Etymologically
Log in

smiley

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 17:17. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

The adjective is formed from English smile + -y.[2][3][4][5] The noun, from 1987, is a conversion of the adjective after smiley face, of which it is a shortening.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Inclined to smile, readily smiling: 1848, in J. R. Lowell's Biglow Papers, also spelled smily.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the older smileful (about 1600) was already marked rare in the Century Dictionary.[3] From 1970 the adjective also meant simply smiling or cheerful, and since 1974 causing a smile.[2] Smiley face is recorded from 1981, and as an icon on computers from 1987;[3] that year smiley itself began to be used for the typed symbol made of characters such as :-) in e-mail and online messages, and since 1989 for the round yellow cartoon of a smiling face.[2][4][5] In South African slang a smiley is a sheep's or goat's head cleaned and grilled or stewed, after its grinning look, recorded from 1990,[6] and an American student slang use of 1989 is a man whose trousers show a strip of flesh at the top.[6]

Timeline

  • 1848 – inclined to smile.[2][3][4]
  • 1970 – smiling, cheerful.[2]
  • 1974 – causing a smile.[2]
  • 1987 – noun, a typed symbol representing a smiling face.[2][4]
  • 1989 – noun, the yellow cartoon smiling face.[2]
  • 1990 – in South Africa, a cooked sheep's or goat's head.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Smiling often; cheerful: a smiley shop assistant.[7][4][2]
  2. Showing or causing a smile: a smiley sticker.[7][2]

Noun

  1. An emoticon or small image of a face, especially a smiling one, used in electronic messages.[4][7][2]
  2. A simple drawing of a smiling face, usually black on a round yellow background.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins