Pronunciation: /ˈpɛ·trɪ·kɔːr/ Part of speech: noun Definition: The distinctive, earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil or rock. Etymology: The word was coined in the 1960s by Australian researchers Isabel Joy Bear and Richard G. Thomas, who introduced it in a 1964 paper published in the journal *Nature*. It is built from two Ancient Greek roots: *petra* (πέτρα), meaning "stone" (the same root that gives us *petrify*), and *ichor* (ἰχώρ), the mythological fluid said to flow through the veins of the gods. The combination evokes something both earthly and ethereal, a fitting image for a scent that feels almost magical. Synonyms: argillaceous odor, rain scent, pluviophile's perfume, geosmin bouquet, earthy effluvium, rain fragrance In a sentence: After weeks of summer drought, the first storm of July finally broke, and the whole neighborhood stepped onto their porches to breathe in the welcome petrichor_ rising from the sun-baked earth.