smile
verbEtymology
From Middle English smilen (“to smile”), from Middle Low German *smîlen (“to smile”), from Middle High German smielen, from Old High German smielēn, from Proto-West Germanic *smīlēn, from Proto-Germanic *smīlāną (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, be glad, wonder”). Cognate with Danish smile, Swedish smila, Faroese smíla (“to smile”); also Saterland Frisian smielje (“to smile”), Low German smielen (“to smile”), Dutch smuilen (“to smile”), Middle High German smielen (“to smile”). Related also to Old High German smierōn (“to smile”), Old English smerian (“to laugh at”), Old English smercian, smearcian ("to smile"; > English smirk), Latin mīror (“to wonder at”).
Ambitransitive To have (a smile) on one's face.
- When you smile, the whole world smiles with you.
- I don't know what he's smiling about.
4 more examples
- She smiles a beautiful smile.
- “[…] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are aware, is good enough to come to us for his diaconate, and, as we hope, for much longer; and being a gentleman of independent means, he declines to take any payment.” Saying this Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- Once I was a young man / And all I thought I had to do was smile1969, Mike d'Abo, “Handbags & Gladrags”, performed by Rod Stewart:
- If a man smiles all the time he's probably selling something that doesn't work.1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 70:
To express by smiling.
- to smile consent, or a welcome
- Mr Carlyle smiled his indulgence privately. "My dear chap, you mustn't let your retentive memory of obscure happenings run away with you," he remarked wisely.1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
1 more example
- I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
To express amusement, pleasure, or love and kindness.
- When last I saw thy young blue eyes, they smiled.1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza I:
To look cheerful and joyous; to have an appearance suited to excite joy.
- The sun smiled down from a clear summer sky.
To be propitious or favourable; to countenance.
- The gods smiled on his labours.
Of ackee fruit: to open fully, indicating that it is no longer toxic, and ready to be picked.
- The fruit looks a bit like a large pink mango or guava, until it has ripened. Then it “smiles,” bursting open, exposing yellow meat with black seeds.2003, Jessica B. Harris, Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim, page 20: