🌺 A strong perfume 🪴 A fragrant plant

patchouly

9.9

A small mint plant with fragrant leaves used to make perfume oil

noun
/pæˈtʃuːli/

: pachulí

Many perfumes use patchouly oil as a base note.

Examples

He grows patchouly in his garden for its aromatic leaves.
The scent of patchouly filled the room as soon as she opened the bottle.
The scent of patchouly filled the room.
She loves the smell of patchouly in her candles.
He grows patchouly in his garden for its aromatic leaves.
Many perfumes use patchouly oil as a base note.
The scent of patchouly filled the room as soon as she opened the bottle.

Synonyms

patchouli

vspatchouly

3 8.8

A small bushy plant from tropical Asia whose strong smelling leaves produce oil for perfume

is the general term applied in scent production rather than scientific naming

Pogostemon cablin

vspatchouly

Specialized

9.9

A small tropical mint plant with strong-smelling leaves used to make perfume oil

is the general common name used in perfumes and aromatherapy

pachouli

vspatchouly

9.9

A small Indian plant with strong-smelling leaves used in perfumes

refers more broadly to that plant in perfumery and aromatherapy use

Surface Forms

patchouly singular

patchoulies plural

Etymology

Patchouly comes from Tamil words pachchai and ilai meaning 'green' and 'leaf', and the name passed into English via Hindi. That fits the plant, because patchouly is a shrubby mint whose fragrant leaves are used to make the oil that gives its famous smell.