Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Smell \Smell\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Smelled}, {Smelt}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Smelling}.] [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG.
smellen, smelen, sm["o]len, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D.
smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. {Smell}, n.]
1. To perceive by the olfactory nerves, or organs of smell;
to have a sensation of, excited through the nasal organs
when affected by the appropriate materials or qualities;
to obtain the scent of; as, to smell a rose; to smell
perfumes.
2. To detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to
scent out; -- often with out. ``I smell a device.''
--Shak.
Can you smell him out by that? --Shak.
3. To give heed to. [Obs.]
From that time forward I began to smellthe Word of
God, and forsook the school doctors. --Latimer.
{To smell a rat}, to have a sense of something wrong, not
clearly evident; to have reason for suspicion. [Colloq.]
{To smell out}, to find out by sagacity. [Colloq.]
Smelling \Smell"ing\, n.
1. The act of one who smells.
2. The sense by which odors are perceived; the sense of
smell. --Locke.
{Smelling bottle}, a small bottle filled with something
suited to stimulate the sense of smell, or to remove
faintness, as spirits of ammonia.
Source : WordNet®
smelling
n : the act of perceiving the odor of something [syn: {smell}]
smelling
adj : (used with `of' or `with') noticeably odorous; "the hall was
redolent of floor wax"; "air redolent with the fumes of
beer and whiskey" [syn: {redolent(p)}, {smelling(p)}]