The group of atoms in the molecule of a compound that is responsible for the compound's characteristic odor. [G. osme, smell, + phonos, bearing]
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os·mo·phore 'äz-mə-.fȯ(ə)r n a group (as an aldehyde group) to whose presence in a molecule the odor of a compound is attributed
os·mo·phor·ic .äz-mə-'fȯr-ik adj
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os·mo·phore (ozґmo-for″) [osmo-1 + -phore] the group of atoms in a molecule of a compound that is responsible for its characteristic odor.Medical dictionary. 2011.