σμάω

Forms

σμᾰ́ω (smáō) ^[1] Attic comedy contracts it in -η- (σμῇ, σμῆται), Herodotus and late prose in -α- (σμᾷ, σμᾶται); Callimachus has the Doric participle σμασαμένα.^[2][3] Papyri also spell it with ζ (ζμήσασθαι, 3rd century BC).^[2][1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[3][4] Beekes, following LIV and Chantraine, takes it as inherited from Proto-Indo-European *smeh₁- (“to rub”), treating the forms with α as secondary.^[3] Wiktionary reconstructs a present *sm̥H-yé-ti.^[3][1] It may be related to Latin macula (“stain, blot”).^[3][4][1] Older scholars grouped it with Germanic verbs for smearing, such as Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌼𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bismeitan), which Frisk found unsatisfactory in sound and meaning and Beekes rejects.^[4][3] Beekes notes that the preserved initial cluster is a difficulty.^[3]

With a velar extension it gave σμήχω (smḗkhō), with the same meaning, found from the Odyssey on.^[3][4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest record is in Herodotus, who uses the middle of people washing their heads.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant to wipe or cleanse with soap or an unguent, called σμῆμα (smêma).^[2][3] The middle, “to wash oneself, anoint oneself”, is the commonest voice: a comic fragment of Aristophanes shows a woman left washing in her tub, and Callimachus has a goddess anointing her hair.^[2] The active is found mostly in compounds with δια-, ἐκ- and ἐπι-.^[2][3] Alexis used it figuratively of a cuttlefish rubbed with fine salt, and Lucian of wiping clean a kneading trough.^[2]

The grammarians disagreed about its standing: Phrynichus judged σμῆσαι and σμῆμα more Attic than σμῆξαι and σμῆγμα, but Moeris gave ῥύπτομαι and ῥύμμα as the true Attic words.^[2]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the middle of washing the head, and Aristophanes of a woman washing in a tub.^[2][5][6]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Alexis uses it of a cuttlefish rubbed with salt, and Callimachus of anointed hair.^[2][6]
• 1st century BC – Diodorus uses it of washing the hair with lye.^[2][5]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it often in his works on drugs, and Lucian of wiping a kneading trough.^[5][2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To wipe or cleanse with soap or ointment; figuratively, to rub with salt.^[2][3]
2. (middle) To wash or anoint oneself, especially one's head or hair.^[2][7]
3. To wipe clean.^[2]

Word family

• σμῆμα (smêma)
• σμήχω (smḗkhō)
• σμῆγμα (smêgma)

Related words

• Latin macula

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica