dysosmia
|dys-os-mia|
🇺🇸
/dɪsˈɑːzmiə/
🇬🇧
/dɪsˈɒzmiə/
distorted or abnormal sense of smell
Etymology
'dysosmia' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'dys-' meaning 'bad' or 'impaired' and the noun 'osme' meaning 'smell', with the nominal suffix '-ia' to indicate a condition.
'dysosmia' is a modern medical compound formed from Greek elements ('dys-' + 'osme' + '-ia'); it was coined in medical/clinical contexts (via modern medical Latin/English) rather than evolving through Old or Middle English.
Initially formed to denote 'abnormal or impaired smell', it has remained a medical term for disordered olfactory perception, now often used as an umbrella term for parosmia and phantosmia.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a general term for qualitative disorders of the sense of smell (olfaction), including distorted smell perception and smelling odors that are not present.
Many patients reported dysosmia after the viral infection.
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Noun 2
more specifically, an abnormal distortion of odor perception (parosmia) or the perception of an odor that is not present (phantosmia); sometimes used to refer to either condition.
After anosmia resolved, she experienced intermittent dysosmia — familiar smells smelled strange or unpleasant.
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Last updated: 2025/12/27 21:46