patchouli

or pach·ou·li, patch·ou·ly

[pach-oo-lee, puh-choo-lee]

noun

a plant, Pogostemon cablin, of tropical Asia, that yields a fragrant oil (patchouli oil) used in the manufacture of perfumes.

a penetrating perfume made from this oil.

Origin of patchouli

First recorded in 1835–45, patchouli is from the Tamil word paccuḷi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for patchouli

Contemporary Examples of patchouli

I could smell the patchouli oil he was wearing as well as the incense that was burning in the studio.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More
Gary Wright
September 29, 2014

Historical Examples of patchouli

Through the air was wafted the cheap and stifling scent of patchouli.
The Convert
Elizabeth Robins
Essence of patchouli, thus prepared, has been largely used, both at court and by the nobility generally.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
She filled the hall with her patchouli and shrill vivacity, and presently was gone.
My Little Sister
Elizabeth Robins
Have another cigarette, and spray some patchouli about the room.
Adrien Leroy
Charles Garvice
He backed 'The Patchouli Girl,' and in that shining garden he got stung.
The Summons
A.E.W. Mason

British Dictionary definitions for patchouli

patchouli

pachouli or patchouly

noun

any of several Asiatic trees of the genus Pogostemon, the leaves of which yield a heavy fragrant oil: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

the perfume made from this oil

Word Origin for patchouli

C19: from Tamil paccilai, from paccu green + ilai leaf

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for patchouli

perfume made from an Indian plant of the mint family, 1845, from the native name for the plant in Madras, said to be from Tamil pachchai "green" + ilai "leaf." The form of the word appears French, but this has not been explained and the record of it in English predates that in French.