The noun is from Middle English smac, smak, smacke, from Old English smæc, smæċċ (“taste, smatch”), from Proto-West Germanic *smakku, from Proto-Germanic *smakkuz (“a taste”), from Proto-Indo-European *smegʰ-, *smeg- (“to taste”). The verb is from Middle English smaken. Doublet of smatch (obsolete, “taste”; q.v.), from Old English smæċċan (“to taste, smack”). Cognate with Scots smak (“scent, smell, taste, flavour”), Saterland Frisian Smoak (“taste”), West Frisian smaak (“taste”), Dutch smaak (“taste”), German Schmack, Geschmack (“taste”), Danish smag (“taste”), Swedish and Norwegian smak (“taste”), Norwegian smekke.
1
A distinct flavor, especially if slight.
rice pudding with a smack of cinnamon
I did not call him fool, and vex my friend, / But quietly allowed experiment, / Encouraged him to dust his drink, and now / Grate lignum vitæ now bruise so-called grains / Of Paradise, and now, for perfume, pour / Distilment rare, the rose of Jericho, / Holy-thorn, passion-flower, and what know I? / Till beverage obtained the fancied smack.1873 January 23, Robert Browning, “Part IV”, in Red Cotton Night-Cap Country: Or Turf and Towers, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 245:
1 more example
But take it: if the smack is sour / The better for the embittered hour; […]1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “(please specify the poem number)”, in A Shropshire Lad, London: The Richards Press, →OCLC:
2
A slight trace of something; a smattering.
He was not sailorly, and yet he had a smack of the sea about him too.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
I like my cousins in Holland immensely, but I feel more sib to the Northerners. Your description of Lofoten is fine. I can see them. They must be enchanting in their way, cod's head and tails or no. There is a fine eau de Javelle smack about a Dutch canal, by the way, that takes[…]1906, Oliver Elton, Frederick York Powell: A Life and a Selection from His Letters and Occasional Writings, page 249:
The noun is from Middle English smac, smak, smacke, from Old English smæc, smæċċ (“taste, smatch”), from Proto-West Germanic *smakku, from Proto-Germanic *smakkuz (“a taste”), from Proto-Indo-European *smegʰ-, *smeg- (“to taste”). The verb is from Middle English smaken. Doublet of smatch (obsolete, “taste”; q.v.), from Old English smæċċan (“to taste, smack”). Cognate with Scots smak (“scent, smell, taste, flavour”), Saterland Frisian Smoak (“taste”), West Frisian smaak (“taste”), Dutch smaak (“taste”), German Schmack, Geschmack (“taste”), Danish smag (“taste”), Swedish and Norwegian smak (“taste”), Norwegian smekke.
1
To get the flavor of.
He soon smacked the taste of physic hidden in this sweetness.1827, Thomas Carlyle (translator), Johann August Musæus, "Melechsala" (1782-86); in German Romance I. 175
2
To have a particular taste; used with of.
1820-25, Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia He had his tea and hot rolls in a morning, while we were battening upon our quarter-of-a-penny loaf — our crug — moistened with attenuated small beer, in wooden piggings, smacking of the pitched leathern jack it was poured from.
3
To indicate or suggest something; used with of.
Her reckless behavior smacks of pride.
All sects, all ages, smack of this vice.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
smack
adv
Etymology From Middle English *smakken, from Middle Dutch smacken (modern Dutch smakken (“to smack, pop, hurl down, crash”)), from Old Dutch *smakkon, from Proto-West Germanic *smak(k)ōn, ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate West Frisian smakke, Middle Low German smacken (“to hit, hurl, fling”), Plautdietsch schmaksen (“to smack the lips”), German schmatzen (“eat noisily”), regional German schmacken, Schmackes (“vigour”) (compare Swedish smak (“slap”), the first part of Saterland Frisian smakmuulje (“to smack, slap”)).
1
As if with a smack or slap; smartly; sharply.
Right smack in the middle of getting ready to leave.
She fell smack on her face.
1 more example
After one early moment in their courtship, Franny expresses, "That night I could feel my beauty standing up inside me for the first time in my life." These heightened scenes of discovery are offered smack amidst moods of vicious aggression and unresolvable separation, keeping Unusual Company rich with subtle twists.1987 December 13, Elizaeth Pincus, “Gritty Love”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 22, page 9:
Etymology From Middle Low German smack (Low German Schmacke, Schmaake (“small ship”)) or Dutch smak, perhaps ultimately related to smakken, imitative of the sails' noise.
1
A small sailing vessel, commonly rigged as a sloop, used chiefly in the coasting and fishing trade and often called a fishing smack
But without Union reinforcement, as many men as could be packed into a mere fishing smack could take the fort, Meigs wrote to Washington.2009, Simon Schama, The American Future: A History:
Etymology From Middle English *smakken, from Middle Dutch smacken (modern Dutch smakken (“to smack, pop, hurl down, crash”)), from Old Dutch *smakkon, from Proto-West Germanic *smak(k)ōn, ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate West Frisian smakke, Middle Low German smacken (“to hit, hurl, fling”), Plautdietsch schmaksen (“to smack the lips”), German schmatzen (“eat noisily”), regional German schmacken, Schmackes (“vigour”) (compare Swedish smak (“slap”), the first part of Saterland Frisian smakmuulje (“to smack, slap”)).
1
To slap or hit someone.
2
To make a smacking sound.
A horse neighed, and a whip smacked, there was a whistle, and the sound of a cart wheel.1832, Benjamin Disraeli, Contarini Fleming:
3
To strike a child (usually on the buttocks) as a form of discipline. (normal U.S. and Canadian term spank)
Especially outside of North America
4
To wetly separate the lips, making a noise, after tasting something or in expectation of a treat.
But when, obedient to the mode / Of panegyric, courtly ode / The bard bestrides, his annual hack, / In vain I taste, and sip and smack, / I find no flavour of the Sack.1763, Robert Lloyd, “A Familiar Epistle”, in St. James Magazine:
5
To kiss with a close compression of the lips, so as to make a sound when they separate.
Etymology From Middle English *smakken, from Middle Dutch smacken (modern Dutch smakken (“to smack, pop, hurl down, crash”)), from Old Dutch *smakkon, from Proto-West Germanic *smak(k)ōn, ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate West Frisian smakke, Middle Low German smacken (“to hit, hurl, fling”), Plautdietsch schmaksen (“to smack the lips”), German schmatzen (“eat noisily”), regional German schmacken, Schmackes (“vigour”) (compare Swedish smak (“slap”), the first part of Saterland Frisian smakmuulje (“to smack, slap”)).
1
A sharp blow; a slap. See also: spank.
2
The sound of a loud kiss.
he took the bride about the neck. And kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
Then he told them of the princess, how she came to him, and how much she had to kiss him to get the whistle, when nobody saw or heard it over in the wood - "I must get on with these lies if the vat is to be full," said Ashiepattle, - so he told them about the queen, how stingy she was with the money and how liberal she was with kisses, that one could hear the smacks all over the wood.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 178:
3
A quick, sharp noise, as of the lips when suddenly separated, or of a whip.