise quite sensible people.
-- Liz Dolan, Money surgery: keep property out of pensions, Daily Telegraph, May 17, 2001

by 1712, from addle (n.) "urine, liquid filth," from Old English adela "mud, mire, liquid manure" (cognate with Old Swedish adel "urine," Middle Low German adel, Dutch aal "puddle"). Used in noun phrase addle egg (c.1250) "egg that does not hatch, rotten egg," literally "urine egg," a loan translation of Latin ovum urinum, which is itself an erroneous loan translation of Greek ourion oon "putrid egg," literally "wind egg," from ourios "of the wind" (confused by Roman writers with ourios "of urine," from ouron "urine"). Because of this usage, the noun in English was taken as an adjective from c. 1600, meaning "putrid," and thence given a figurative extension to "empty, vain, idle," also "confused, muddled, unsound" (1706). The verb followed.

abate

abate \uh-BAYT\, verb:

1. to make or become less in force or intensity; decrease or diminish
2. to be at an end; become null and void
3. to deduct from something; reduce

Chicago law requires the landlord to abate lead paint hazards and provides fines up to $500 for each violation.
-- Ed Sacks, Lead and asbestos worry mom, Chicago Sun-Times, July 14, 2004

Still, behind the scenes, he was desperately trying to cajole support from colleagues warily assessing whether the perfect storm that had engulfed him would abate--or sweep him into oblivion.
-- Howard Fineman, Ghosts Of The Past, Newsweek, December 22, 1998

But no one expects the Iraqi insurgency to miraculously vanish, or even significantly abate, in the weeks ahead.
-- Death of a Terrorist, Newsweek, June 18, 2002

c.1270, from Old French abattre "beat down," from Latin ad "to" + battuere "to beat"; secondary sense of "to fell, slaughter" is in abatis and abattoir