Pronunciation: /ˈpɛ·trɪ·kɔːr/ Part of speech: noun Definition: The pleasant, earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil or rock. Etymology: The word was coined in the early 1960s by Australian researchers Isabel Joy Bear and Richard G. Thomas, who published it in a landmark 1964 paper in the journal *Nature*. They built the word from two Ancient Greek roots: *petra* (πέτρα), meaning "stone" (the same root that gives us *petrify*), and *ichor* (ἰχώρ), the ethereal fluid believed to flow through the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The pairing is poetic: rain unlocking the "divine essence" locked inside stone. Synonyms: earthy scent, rain scent, after-rain fragrance, geosmin bouquet, argillaceous odor, pluvial aroma In a sentence: She stepped onto the porch just as the first drops hit the flagstones, and the sudden rush of petrichor_ stopped her mid-breath, pulling her back to every summer storm she had ever loved.