'nutty-smelling' originates from Modern English, specifically the combination of the adjective 'nutty' (from 'nut' + suffix '-y') and the present-participial adjective 'smelling' (from the verb 'smell').

'nutty' derives from Old English 'hnutu' > Middle English 'nut' plus the adjectival suffix '-y'; 'smell' comes from Old English 'smellan'/'smylgan' (related to notions of emitting an odor). These elements combined in Modern English to form the compound descriptive phrase 'nutty-smelling'.

Initially, 'nut' referred to the edible hard-shelled seed and 'smell' referred to emitting an odor; over time the combination has been used straightforwardly to describe things whose odor resembles that of nuts ('smells like nuts').