smock
pronunciation
How to pronounce smock in British English:
UK [smɒk]
How to pronounce smock in American English:
US [smɑk]
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- Noun:
- a loose coverall (coat or frock) reaching down to the ankles
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- Verb:
- embellish by sewing in lines crossing each other diagonally
Word Origin
- smock
- smock: [OE] Smock originally denoted a woman’s undergarment, and etymologically it may be a garment one ‘creeps’ or ‘burrows’ into. For it may be related to Old English smūgan ‘creep’ and smygel ‘burrow’ and to Old Norse smjúga ‘creep into, put on a garment’. The underlying comparison seems to be between pulling on a tight undershirt over one’s head and burrowing into a narrow space. Low German smukkelen or smuggelen, the source of English smuggle [17], may come from the same source.=> smuggle
- smock (n.)
- Old English smoc "garment worn by women, corresponding to the shirt on men," from Proto-Germanic *smukkaz (cognates: Old Norse smokkr "a smock," but this is perhaps from Old English; Old High German smoccho "smock," a rare word; North Frisian smok "woman's shift," but this, too, perhaps from English). Klein's sources, Barnhart and the OED see this as connected to a group of Germanic sm- words having to do with creeping or pressing close, such as Old Norse smjuga "to creep (through an opening), to put on (a garment)," smuga "narrow cleft to creep through; small hole;" Old Swedish smog "a round hole for the head;" Old English smugan, smeogan "to creep," smygel "a burrow." Compare also German schmiegen "to cling to, press close, nestle;" and Schmuck "jewelry, adornments," from schmucken "to adorn," literally "to dress up." Watkins, however, traces it to a possible Germanic base *(s)muk- "wetness," figuratively "slipperiness," from PIE root*meug- "slimy, slippery" (see mucus). Either way, the original notion, then, seems generally to have been "garment one creeps or slips into," by the same pattern that produced sleeve and slip (n.2). Now replaced by euphemistic shift (n.2); smock was the common word down to 18c., and was emblematic of womanhood generally, as in verb smock "to render (a man) effeminate or womanish" (1610s); smocker "man who consorts with women" (18c.); smock-face "person having a pale, effeminate face" (c. 1600). A smock-race (1707) was an old country pastime, a foot-race for women and girls with a smock as a prize. Modern meaning "woman's or child's loose dress or blouse" is from 1907; sense of "loose garment worn by artists over other clothes" is from 1938.
Example
- 1. Before everyone went home , she came to me in her smock and hat , and cried as I hug her .
- 2. Klimt himself appears in various photographs , wearing a smock and a pointed beard .
- 3. I saw james coming through the smock , leading ginger with him .
- 4. Responsible for staff enrolling and resign process , smock management , staff files collect and keeping .
- 5. The majority of the mongolian population still live in the country , and most still prefer to wear the national costume on a daily basis , the del ( smock ) and gutul ( high boots ) .