patchouli

[ pach-oo-lee, puh-choo-lee ]

/ ˈpætʃ ʊ li, pəˈtʃu li /

a plant, Pogostemon cablin, of tropical Asia, that yields a fragrant oil (patchouli oil) used in the manufacture of perfumes.

a penetrating perfume made from this oil.

Origin of patchouli

First recorded in 1835–45, patchouli is from the Tamil word paccuḷi

patch test, patch up, patch-up, patchen, patchogue, patchouli, patchstand, patchwork, patchy, patd, patd.

I could smell the patchouli oil he was wearing as well as the incense that was burning in the studio.

When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More |Gary Wright |September 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
She would go into ecstasies on breathing in the patchouli and vetiver used for Cashmere shawls.

My Private Menagerie |Theophile Gautier
No matter if the scent of patchouli became slightly mixed with the smell of leather.

The Green Book |Mr Jkai
Through the air was wafted the cheap and stifling scent of patchouli.

The Convert |Elizabeth Robins

Your remarks remind me of the morning odour of patchouli and stale smoke in a cheap Quartier Latin dancing-room.

Mysterious Mr. Sabin |E. Phillips Oppenheim
Little Morlot began the endless tale of his conquests in more civilized lands: all patchouli and hair-oil.

The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story |Various

patchouli

/ (ˈpætʃʊlɪ, pəˈtʃuːlɪ) /

any of several Asiatic trees of the genus Pogostemon, the leaves of which yield a heavy fragrant oil: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

the perfume made from this oil

C19: from Tamil paccilai, from paccu green + ilai leaf