What does perfumery mean?
Perfumery is the art, craft, or business of making perfumes and other fragrances. In modern usage, it commonly refers to the skilled work of composing and producing scented preparations, whether from essential oils, aromatic chemicals, or other ingredients. The word can also denote a perfume shop, especially in British English, though that sense is now less frequent. Perfumery appears in contexts involving traditional fragrance-making, specialized training, luxury fragrance, and the commercial trade in scents. It often carries associations with craftsmanship, creativity, and historical luxury because perfume-making developed alongside the use of aromatic resins, oils, flowers, spices, and incense. The term may be used broadly for the industry or more narrowly for the expertise involved in creating a scent. In sentences such as “She trained in perfumery,” it identifies a field of professional knowledge rather than a particular product, distinguishing it from “perfume,” which names the resulting scented preparation.
nounThe art, craft, or business of making perfumes. In chiefly British usage, it can also mean a shop where perfumes and fragrances are sold.
- The art, craft, or business of making perfumes.
- A shop in which perfumes and other fragrances are sold.
"She trained in perfumery before creating her own line of botanical fragrances."
"She trained in perfumery before creating her own line of botanical fragrances."
"The town is home to a small perfumery that sells locally blended essential oils."
This is the regular plural, although it is rare in modern usage.
"The collection includes antique labels from old Parisian perfumeries."
Perfumery's Latin ancestor literally meant “to smoke through,” revealing that the history of fragrance began with aromatic smoke.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does perfumery come from?
English borrowed perfumery from French parfumerie in the early 17th century. French parfumerie derives from parfumer, “to perfume,” whose deeper history leads through Italian to Latin perfumare. Latin perfumare combined per-, meaning “through,” with fumare, “to smoke,” reflecting the early use of aromatic substances as smoke and incense.
How perfumery is actually used
The word has a formal, traditional register. It now most often denotes the craft or trade of fragrance-making, while its use for a retail shop is more characteristic of British and historical English.
Easily confused with perfumery
Perfumery is the art, business, or shop associated with making and selling perfume, whereas a perfume is an individual scented preparation.