fetid

UK/ˈfɛtɪd/US/ˈfɛtɪd/

adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,471 of 15,258neutral

Fetid means smelling strongly of rot. Fetid water, a fetid smell, fetid and stagnant.

It is stronger than musty and more specific than smelly — fetid names the smell of decay, which is why it suits stagnant water and neglected drains. It is formal and literary. Note the spelling, which is fetid rather than foetid in modern use, and that the Latin means to stink.

Definitions of fetid

1adjectivefetidSmelling strongly of rot.C2
“A fetid smell rose from the bins that hadn't been emptied for weeks.”
synonyms: putrid, rank

fetid is a quality of smell.

Where it comes from

Latin fetidus comes from fetere, to stink. Its origin beyond Latin is uncertain.

Latin
fētidus
English, today
fetid

Built from

fēteō · Latin — to stink

Borrowed from Latin fētidus. Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”), originally fēteō (“to stink”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Smell & Taste

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fetid in the wild

Aesculus glabra, commonly known as Ohio buckeye, Texas buckeye, or fetid buckeye, is a species of tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to North America.
Aesculus glabra
The leaves, when crushed or bruised, give off an unpleasant fetid smell.
Stachys sylvatica
Agua Hedionda Lagoon ("agua hedionda" means "fetid water" in Spanish) is a lagoon in Carlsbad, California, that is fed by Agua Hedionda Creek.
Agua Hedionda Lagoon
The plant has a basal rosette of leaves 1 m across, which give off a fetid odor when brushed.
Salvia austriaca
Leaves are usually in whorls of 3 and produce a fetid smell when crushed.
Clerodendrum glabrum

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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