Aromatic

How to spell aromatic

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce aromatic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does aromatic mean?

1. adjectiveHaving a pleasant, distinctive, and usually fragrant smell.
2. adjectiveDescribing a class of organic compounds containing a stable ring of carbon atoms, such as benzene.

Aromatic in a sentence

• The kitchen filled with the aromatic scent of fresh herbs.

• Benzene is the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon studied in the course.

• She added a few aromatic spices to the simmering stew.

• The lab measured how each aromatic ring reacted under heat.

Where does aromatic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek noun aroma, which meant a spice or a sweet-smelling herb, the kind of fragrant plant matter prized in cooking and in temple offerings. From it the Greeks formed the adjective aromatikos, describing anything that gave off such a smell. Latin took the word in as aromaticus, and it passed into English through Old French during the late 1300s, at first in the context of spices and medicinal herbs. The modern sense broadened to cover any pleasant, distinctive fragrance, from cooking spices to coffee. Chemists later borrowed it as a technical term for a whole class of ring-shaped carbon compounds, named because many of the first ones studied, like benzene from oils and resins, happened to be strongly scented. The spelling keeps the single m and the -atic ending straight from the Greek and Latin roots, which is worth remembering since the related noun stays simply 'aroma'.

How the word is built

• aromat- (from Greek aroma: spice, sweet smell)
• -ic (adjective suffix)