Definition:
“Olfactory imagery describes what we smell. Olfactory imagery may include: fragrances, such as perfumes, enticing food and drink, and blooming flowers, or odors, such as rotting trash, body odors, or a stinky wet dog.”
“Imagery: Definition and Examples.” Literary Terms, 5 Sept. 2017, https://literaryterms.net/imagery/. Accessed 28 August 2022.
Informal Definition:
Olfactory imagery is imagery based on smell. The name comes from the olfactory lobe, the part of the brain tasked with processing different scents. Some examples of olfactory imagery are the pungent odor of a rotting house, the foul smell emitted from a bathroom, or the smell of spring daisies in March.
Etymology:
Olfactory (adj.) "making or causing to smell; having the sense of smell," 1650s, from Latin olfactorius, from olfact-, past-participle stem of olfacere "to get the smell of, sniff," from olere "emit a smell, give off a smell of" (see odor) + facere "to make" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").
Harper, Douglas. “Olfactory (Adj.).” Etymology, 2001, https://www.etymonline.com/word/olfactory#etymonline_v_2574. Accessed 28 August 2022.