noun
smirch
Smirch (noun) means a mark of dirt, or a stain.
noun
1
A mark of dirt, or a stain.
"Too often, in the years between 800 and 1050, the everyday sun declined through the smirch of flame and smoke of a monastery or town robbed and burnt."
— Michael Foss, People of the First Crusade (1998)
2
Something that damages a person's good name.
"there were some business transactions which savored of dangerous speculation, if not dishonesty; and around it all lay the smirch of the Freedmen's Bank."
— W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (2008)
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Etymology
Comes from Middle English *smorchen (“to spatter, soil”; attested in besmorchid (“bespattered, soiled all over”)), whose origin is uncertain. It may be 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”), and modern English smut.
Related words
Rhymes for smirch
See all rhymes for smirch →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of smirch?
"smirch" (noun) means a mark of dirt, or a stain.
What is another word for smirch?
Other words for "smirch" include slur, smear, daub, stain, blot, spot.
What are the different meanings of smirch?
"smirch" has 2 main meanings: 1. A mark of dirt, or a stain; 2. Something that damages a person's good name.
