Dictionary

geosmin en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /d͡ʒiːˈɒz.mɪn/ (UK)
• /d͡ʒiˈɑz.mɪn/ (US)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-, “earth”) + ὀσμή (osmḗ, “smell”) + -in. Coined by American biochemist Nancy N. Gerber and French-American biologist Hubert A. Lechevalier in 1965.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A bacterial derivative of decahydronaphthalene that has a strong earthy smell and is the material responsible for petrichor and for the earthy taste of beetroot.
   • Beetroots: The flavor is decisively characterized by the earthy note of geosmin 2014, Burkhard Fugmann, Susanne Lang-Fugmann, Wolfgang Steglich, editors, RÖMPP Encyclopedia Natural Products, Georg Thieme Verlag, →ISBN:
   • A good example of this is geosmin, for which a typical sensitivity for the human nose is below 10 parts per trillion (10 parts in 10¹⁸ v/v) (ppt). 1998, F. Colin, Ph. Quevauviller, Monitoring of Water Quality, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 151:
   • A. versicolor may be one of the major producers of the moldy smelling component, geosmin, in buildings (Bjurman and Kristensson 1992). 2011, Olaf C.G. Adan, Robert A. Samson, Fundamentals of mold growth in indoor environments and strategies for healthy living, Springer, →ISBN, page 255:

Forms

Translations (2)

es geosmina (compound) · pl geosmina (compound)