Friday word: Anosmia

[med_cat]

an·os·mia noun \a-ˈnäz-mē-ə\

: loss or impairment of the sense of smell
— an·os·mic adjective

Etymology:
New Latin, from a- + Greek osmē smell

First Known Use: 1797

Comments

[nofishtoday.livejournal.com]

this is the second time i've heard this word today :o

[med_cat]

If I may ask, what was the context? Not a very common word, that's for sure, although a colleague used it that Friday, hence my decision to post (I told him; he was amused).

[nofishtoday.livejournal.com]

someone i met said that they can't smell things and that it was called anosmia. a few hours later this pops up

i had never thought about the inability to smell before. i can't even imagine

[med_cat]

Ah, I see. Yes, it's funny, sometimes a thing or a concept comes up and suddenly it just keeps coming up...

As to anosmia, it's often not complete; for example, in many people, the sense of smell lessens with advancing age...and yes, the bigger problem is that it affects the sense of taste.