smart
pronunciation
How to pronounce smart in British English:
UK [smɑːt]
How to pronounce smart in American English:
US [smɑːrt]
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- Noun:
- a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore
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- Verb:
- be the source of pain
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- Adjective:
- showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
- elegant and stylish
- characterized by quickness and ease in learning
- improperly forward or bold
- marked by smartness in dress and manners
Word Origin
- smart
- smart: [OE] Smart originated as a verb, meaning ‘be painful’. It came from a West Germanic base *smert-, *smart- (source also of German schmerz and Dutch smart ‘pain’), which may go back ultimately to the same Indo-European ancestor that produced Greek smerdnós ‘terrible’ and Latin mordēre ‘bite’ (source of English morsel, remorse, etc). The adjective smart was derived from the verb in the 11th century, and at first meant ‘stinging, painful’. Its modern senses ‘clever’ and ‘neat’ emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively.=> morsel, remorse
- smart (v.)
- Old English smeortan "be painful," from Proto-Germanic *smarta- (cognates: Middle Dutch smerten, Dutch smarten, Old High German smerzan, German schmerzen "to pain," originally "to bite"), from PIE *smerd- "pain," an extension of the root *mer- (2) "to rub; to harm" (cognates: Greek smerdnos "terrible, dreadful," Sanskrit mardayati "grinds, rubs, crushes," Latin mordere "to bite"). Related: Smarted; smarting.
- smart (adj.)
- late Old English smeart "painful, severe, stinging; causing a sharp pain," related to smeortan (see smart (v.)). Meaning "executed with force and vigor" is from c. 1300. Meaning "quick, active, clever" is attested from c. 1300, from the notion of "cutting" wit, words, etc., or else "keen in bargaining." Meaning "trim in attire" first attested 1718, "ascending from the kitchen to the drawing-room c. 1880" [Weekley]. For sense evolution, compare sharp (adj.). In reference to devices, the sense of "behaving as though guided by intelligence" (as in smart bomb) first attested 1972. Smarts "good sense, intelligence," is first recorded 1968. Smart cookie is from 1948.
- smart (n.)
- "sharp pain," c. 1200, from sharp (adj.). Cognate with Middle Dutch smerte, Dutch smart, Old High German smerzo, German Schmerz "pain."
Example
- 1. But why are they so smart ?
- 2. But the chinese are pretty smart about money .
- 3. Smart cup in which you can put 2-3 of your favourite cookies .
- 4. Smart suits have been pulled up alongside a working men 's boots .
- 5. Former school superintendent john reed praised her as a friendly , smart , and loving person .