Etymology with Anthonette – November 2026
The fall season brings a plethora of sights and sounds, from bright orange pumpkins to the first holiday carols, but it also brings scents of everything pumpkin spice to woodsmoke on a chilly, damp autumn night.
The smell of rain is the beautiful word “petrichor,” and the root of the word is the Greek root petra meaning rock or stone. The Greek root chor means “to sing, dance or place” and comes from the Greek word choros where we get our modern words chorus and choreography. Therefore, the word “petrichor” can be loosely translated as “rocks singing” with the help of a little rain.
The scent itself is due to the release of plant oils and what is known as geosmin, which is a compound formed by bacteria in the soil. Interestingly, the human nose is highly sensitive to the compound, especially during summer months when rain hits warmed asphalt and earth. The word “geosmin” can be broken into the Greek root for “earth,” geo, and the root for “odor,” osme.
“Petrichor” was first coined in 1964 by two Australian mineral chemists. Other words using the same root include petrified, petroleum and petrology, which is the geological study of the origin, structure and composition of rocks.
The nose knows, so this season, breathe it all in—the sweet cinnamon, the evergreen, and especially the earthy petrichor.
By Anthonette Klinkerman
