smock English · revision 1259

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /smɒk/ ''(UK)''; /smɑk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|smok]], [[inh|ang|smoc|t=a woman's garment]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*smukkaz]];^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) it is related to [[goh|smoccho]] and [[non|smokkr]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Barnhart, Weekley and the OED connect it with a group of Germanic words for creeping or slipping into something, such as Old English ''smūgan'' “to creep” and Old Norse ''smjúga'' “to creep through; to put on (a garment)”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) so that a smock was originally a garment one slips into over the head.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A woman's undergarment, a shift or chemise (before 1000).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 18th century ''smock'' was the ordinary word for a woman's undergarment,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) so common that it could stand for womanhood itself (1591)^(OED 1989) and gave verbs meaning “to make effeminate” (1614) and “to consort with women” (1719).^(OED 1989) In this sense it was largely replaced by the euphemism [[shift]].^(Etymonline) From the 19th century the word was applied to the ''smock-frock'', a loose outer garment (1831), and then to the overall worn by artists and workers to keep their clothes clean (1907).^(OED 1989) The needlework verb, “to gather fabric into a honeycomb pattern”, comes from the pattern used on smock-frocks (1888).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – Old English ''smoc'', a woman's undergarment.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1591 – used allusively for womankind.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1614 – verb, to render effeminate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1831 – a smock-frock.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1847 – verb, to dress in a smock.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – verb, to decorate with smocking.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1907 – a loose protective overall.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A loose, light outer garment like a coat, worn to protect the clothes while working.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A woman's undergarment; a [[chemise]] or shift.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To dress in a smock.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To decorate (fabric) with [[smocking]], gathering it into a honeycomb pattern.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lady's smock]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[smocking]]

+ * [[smuggle]]

+ * [[smug]]

+ * [[shift]]

+ * [[chemise]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}