Etymology From Middle English smerten, from Old English *smeortan (“to smart”), from Proto-West Germanic *smertan, from Proto-Germanic *smertaną (“to hurt, ache”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smarten, German schmerzen, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta.
1
To hurt or sting.
After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts!"
He moved convulsively, and as he did so, said, "I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait waistcoat. I have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot move. What's wrong with my face? It feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully."1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
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When the thrashing stopped, Fina used the pipe to roll the first woman's corpse over. She bent down, feeling a curious distance between the sudden serenity in her mind and the actions of her limbs, and beat the flames off the jacket with her bare hands. They were sooty and smarting as she used them to pry the garment off the woman's slack shoulders, and threw it over her own.2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:
2
To cause a smart or sting in.
A goad that […] smarts the flesh.a. 1652, Thomas Adams, Faith’s Encouragement:
3
To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to be punished severely; to feel the sting of evil.
You think this cruel? take it for a rule, / No creature ſmarts ſo little as a Fool.1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 5, lines 81–82:
He that is ſurety for a ſtranger ſhall ſmart for it.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:15:
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Meanvvhile the Abate exulted in ſucceſsful vengeance, and the marquis ſmarted beneath the ſtings of diſappointment.1790, [Ann Radcliffe], chapter XI, in A Sicilian Romance. […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Hookham, […], →OCLC, page 85:
Tiresias. I say that you are living with your next of kin in unimagined shame. Oedipus. Do you think you can say such things and never smart for it? Tiresias. Yes, if there be strength in truth.1928, W[illiam] B[utler] Yeats, Sophocles’ King Oedipus: A Version of the Modern Stage, London: Macmillan and Co., […], →OCLC:
Etymology From Middle English smerte, from smerten (“to smart”); see above. Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smart, Low German smart, German Schmerz, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta. More above.
1
A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
[…] the bodie had no smart / Of any wound: it was the minde that felt the cruell stings.1567, Ovid, “(please specify the book number or chapter)”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC:
If chance some Shepherd with a distant Dart / The Savage wound, he rowzes at the Smart, / He foams, he roars […]1715–1720, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “Book 5”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 25, lines 176-178:
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Of course Tommy came to grief, tumbled upon a hornets’ nest and got stung; but being used to woe, he bore the smart manfully […]1871, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 12, in Little Men: […], Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:
The smart of his wounded hand woke Scobie at two in the morning.1948, Graham Greene, chapter 1, in The Heart of the Matter, London: Heinemann, Book One, Part One, section 8, page 42:
2
Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
Mishaps are maistred by aduice discrete, / And counsell mitigates the greatest smart; / Found neuer help, who neuer would his hurts impart.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 101:
But oh why didst thou not stay here below / To bless us with thy heav’n lov’d innocence, […] / To stand ’twixt us and our deserved smart / But thou canst best perform that office where thou art.1624 (date written), John Milton, “On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], published 1673, →OCLC, page 20:
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I was so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended, angry, sorry,—I cannot hit upon the right name for the smart—God knows what its name was,—that tears started to my eyes.1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter VIII, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 130:
[…] Bertrand said, ‘No, you bloody idiot, do you think I drink this? I want mineral water.’ The girl recoiled for just a second at the smart of his tone […] and then apologized with steely insincerity.2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 9, in The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:
Dated, Slang A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
[…] I reſolved to quit all further Converſation vvith Beaus and Smarts of all kinds, […]1742, Henry Fielding, “In which the Gentleman Relates the History of His Life”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III, page 36:
wwe's attitude toward hardcore fans is a far cry from what it was during the Monday night wars. Back then, wcw would agonize over its decisions in an attempt to outsmart the “smarts.”2005 June 29, "Sir" Adam Kleinberg, Adam Nudelman, Mysteries of Wrestling: Solved, ECW Press, →ISBN, page 138:
Mnemonic An acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timebound. (See SMART criteria on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
Over time, I noticed various exercises I did with Woebot rubbing off in my daily life. Woebot taught me how to set SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2022:
Etymology From Middle English smert, smart, from Old English smeart (“smarting, smart, painful”), from Proto-West Germanic *smart, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz (“hurting, aching”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert (“painful, smart”), Old Frisian smert (“sharp, painful”).
I always preferred the church, and I still do. But that was not smart enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too smart for me.1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 19, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
2
Informal Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
3
In compounds, Often Equipped with intelligent behaviour (digital/computer technology).
smart car
smartcard
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smartphone
“Imagine this,” says an advertising consultant named Barry Lowenthal. “I’m a smart toaster, and I’m collecting data on how many times the toaster is used.”2018 December 18, Joe Pinsker, “The Coming Commodification of Life at Home”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2019:
4
Good-looking; well dressed; fine; fashionable.
a smart outfit
You look smart in that business suit.
5
Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
He became tired of his girlfriend's smart remarks.
Don't get smart with me!
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Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?1728, Edward Young, Satire:
I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I thought very smart, when my ill genius, who I verily believed inspired him purely for my destruction, suggested to him such a reply1711 September 30 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, September 20, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 175; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
The clerk gave Mr. Carlyle a knowing look, as of one smart man who will be appreciated by another.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
6
Sudden and intense.
smart skirmishes, in which many fell1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater:
There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each big drop that struck him would be a serious accident.1860 July 9, Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, from Thoreau's bird-lore, Francis H. Allen (editor), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, 1910), Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, Beacon Press, (Boston, 1993), page 239
7
Causing sharp pain; stinging.
How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
8
Sharp; keen; poignant.
a smart pain
9
Southern US, Dated Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right.
He raised his voice; it hurt her feelings right smart.
The stars shine smarter.1697, Virgil, “Georgic 1”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC: