If you’ve ever entered a room and gotten a whiff of the perfume left behind by someone who recently left, that’s a depiction of sillage. The word is borrowed directly from French, where it literally means “wake, trail.” Centuries ago, the word could be found in some English texts to refer to the wake left behind ships, but that usage dropped away. The perfume context was picked up in the mid-20th century, attaching some French sophistication to perfume sales. We hope you experience a light trail of sillage that reminds you of a loved one, and not an obnoxious dose of heavy perfume on a crowded elevator.