cheirar

Etymology

From Old Portuguese cheirar (“to smell”), from Vulgar Latin, Late Latin flāgrāre, present active infinitive of flāgrō, by dissimilation from Latin frāgrō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₂gro-, from *bʰreh₂g- (“to smell”) + *-ro-.

Cognate to Catalan flairar, English flair (through Old French flair), French flairer, Galician cheirar and Occitan flairar.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʃɐj.ˈɾaɾ/, /ʃej.ˈɾaɾ/
• Hyphenation: chei‧rar

Verb

cheirar (first-person singular present indicative cheiro, past participle cheirado)

1. (transitive) to smell (to perceive a smell with the nose)

   Eu não consigo cheirar nada.

   I can't smell anything.

2. (transitive with a) to smell of (have the smell of)

   Esse perfume cheira a chocolate.

   That perfume smells like chocolate.

3. (transitive, intransitive) to snort (to use cocaine)