rancid
adj. C1 Advanced US //ˈɹænsɪd// UK //ɹˈɑːnsɪd// ran·cid
adj. having a very strong, unpleasant smell or taste because something has gone bad. You use this to describe old oil, butter, or cheese that has spoiled.
adj. having a strong, offensive, or putrid smell or taste, typically resulting from the spoilage of fats or oils. Often used to describe the sensory quality of rancid butter or spoiled nuts.
The old butter in the back of the fridge was rancid.
After leaving the olive oil in the sun for a week, the bottle was completely rancid and had to be thrown away.
The chef had to discard the entire batch of saffron because the rancid scent of the old oil had already begun to taint the delicate floral notes of the spice.
Learned borrowing from Latin rancidus (“stinking, rank, rancid, offensive”).