"S" Word Origins

smake

Origin

From dialectal smak, early modern English smake, from Middle English smaken (“to taste, sense flavour, detect by taste or smell”), from Middle Dutch smaken (“to taste”).

small

Old English

From Old English "smæl," meaning narrow or slender, tracing back to a very old Proto-Indo-European root simply meaning "little."

smallclothes

Origin

From small + clothes.

smallholding

Origin

From small + holding.

smallify

Origin

From small + -ify.

smallpox

Origin

Named "small" pox to distinguish it from the "great pox," an old name for syphilis.

smalls

Origin

From small.

Smallville

Origin

Formed from "small" plus the placename suffix "-ville" — made famous as the fictional Kansas hometown of Superman.

smarm

Origin

The noun is attested since 1914, from the colloquial verb smalm, smarm (“to smear, bedaub (hair, with pomade)”), attested since 1847, of unknown origin, perhaps somehow suggestive of the action. Verbal meaning "to smear with flattery" is from 1902.

smarmy

Origin · 1899

Coined around 1899 from an older dialect word "smarm," which described being falsely sweet or unctuous.

smart

Old English

From Old English "smeortan," meaning to feel a sharp, stinging pain — the sense of "intelligent" developed later from the idea of a sharp, quick mind.

smart contract

Origin

Coined by American computer scientist Nick Szabo in 1996.

smartass

Origin

A compound of "smart" and the slang suffix "-ass," used to intensify or mock the quality it attaches to.

smarten

Origin

Formed from "smart" plus the verb-forming suffix "-en," meaning "to make smart."

smarting

Origin

From Middle English smertyng, smertinge, from Old English smeortung, smertung (“smarting, itching”), equivalent to smart + -ing.

smartly

Middle English

From Middle English "smertly," formed from "smart" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

smartness

Middle English

From Middle English smartnesse, smertnesse, equivalent to smart + -ness. Cognate with Middle Dutch smartenisse (“pain, injury, insult, scorn, agony”).

smartphone

Origin · 1990

A blend of "smart" and "phone," first used in the mid-1990s as mobile phones began gaining computer-like features.

smarty

Origin

Formed from "smart" plus the informal suffix "-y."

smash

Swedish

Origin uncertain, likely imitative of the sound itself — similar to Swedish and Danish words describing smacking or kissing sounds made with the lips.

smashed

Origin

From smash plus the past-participle ending -ed.

smasher

Origin

From smash + -er.

smashing

Origin · 1900

From smash plus -ing. The "wonderful" sense arose in early-20th-century American English, likely linked to the phrase "smash hit" rather than to any Gaelic phrase, despite a popular but unsupported folk theory.

smatch

Origin

From Middle English smacchen, smecchen (“to taste”), from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”), from Proto-West Germanic *smakkijan (“to taste”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smeh₂g- (“to taste”). Cognate with West Frisian smeitse, smeitsje (“to taste”), Dutch smaken (“to taste”), German schmecken (“to taste”), Danish smage (“to taste”), Norwegian smake (“to taste”), Norwegian smak (“a taste”), Lithuanian smagù (“cheerful, enjoyable, pleasant”).

smatter

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English smateren, smatteren, smater, smatere (“to make dirty, defile; to talk idly, chatter; to speak foolishly”); further etymology uncertain, compare the following: * Middle English smotten (“to corrupt, debase, defile”) (whence English smot (obsolete)), related to Late Middle High German smotzen, a variant of smutzen (whence modern German schmutzen (“to become dirty or soiled; to make dirty, soil”)), from smuz (“dirt”). * Danish smadre (“to smash”), German schmettern (“to smash; to resound”) (from Middle High German smetern (“to chatter; to rattle; (dialectal) to make a smacking sound”)); Norwegian Bokmål smadre (“to smash”), Swedish smattra (“to make short, sharp, quickly repeating noises, patter, rattle”), possibly originally onomatopoeic. However, the Oxford English Dictionary says “real connection is very doubtful”. The noun is derived from the verb.

smattering

Origin

From smatter + -ing.

SMD

English

An initialism; the expansion depends on context.

SME

English

An initialism; the expansion depends on context.

smear

Old English

From Old English smerian, "to rub with grease or oil," related to German schmieren and the word "schmear."

smell

Middle English

From Middle English smellen, of Germanic origin, ultimately tied to an old root meaning "to smoulder or emit fumes."

smeller

Origin

From smell + -er.

smelly

Origin

From smell plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

smelt

Old English

From Old English/Germanic smelt, related to melting and metalworking.

smh

English

An initialism of 'shaking my head', describing the physical gesture of disapproval.

smidgen

Origin

Origin uncertain; possibly from smitch (“(originally Scotland, chiefly US) very small amount or quantity”) + possibly -in (a variant of -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting things considered collectively)). Smitch is possibly: * derived from smitch (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; spot of dirt; blemish; dirt, grime”), a variant of smeech (“(southwest England) (dense or pungent) smoke; airborne dust”), from Middle English smeche, smek, smiche (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; cloud of smoke; fumes, vapour; smell”), from Old English smēc, smīc (“smoke; steam; vapour”), from Proto-West Germanic *smauki (“smoke”), related to Proto-Germanic *smeukaną (“to fume, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *smewgʰ- (“smoke”); or * borrowed from Scots smitch (“smudge, stain; blemish; very small amount, speck, trace; small insignificant person”), possibly a variant of English smutch (“dirty mark, smudge, stain; dirt, grime; slight indication”) (probably related to smudge, ultimate etymology unknown) and influenced by English smit (“(UK, dialectal) a stain”).

smile

Middle English

From Middle English smilen, from Old Germanic roots, related to an ancient word meaning "to laugh or wonder."

smiler

Origin

The singer was born Destiny Hope Cyrus but nicknamed Smiley (later Miley) by her parents because she often smiled as a baby; hence smile + -er.

Smiles

Old English

Two main origins: * Scottish patronymic surname from Small. * English topographic surname for someone who lived near a rabbit warren, from the plural of Old English smygel (“burrow”).

smiley

Origin

From smile plus the adjective-forming suffix -y; the noun sense grew out of "smiley face."

smirch

Origin

From Middle English *smorchen ("to spatter, soil"; attested in besmorchid (“bespattered, soiled all over”)), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a derivative of Middle English smeoren, smuren, smeren (“to smear”) or related to Middle English smotry (“sooty, grimy”). Compare also Middle English bismotered (“bespattered, soiled”), Old French esmorcher (“to torture”), Middle English smoterly, smoterlich (“besmirched”), modern English smut.

smirk

Old English

From Old English smearcian, "to smile," related to smile. The word narrowed over time to mean a smug or mocking smile rather than a genuine one.

smite

Old English

From Old English smītan, "to smear or strike," related to German schmeißen, "to fling or throw."

smith

Old English

From Old English smiþ, "smith," from a Proto-Germanic root possibly meaning "to smear or spread" — the same root also gave English words related to smearing metal into shape.

smithereens

Irish

Likely from Irish smidiríní, "small fragments," though the exact path into English is uncertain.

Smithsonian

Origin · 1846

Named after James Smithson, the British scientist whose bequest funded the founding of the institution in 1846.

smithy

Old Norse

From Old Norse smiðja, "forge," related to smith.

smitten

Old English

The past participle of smite, from Old English smiten.

smock

Old English

From Old English smocc, related to an old Germanic root meaning "to creep into" — describing a garment slipped over the head.