parfum

See also: Parfum, parfüm, and Parfüm

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French parfum. Doublet of perfume.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (General American) /pɑɹˈfum/

Noun

parfum (usually uncountable, plural parfums)

1. (cosmetics) Fragrance; perfume.
   • 1926, The Magazine of The Women’s City Club of Detroit, page 42:

     Did you ever dream of a Beauty Shop De Luxe? A charming place of sweet parfums, crystal mirrors, flowered chintzes and soft pastel tints—a lovely salon of beauty, where fresh colors and smart furniture make beauty rites an occasion of pleasure and inspiration?

   • 1930, The New Yorker, volume 6, page 111:

     For Christmas, give a jewel-like flacon of this most exclusive and personal of parfums.

   • 1944 April, Jewelers’ Circular-Keystone, page 232:

     WANTED 10 top flight salesmen in different sections to introduce fine line of parfums made expressly to sell in jewelry stores, also lighters and other exclusive imports.

2. (perfumery) A solvent containing around 15% to 40% aromatic compounds.

Usage notes

• Used in ingredient lists, etc.

Related terms

• parfumier
• eau de parfum
• parfum de toilette

Dutch

Alternative forms

• parfuum

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French parfum, from parfumer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑrˈfʏm/, (nonstandard, uncommon) /ˈpɑr.fʏm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: par‧fum
• Rhymes: -ʏm

Noun

parfum n (plural parfums, diminutive parfumpje n)

1. a perfume, a luxury product providing a fragrant scent

   Synonyms: reukwerk, parfument

   Essence van rozen en diverse andere bloemen is zeer gegeerd voor natuurlijke parfums.

   Essence of roses and various others flowers is in high demand for natural perfumes.

2. a perfume, a pleasant scent

   De roos Friesia verspreidt een hemels parfum.

   The rose Friesia gives out a heavenly scent.

Derived terms

• geparfumeerd
• parfumeren

Related terms

• parfumee
• parfumeerder
• parfumerie
• parfumeur

Descendants

• Afrikaans: parfuum
• → Caribbean Hindustani: pampaiyá
• → Indonesian: parfum

French

Etymology

From Middle French parfumer (“to scent”), borrowed from Old Occitan perfumar or another language around the Mediterranean coast, cf. Italian profumare, themselves from Latin per- (“through, thoroughly”) + fumāre (“to smoke”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.fœ̃/
• (with merger of un with in) IPA^(key): /paʁ.fɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -œ̃

Noun

parfum m (plural parfums)

1. perfume (scented toiletry)
2. scent, desirable smell
3. flavour, aroma, taste (e.g., of ice cream)

   Le parfum des framboises est rarement naturel.

   Raspberry flavor is rarely natural

Derived terms

• au parfum
• eau de parfum
• esprit de parfum
• parfum de toilette
• parfumerie

 

Related terms

• parfumer
• parfumeur
• parfumeuse

 

Descendants

• → Danish: parfume
• → Dutch: parfum
• → German: Parfüm (see there for further descendants)
• → Romanian: parfum
• → Turkish: parfüm

Further reading

• “parfum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch parfum, from Middle French parfum, from Latin per- (“through, thoroughly”) +‎ fumāre (“to smoke”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈparfʊm]
• Rhymes: -fʊm, -ʊm, -m
• Hyphenation: par‧fum

Noun

parfum (plural parfum-parfum)

1. perfume,
   1. a pleasant smell; the scent, odor, or odoriferous particles emitted from a sweet-smelling substance; a pleasant odor
   2. a substance created to provide a pleasant smell or one which emits an agreeable odor.

   Synonym: minyak wangi (Standard Malay)

Derived terms

• berparfum

 

Further reading

• “parfum” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French parfum, from Latin perfumāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

parfum n (plural parfumuri)

1. perfume

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	parfum	parfumul		parfumuri	parfumurile
genitive-dative	parfum	parfumului		parfumuri	parfumurilor
vocative	parfumule			parfumurilor

See also

• miros

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parfúːm/

Noun

parfȗm m inan

1. perfume (substance providing a pleasant smell)

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	parfúm
gen. sing.	parfúma
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	parfúm	parfúma	parfúmi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	parfúma	parfúmov	parfúmov
dative (dajȃlnik)	parfúmu	parfúmoma	parfúmom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	parfúm	parfúma	parfúme
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	parfúmu	parfúmih	parfúmih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	parfúmom	parfúmoma	parfúmi

Further reading

• “parfum”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “parfum”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references