smart English · revision 3008

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899|origins=gem-pro *smertaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /smɑːt/, US /smɑːrt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|smerten]], [[inh|ang|smeortan|t=to be painful]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*smertaną|alt=*smertanan]],^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Middle Dutch smerten, Dutch smarten and Old High German smerzan (German schmerzen) “to pain”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Outside Germanic it is perhaps related to Latin mordēre “to bite” and Greek smerdnós “terrible”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*smerd-]],^(Barnhart 1988) an extended form of [[ine-pro|*mer-|t=to rub away, harm]].^(Etymonline) The adjective is late [[inh|ang|smeart|t=stinging, causing sharp pain]], related to the verb;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) it has no match in the related languages.^(Etymonline) The noun, “sharp pain”, is cognate with German Schmerz.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb: Old English smeortan, before 899, in Alfred's Orosius;^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English smerten, “to cause grief”, is from about 1150.^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective, of blows, “stinging”, is from before 1023.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of speech, “harsh, hurtful”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) which led to “pert, impudent” by the 1630s.^(Etymonline) “Quick, active, brisk” is from about 1303,^(Barnhart 1988) and “clever, quick at learning” from 1628,^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps from the idea of cutting wit or of keenness in bargaining.^(Etymonline) The original sense of the adjective, “causing sharp pain”, thus led to “keen, brisk” and then to “mentally sharp” and “neat in appearance”.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) “Fashionably elegant” is from 1716 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and 1718 in cant in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) Weekley remarked that it rose from the kitchen to the drawing room about 1880.^(Etymonline) The sense development is like that of ''sharp''.^(Etymonline) Of devices, “behaving as if intelligent”, as in ''smart bomb'', is by 1972,^(Etymonline) and ''smart cookie'' by 1926.^(Etymonline) ''Smarts'', “intelligence”, is from about 1970.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – verb, to be painful.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1023 – adjective, stinging.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1303 – quick, brisk.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1628 – clever.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630s – impudent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1716 – stylish, neat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1926 – ''smart cookie''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1972 – of devices, intelligent.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Quick to think and learn; [[clever]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Neat and [[stylish]] in appearance; fashionable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Witty, or in an impertinent way: ''don't get smart with me''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Quick, brisk: ''a smart pace''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a device, [[automated]] and able to act as if intelligent: ''a smart phone''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cause or feel a sharp stinging pain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To feel hurt or distress: ''still smarting from the defeat''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sharp stinging pain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''smarts'' ''(informal)'' Intelligence.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[smartly]]

+ * [[smartness]]

+ * [[smartingly]]

+ * [[smartweed]]

+ * [[outsmart]]

+ * [[smarten]]

+ * [[smart-mouthed]]

+ * [[smartish]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[smart aleck]]

+ * [[mordant]]

+ * [[remorse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}