'perfumery' originates from French, specifically the word 'parfumerie', where 'parfumer' ultimately derives from the Latin phrase 'per fumum' meaning 'through smoke' (used of scents).

'perfumery' changed from the Old French word 'parfumerie' and entered English via Middle English/early modern borrowings to become the modern English word 'perfumery'.

Initially, related terms referred to the act of perfuming (often by incense or smoke) or the scent itself; over time the meaning shifted toward the modern sense of the craft, trade, or place of making and selling perfumes.