noun
strong smell of grass in summer heat
Refers to the intense, often humid scent of grass and vegetation during hot summer weather. Evokes a seasonal, sensory image.
夕方の公園は草いきれがすごかった。
The park in the evening had a strong smell of grass from the heat.
草いきれの中を歩いていると、夏を感じる。
Walking through the strong grassy smell, I feel the summer.
A general term for the smell of grass, without the specific connotation of summer heat and humidity that 草いきれ carries.
Compound of 草 (grass) and いきれ (hot, stifling air or smell), from the verb 熱る (to be hot and humid). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is conventionally associated with the oppressive heat and scent of summer vegetation.