Next time you breathe deep the smell of the rain-freshened earth, give thanks for petrichor. What a unique scent! What a wonderful word! Petrichor refers to that earthy aroma that wafts up off the ground after rains that follow a particularly dry spell.

Etmyology: From Greek Petros (stone), + Ichor (the ethereal fluid that’s the blood of the gods in Greek mythology). This delightful term was coined in 1964 by the etymologically imaginative duo of I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas, in an article for the journal Nature.

“His blood ran into the black loamy earth. He closed his eyes and his last breath rose up with the petrichor towards the sun.”