To scent is, when used figuratively, "to perceive as if by smell; to find out instinctively; to detect." When used transitively it is meant more in the sense of
"a hound scents out a hare"--i.e. tracks it by smell.
Etymologically, scent comes from the Middle English "sent" which came from the French sentir--which, interestingly, means to feel or to perceive, and comes from the Latin word sentire of the same definition*.
I find this particularly interesting because "our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient and primitive part of the brain, which is thought to be the seat of emotion." The etymology of the word scent actually matches its scientfic components! **
* the OED has the Latin word as "sent" and then what looks like an i with a dash on top of it and then "re." It copy and pasted as "sentre" which was clearly not correct.
**science-y information comes from: http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_emotion.html
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I'm not sure it's as tidily satisfying as that. Latin sentire does mean "feel," but it isn't usually used in the sense of "feel emotions." It's more likely to connote perceptions, apprehensions, and sensations of external things rather than internal states. (Sorry.)
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