perfume
Let the perfume perfume the room.
The noun PER-fume (/ˈpɜːrfjuːm/) is the fragrance itself; the verb per-FUME (/pərˈfjuːm/) means to fill a space with scent, the stress sliding to the second syllable as the word turns from a thing into an act. What sets this pair apart from the other stress-shift heteronyms here is that it is actively collapsing: Merriam-Webster lists the opposite stress as an accepted variant for both parts of speech, so many speakers now say the two identically and hear no heteronym at all. Setting them back to back forces the contrast into a single breath and briefly restores a distinction the language is in the middle of losing.
Meanings
A fragrant liquid worn on the skin; more broadly, the sweet smell a thing gives off.
- She kept one bottle of perfume for occasions that deserved it.
- The orchard filled the lane with the perfume of ripe fruit.
To fill or saturate something with a pleasant smell.
- Wood smoke perfumed the whole valley by evening.
- She perfumed the letter before sealing it.
Word origin
From Middle French 'perfum', probably by way of Old Occitan 'perfumar', from Latin 'per-' ('through, thoroughly') plus 'fumare' ('to smoke'), from 'fumus' ('smoke'). The word is literally 'smoked through' — the earliest English perfume was not a liquid at all but the sweet-smelling smoke of a burning substance used to fumigate a room.
Fun fact
Merriam-Webster dates the verb to 1546 and the noun to around 1593: in English the act of scenting a room is on record roughly half a century before the bottled substance, which is the reverse of the usual order for these noun-verb pairs. The 'fumus' at its heart is also the root of 'fume', so perfuming a room and fuming about it are etymologically the same vapor — a pattern this collection has met before in 'incense', which likewise pairs a burning scent with a burst of temper.