smearn.

Brit.

/smɪə/, U.S.

/smɪ(ə)r/

Forms: Old English smeoru, smeoro, smeru, smero, smera, Middle English smere (Middle English smer), 1600s smeer, 1500s–1600s smeare, 1700s– smear (1800s technical smeir).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: In sense 1 common Germanic: Old English smeoru , smeru , etc., = Old Frisian smere (East Frisian smiri , smēr , North Frisian smēr , smör , West Frisian smoar ), Middle Dutch smere , smeer (Dutch smeer ), and smare , smaer , Old Saxon smero (Middle Low German smere , smer ), Old High German smero , smer (Middle High German smer , German schmer ) fat, grease, Old Norse smjǫr (Icelandic smjer , Swedish smör , Danish and Norwegian smør ) butter < Germanic *smerwa neuter. The stem smer- , with different suffix, is represented in Gothic by smairþr neuter, fat. Cognate forms outside of Germanic are Lithuanian smarsas fat, Old Irish smir (Gaelic smior ) marrow, and perhaps Greek μύρον ointment. The later senses are mainly, if not entirely, < smear v., like German schmiere. In Old English the w of the stem appears regularly in the genitive and dative smeor(u)wes, -we, smer(e)wes, -we, etc.

†1.

a. Fat, grease, lard; ointment. Obsolete.

ΘΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > greasy or fatty material > [noun] > derived from animals

smearc725

smolta1000

seamc1200

greasec1290

fat1393

creesha1400

brawn1535

axunge?1541

axungiety1599

axungiousness1599

c725 Corpus Gl. U 257 Unguentum, smeoru.

c825 Vesp. Ps. xvi. 10 Smeoru his [hie] bilucun.

c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 74 Cnucige wið eald smeoru.

c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 68 Heorotes smera oþþe gate oþ þe gose.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13244 Nohht þurrh nan eorþliȝ smere. acc all. Þurrh haliȝ gastess sallfe.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1573 In heuene deu and erðes smere [Esau] Gatte him bliscing.

c1330 Arth. & Merl. 1306 (Kölbing) Newe schon þat man haþ bouȝt,..And smere, to smere hem al about.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS) iv. vii Þe fatnesse þerof..is mad white and turnid in to talowe and smere.

1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 78 Full of pyke rosen oyle and smere.

c1450 Middle Eng. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 201 Tak þe crotyng of a goot, & old smere of a red swyn.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Oing, (Hogs) grease, or seame; smeare.

1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Smeeren,..to Rub with Grease or Smeare.

†b. A ‘company’ of curriers. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > companies involved in specific business

misbeliefa1450

safeguarda1450

squatc1450

smearc1476

bleach1486

poulterer1534

water company1710

land-company1805

publishing house1819

railway company1824

oil company1827

bus line1843

rails1848

accountancy1860

art house1882

poulter1884

automaker1899

energy company1910

record label1926

label1930

utility1930

re-roller1931

prefabricator1933

seven sisters1962

energy firm1970

chipmaker1971

fragmentizer1972

fixit1984

infomediary1989

multi-utility1994

c1476 in Hors, Shepe, & Ghoos (Roxb.) 4 iv b A Smere of coryers.

1486 Bk. St. Albans f vj b A Smere of Coryouris.

†2. Smeared or dirty condition. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > smeared condition

smear1600

smudge1830

smudginess1864

smeariness1866

1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 79 Neither was he like a tinker in any thing, but only the smeare and collour of his beard.

a. A mark, smudge, or stain made by smearing, or suggestive of this; a layer or patch of some substance applied by smearing.

ΘΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > smeared condition > smear

blur1601

smear1611

daub1731

smudgea1774

clart1808

slake1818

smooch1825

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > [noun] > smearing or spreading with a substance > that which is smeared or spread

beplastering1598

smear1611

daub1693

schmear1958

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Macheure, a blacke..smeare.

1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xliv. 225 I see through his disguise, as I should the hand of a great master through the smear of varnish.

1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany 50 As the figures were moving, no trace of them is seen [in the stereograph], except a light smear along the shops.

1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 16 Roof, and walls, and floor, alike abounding in old smears of flour, red-lead.., and damp.

1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 25 The smears of balsam being ultimately cleaned off with a piece of rag or silk moistened with benzol.

figurative.1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. viii. iv. 322 Here is the unprecise but indubitable fact, as the Prussian Dryasdust has left us his smear of it.

b. A small quantity of some substance prepared for microscopical investigation by being smeared upon a slide, esp. a sample of human or other cells obtained without surgery; vaginal smear, a smear of cells obtained from the vagina, studied to detect cervical cancer of the womb.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [noun] > sample

spread1895

smear1903

squash1942

sonicate1955

stabilate1965

the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > tests > [noun] > materials tested

blood film1856

blood sample1873

blood1890

night-blood1894

smear1903

swab1903

phantom1922

cervical smear1944

1903 Med. Record 7 Feb. 209 Gonococci were demonstrated..by smears only.

1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. Sept. 599 A smear from the red marrow in the case appeared identical in character with the picture of the blood film.

1917 Stockard & Papanicolaou in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. 22 227 In order to examine the vagina [of a guinea-pig] thoroughly we have introduced a small nasal speculum which facilitates clear view of the interior and a smear is made of any fluid that may be present.

1917 Stockard & Papanicolaou in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. 22 227 A study of the vaginal smears from guinea-pigs.

1920 Proc. Nat. Conf. Social Work 1919 58 Dr. Knight's plan of requiring a smear [for the detection of venereal disease] from every female child coming under their care would seem a wise precaution.

1925 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 8 May 1422/2 The guinea-pig is a particularly suitable animal for such an investigation, on account of the regularity of its estrual cycle. The use of vaginal smear examinations makes it possible to detect the return of estrus in a very exact way.

1928 G. N. Papanicolaou in 3rd Race Betterment Conf. 530 In a case of benign tumor everything you find in a vaginal smear is more or less normal... In contrast to this, in..cases..of malignant tumors, there are some definite characteristic changes.

1943 Papanicolaou & Traut Diagnosis Uterine Cancer by Vaginal Smear vi. 34 Vaginal smears made after the operation continued to show the carcinoma cells in considerable numbers.

1958 E. Day in R. W. Raven Cancer III. xxii. 450 In taking cervical smears by the Papanicolaou method a cotton~tipped applicator is used.

1966 Listener 4 Aug. 151/1 Cervical smear centres for the early diagnosis of womb cancer..have..been outstandingly successful.

1969 Awake! 8 Nov. 15/1 A study conducted at the University of Chicago ‘reportedly shows a sixfold increase in positive Pap smears..among women who have taken oral contraceptives’.

1975 Nature 9 Oct. 480/1 The presence of sperm cells in vaginal smears taken [from rats] the following morning was taken as positive indication of pregnancy.

c. A slanderous or defamatory remark; an attempt to defame by slander. colloquial (originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > a stain or slur

spota1225

umberc1380

blotc1386

maculate1490

touch1508

blemish1526

blur1548

attaint1592

stain1594

attainder1597

tachec1610

sullya1616

tainta1616

smutch1648

slur1662

woad1663

a blot on an escutcheon1697

blotch1860

smear1943

1943 Sun (Baltimore) 22 Oct. 8/3 ‘This is an outright smear,’ Stromberg asserted.

1953 E. Simon Past Masters iv. v. 256 Our only hope is to get some sort of official enquiry..to scotch all the smears.

1958 Spectator 15 Aug. 225/2 I would have expected from Mr. Lehmann not that implied smear but approving pats on both our heads.

1959 Listener 25 June 1115/1 I became aware of a gentle campaign of smear.

1977 E. Ambler Send no More Roses x. 246 There is the smear, and I'm the subject of it.

†4. slang. A painter; a plasterer. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > plasterer or rough-caster

daubera1382

plasterer1440

pargenar1501

dirt-dauber?1518

pargeter1538

roughcaster1594

spargener1600

seiler1672

smear1725

tarras-layer1819

parge-worker1908

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > decorator > [noun] > painter

painter1240

smear1725

1725 New Canting Dict. Smear, a Painter, a Plaisterer, &c.

1728 Street-robberies, Consider'd 34 Smeer, a Painter.

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Smear, a plaisterer.

a. An application for smearing sheep.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > [noun] > smearing with tar or salve > salve

salve1528

broom-salve?1530

grease?1530

smear1802

sheep-smearing1824

1802 C. Findlater Gen. View Agric. County of Peebles 190 (note) He proposes a smear composed of butter, train oil, and turpentine.

1870 G. Armatage Every Man his own Cattle Doctor 559 Arsenical dips and mercurial smears.

b. A product in the making of sugar.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > sugar manufacture > [noun] > substance produced in

smear1843

greens1867

1843 G. R. Porter Nature & Properties Sugar Cane (ed. 2) 220 The wet heads are cut off and put into a large mould; these are called bastard heading or smear.

c. Fishing. (See quot. 1848.)

ΚΠ

1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 241 Pollack are often attracted round the boat by what the fishermen call ‘smear’, that is, offal of fish and bilge-water, which they occasionally throw overboard.

d. Pottery. A mixture used for glazing.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > glaze > for ceramics or pottery

glaze1807

lustre1829

smear1875

smear-glaze1893

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2220/1 Smeir, a semi-glaze on pottery; common salt added to an earthenware glaze.

1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 221/1 ‘Smears’ and ‘flows’ are glazes applied by volatilization.

1897 J. C. L. Sparkes & W. Gandy Potters 40 The kind of semi-glaze known as a ‘smear’.

6. In Jazz, a short glissando; a slurring or sliding effect produced by a brass instrument, esp. a trombone.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > ornament > [noun] > glissando

rip1869

glissando1873

gliss1926

smear1926

slide1959

1926 Amer. Speech 1 500/2 Two Italian words, glissando and portamento are similar in meaning to the word ‘smear’, the principal difference being that the last-named is used [in trombone-playing] for a comic effect while the others are used for carrying the voice or sliding the fingers on the violin from one stop to the next.

1944 New Yorker 1 July 29/2 Someone may advocate extending a note or cutting it off. The sax section may want to put an additional smear on it.

1959 M. T. Williams Art of Jazz (1960) iv. 36 Those devices that gave..the illusion of smear and roughness to his tone.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

a. (In sense 1.)

† smear-gavel n. Obsolete gavel n.¹

a1400 Eng. Gilds (1870) 359 Euerych sellere of grece and of smere and of talwȝ shal..to þe kynge a peny, in þe name of smergauel.

smear-monger n.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > sellers of other specific things

soaper?c1225

oilman1275

smear-monger1297

upholder1333

basket-seller?1518

broom-seller?1518

upholster1554

rod-woman1602

starchwoman1604

pin manc1680

colour seller1685

potato-woman1697

printseller1700

rag-seller1700

Greenwich barber1785

sandboy1821

iceman1834

umbrella man1851

fly-boy1861

snuff-boxera1871

pedlar1872

snake-boy1873

bric-a-brac man1876

tinwoman1884

resurrectionist1888

butch1891

paanwallah1955

1297 in W. P. W. Phillimore Placita Coram Rege (1898) 65 Johannes le Smeremongere.

1304 Patent Roll, 32 Edward I 29 Aug. (P.R.O.: C 66/124) m. 8^v Radulphus le Smermonger.

b. (In sense 3c.)

smear document n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism

smear document1940

smear story1947

smear sheet1951

smear interview1960

smear journalism1967

1940 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Oct. 22/6 This was the pamphlet attacked by Republicans as a ‘smear document’.

1977 M. Walker National Front vii. 183 Tyndall denied responsibility for the smear document.

smear interview n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism

smear document1940

smear story1947

smear sheet1951

smear interview1960

smear journalism1967

1960 New Statesman 23 Jan. 96/1 But the elaborate smear interviews and paragraphs in Sydney were nobody's mistake, but just the boys obeying orders.

smear job n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics

smear campaign1938

smear tactics1945

smear job1970

1970 E. Ambler Intercom Conspiracy iii. 73 It was a smear job hashed up to discredit one or another of his clients' competitors.

smear journalism n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > journalism > [noun] > other specific types or styles of journalism

penny-a-lining1842

publicism1846

New Journalism1872

investigative reporting1890

ink-slinging1894

yellowism1897

chip paper1935

Afghanistanism1948

telejournalism1959

parajournalism1965

smear journalism1967

gonzo1972

plutography1985

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism

smear document1940

smear story1947

smear sheet1951

smear interview1960

smear journalism1967

1967 Punch 8 Feb. 190/2 This touched the muddiest depths of smear journalism, full of cheap sneers and nasty innuendo.

smear merchant n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > one who sullies or stains

blottera1631

stainer1647

blurrer1681

tar-brusher1884

smircher1888

smearer1955

smear merchant1963

smear-monger1967

1963 Times 15 May 9/2 The finding on this point was a bitter disappointment to the smear merchants.

smear-monger n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > one who sullies or stains

blottera1631

stainer1647

blurrer1681

tar-brusher1884

smircher1888

smearer1955

smear merchant1963

smear-monger1967

1967 Punch 8 Feb. 190/2 I read with great satisfaction the editorial..on the smearmongers of the Press and other vehicles of opinion.

smear process n.

1958 Times 26 Feb. 9/5 Mr Gaitskell's intention was, I imagine, to minimize the value of the report and rob it of its influence.., another application of the now well-known ‘smear’ process.

smear sheet n.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > sensational

sensational1861

yellow1897

scandal sheet1904

smear sheet1951

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism

smear document1940

smear story1947

smear sheet1951

smear interview1960

smear journalism1967

1951 Observer 16 Dec. 7/4 He is instructed to dismiss five people..accused by a smear-sheet of Communist sympathies.

smear story n.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism

smear document1940

smear story1947

smear sheet1951

smear interview1960

smear journalism1967

1947 New Statesman 22 Nov. 404/3 The Garry Allighan affair has done great harm in confirming in the minds of thoughtless people the smear stories about politicians that are put about by people who are not thoughtless.

1955 ‘E. C. R. Lorac’ Ask Policeman v. 56 They didn't want the Sunday papers to write up Rosetta Towers as a smear story.

c. (In sense 3b.)

smear preparation n.

1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. Sept. 602 Smear preparations were also made in order that the form of the individual cells might be more closely studied.

C2.

smear campaign n. a plan to discredit someone or something, or to destroy a reputation, by means of smears.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics

smear campaign1938

smear tactics1945

smear job1970

1938 Sun (Baltimore) 7 May 1/5 He called the Lobby Committee ‘a snooping committee’ which was engaged in ‘a smear campaign’, a campaign of ‘terror and intimidation’ against newspapers and magazines which dare to criticize activities of the New Deal.

1978 N. Freeling Night Lords vii. 31 We'll get accused of a smear campaign against Rolls-Royce cars.

† smear-dock n. Scottish Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > allgood

mercuriala1300

smear-dockc1325

papwort?a1425

mercuryc1450

allgood1578

good Henry1578

smear-docken1775

mercury goosefoot1853

c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 162 Mercurial, smerowo[r]t (smerdocke).

smear-docken n. English Mercury.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > allgood

mercuriala1300

smear-dockc1325

papwort?a1425

mercuryc1450

allgood1578

good Henry1578

smear-docken1775

mercury goosefoot1853

1775 Tippermalluch Receipts 12 (Jam.) Rub the person over with the juice of Allgood (called in Latin Bonus Henricus, others call it the Smear-docken).

† smear-gelt n. Obsolete (see quot. 1785).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [noun] > bribe

gift1382

handy-dandyc1390

pricec1400

bud1436

bribe?a1439

golden (also silver) keyc1450

fee1549

golden shower1589

oil of angels1592

sugar-plum1608

bribera1616

palm oil1625

greasinga1661

sop1665

sweetbreada1670

vail1687

douceur1739

sweetener1741

bonus1759

buckshee1773

smear-gelt1785

grease1823

boodle?1856

soap1860

ice1887

palm-grease1897

poultice1902

fix1929

dropsy1930

pay-off1930

drop1931

oil1935

squeeze-pidgin1946

sling1948

bung1958

back-hander1960

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Smear gelt, a bribe.

smear-glaze n. = 5d; hence smear-glazed adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > glaze > for ceramics or pottery

glaze1807

lustre1829

smear1875

smear-glaze1893

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [adjective] > glazed in specific way

crazed1874

plumbeous1875

lustred1893

lead-glazed1899

tin-glazed1904

faienced1912

smear-glazed1963

1893 E. A. Barber Pottery & Porcelain U.S. vi. 82 Glaze, which in the kiln would vaporize and form a slight deposit on the ware, technically known as ‘smear’ glaze.

1963 Times 26 Jan. 11/7 The delicately smear-glazed porcelain more usually associated with small Victorian statuary and so suggestive of marble that it was known as parian ware.

1971 L. A. Boger Dict. World Pottery & Porcelain 320/1 Smear glaze was a development following salt glaze and is frequently mistaken for it.

† smear-nep n. Obsolete bryony.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > bryony

neepOE

hound's-berrya1300

smear-nepa1400

white vine?a1425

psilothre?1440

black vine1552

bryony1552

tetter-berry1597

Mary's seal1600

psilothrum1601

wild vine1607

lady's seal1617

black bryony1626

Our Lady's signet1640

poison-withe1693

felon-berrya1715

cow-bind1820

bryony-vine1842

oxberry1859

wood-vine1861

mandrake1886

a1400 J. Mirfield Sinonoma Bartholomei (1882) 43 Viticella, smernepe.

smear-shading n. a method of shading used in glass-painting; so smear-shadow.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > ornamental glass-work > [noun] > glass-colouring > glass-painting > methods of glass-painting

smear-shading1847

matting1885

mirror painting1886

1847 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1867) 284 A stipple shadow is..always more transparent than a smear shadow of equal depth.

1848 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1865) 80 The first and oldest kind of shading may be called Smear shading, and the second Stipple shading.

smear tactics n. the tactics used in a smear campaign.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics

smear campaign1938

smear tactics1945

smear job1970

1945 West Va. Rev. Nov. 40/1 In recent years there has developed in his country a group of press agents who have adopted ‘smear’ tactics.

1974 Times 14 Feb. 22/3 In the old days they used to be called smear tactics but this year..mini-Watergates.

smear test n. a test for cancer of the womb made by microscopic examination of a smear (see sense 3b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > tests > [noun] > specific test

pneobiomantia1846

blood test1851

drug test1863

Romberg test1872

Rinne1881

Romberg's sign1884

tuberculin test1892

guaiac test1894

agglutination1896

percolation test1899

Pirquet test1908

skin test1908

Wassermann1909

Romberg1915

Pandy('s) test1916

glucose tolerance test1917

Kolmer1921

patch test1922

skin testing1923

provocation1924

Kolmer–Wassermann1925

Queckenstedt1928

Kline1929

Prausnitz–Küstner1929

cross-match1930

Mantoux test1931

paraffin test1935

Paul–Bunnell test1935

stress test1937

Burpee test1939

lepromin test1939

patch testing1941

pinprick1941

breath test1945

provocation test1948

protamine titration1949

Coombs test1950

smear test1950

Schilling test1955

tanned-(red-)cell1956

amniocentesis1958

Pap smear1963

Pap test1963

drugs test1967

Schultz–Charlton1974

amnio1984

cross-matching-

1950 Consumer Rep. XV. 367/1 The smear test for uterine cancer is done by scraping tissue..from the rear of the vagina.

1977 Spare Rib May 19/1 Yearly smear tests are important as they give early warning of a disease which takes 15 years to develop.

smear-word n. a word which in spite of its literal meaning is used to imply something derogatory.

ΘΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > word

smear-word1938

1938 I. Goldberg Wonder of Words xv. 298 The term Bolshevik..becomes so encrusted with non-political significance that it loses any sharpness of outline..and grows into what has been called ‘a smear-word’—a word that takes on whatever emotional color the speaker may..desire.

1961 20th Cent. Jan. 87 ‘Philology’, that smear-word among students everywhere.

Draft additions June 2015

Rock Climbing and Mountaineering. In the absence of a secure foothold, an act of using friction to gain purchase on a rock by pushing the sole of the climbing shoe directly against the rock surface (see smear v. Additions); (also) a poor or insecure foothold.

ΚΠ

1980 B. Godfrey Outward Bound ii. 78 We learn about laybacks, underclings, pressure holds, and smears.

2000 ‘J. Roberts’ Rock & Ice Climbing! vii. 44 Doing a smear, the climber puts as much of his or her foot as possible on the hold point.

2007 Climb Mag. May 12/1 The slab is so blank and featureless..legend has it that the route could only be climbed by a series of dynamic rock-overs all linked together without stopping because the smears were too poor to stand on.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

smearv.

Brit.

/smɪə/, U.S.

/smɪ(ə)r/

Forms: α. Old English smirian ( smiran), Middle English smirien, Middle English smyrie. past tense Old English, Middle English smirede (Old English smiride), Middle English smired, smyrede. past participle Middle English i-smiret. β. Old English smyrian ( smyrigan), Old English–Middle English smurien. past participle Middle English i-smured. γ. Old English smerian, Middle English smeorie, Middle English smerie; Middle English smeren, Middle English–1500s smere (Middle English smer), 1500s–1600s smeere, Scottish smeir, 1600s smeer; 1500s–1600s smeare, 1500s– smear. past tense Old English–Middle English smerede, Middle English smered (Middle English smeryd), Middle English smerd. past participle Middle English i-, Middle English y-smered (Middle English smerd), Middle English, 1500s smered (Scottish1500s smerit, smeiret).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English smir- , smyr- , smerian (also smir- , smerwan ), < smeoru , smeru smear n., = Old Frisian *smera (East Frisian smēre, smüri, North Frisian smēr, smerri, smöre, West Frisian smarre, †smerre), Middle Dutch smeren, smieren, smaren (Dutch smeren), Middle Low German smeren (schmärn, schmirn), Old High German smirwan (Middle High German smirwen, smirn, German schmieren, †schmeren), Old Norse smyrva, -ja (Middle Swedish smyrja, smöria, Swedish smörja; Middle Danish smørie, Danish smøre).

1. transitive. To anoint with oil, chrism, etc., as a symbolic ceremony. In later use only with contemptuous force.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > (extreme) unction > anoint [verb (transitive)]

smearc825

ChristeOE

fatc1000

elec1275

chrisoma1300

enoil1340

alinec1350

anelec1350

anoint1357

ointa1382

anointa1398

creme1398

forsmerla1400

nointa1400

smerla1400

in oil(s)a1536

chrism1537

benoint1594

chrismatize1664

c825 Vesp. Ps. lxxxviii. 21 In ele halgum minum ic smirede hine.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9377 Vr lige louerd þat yeled is, & ismered to Ihesu Crist.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2457 Cristene folc..ben smered ðor-quiles he liuen Wið crisme and olie.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 93 Of þise oyle byeþ ysmered þo þet god heþ ymad kynges and lhordes of þe wordle.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7377 Vn-to king þou sal him smer.

1548 R. Crowley Informacion & Peticion sig. Aii^v So long as ydle bealies may come to the bishope and be smered for money.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. vii. 181 What will be left to the descendants of Charlemayne..save to smear themselves with oil at Rheims, and to eat their dinner under a high canopy?

figurative.c825 Vesp. Ps. xliv. 8 Smirede ðec god..mid ele blisse.a1200 Vices & Virt. 33 For ði haueð ðin lauerd ismered þe mid ða ele of blisse.

a. To anoint, to rub or daub (a part of the body) with oil, grease, or some similar preparation. Said also of the oil, etc. In later use with suggestion of sense 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > oiliness or greasiness > [verb (transitive)] > smear with unguent

smearc825

enoil1340

anointa1375

ointa1382

balm1398

nointa1400

ensalvec1485

strake1506

grimec1580

inungate1599

inunct1623

unguent1656

illite1657

lubricate1791

c825 Vesp. Ps. cxl. 5 Ele..synfulles ne smireð heafud min.

971 Blickling Hom. 69 Maria genam an pund deorwyrþre smerenesse, & smerede þæs Hælendes fet.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 17 Þonne ðu fæste, smyra þin heafod, and þweah þine ansyne.

c1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Alswa doð monie of þas wimmen heo smurieð heom mid blanchet, þet is þes deofles sape.

c1305 Judas Iscariot 126 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 110 Wiþ þis swete oignement heo smired oure louerd þer.

c1315 Shoreham i. 374 For oyle smereþ þane champion, Þat me ne schel him festne.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 94 The Groom..stript for Wrestling, smears his Limbs with Oyl.

1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 454 The Indian Fair Is nicely smear'd with Fat of Bear.

1790 Coll. Voy. round World I. ii. 33 Their..foreheads..being generally smeared with brown and red paints.

1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi xi. 231 Their foreheads were smeared with white flour.

1885 E. Clodd Myths & Dreams i. vi. 105 They smear themselves with black paint in memory of that tradition.

figurative.971 Blickling Hom. 73 Gif we nu willaþ ure saula smerian mid mildheortnesse ele.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 180 Beoden smirieð him. mid swote olchninge. ach teares prikeð him.

†b. To prepare (a dead body) with unguents before burial. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > preparation or treatment of corpse > prepare corpse [verb (transitive)] > anoint or cere

smearc950

cerec1465

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xiv. 8 [Hia] forecuom to smiriane [Rushw. smiranne, Cp. smyrianne, Hatt. smeriene] lichoma min on bebyrgennise.

c1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) 8 299 Mid þam man smyrað ricra manna lic.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 274 Nichodemus brochte to smirien ure lauerd.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2442 [I]osep dede hise lich..Wassen, and riche-like smeren.

a. To anoint medicinally; to treat (a wound, etc.) with a copious application of some thick or greasy medicament.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment by topical applications > treat by topical applications [verb (transitive)] > salve or anoint

salvea800

smearc950

anointa1375

supplea1425

epithem1543

assalve1570

baste1570

taint1578

scarify1596

obviscate1684

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John ix. 11 Monn..lam worhte & smiride ego mino.

c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 114 Smure þæt sar gelomelice mid.

c1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 An helendis Mon..wesch his wunden mid wine and smerede mid oli.

a1225 Leg. Kath. 1600 Þe engles wið smirles of aromaz smireden hire wunden.

a1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 277 He let is heued of-smyte, and smeorie [Harl. smyrede] him with is blod.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13547 Wit þis vn-to þe erth he spitt,..And smerd þar-wit his oþer ei.

14.. Sir Beues 3857 + 16 (MS. C.) [He] smeryd hur with oyntment.

1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 17 446 Mischief must extend, although the injured parts be smeared with turpentine.

1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxvi. 331 We were in the habit of smearing it [sc. the skin] with zinc ointment for several days successively.

1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vii. 269 We smear him with grease and gunpowder in lieu of sulphur.

figurative.a1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 7 And bringue with him þe eoyle of milce..to smeorie þare-with and bringe of pine þine fader and alle his.

b. To rub (sheep) with a mixture fitted to keep wet out of the fleece and prevent disease or vermin.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > rear sheep or wool [verb (transitive)] > salve

greasec1380

salve?1530

smearc1535

c1535 Ploughman's Tale iii. sig. C.i Ne Christes Apostels were neuer so bolde No suche lordshippes to them enbrace But smeren her shepe and kepe her folde.

1561 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 94 Sic sanctitude was Sathanis sorcereis, Christis sillie scheip and sobir flok to smeir.

1692 A. Symson Large Descr. Galloway (1823) 72 The most part of their laid-wool, call'd in other parts smear'd wool, is..so called, because..they melt butter and tar together, and therewith they..smear their sheep.

1796 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XVIII. 570 In..November the whole stock is smeared; a practice which..is found to be..beneficial.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1115 When the skin of sheep is covered with such substances they are said to be smeared.

1884 L. F. Allen New Amer. Farm Bk. 439 Smearing, or salving sheep, is a custom little practiced in this country.

a. To spread, daub, cover thickly or in patches, with some unctuous, greasy, sticky, or dirty substance. Sometimes said of the substance. Also rarely with in.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear

smear971

besmearc1050

slobber1529

slubber1530

smore1530

to-ray1562

slubbera1586

blur1592

beblur1598

beslubber1598

besmother1598

besmouche1600

slur1602

illine1615

slerga1758

slaister1773

gaum?1825

smarm1847

slob1851

maum1888

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > coat or cover with a layer [verb (transitive)] > smear or spread with a substance

smear971

dechea1000

cleamc1000

besmearc1050

clamc1380

glue1382

pargeta1398

overslame?1440

plaster?1440

beslab1481

strike1525

bestrike1527

streak1540

bedaub1558

spread1574

daub1598

paste1609

beplaster1611

circumlite1657

oblite1657

fata1661

gaum?1825

treacle1839

butter1882

slap1902

slather1941

nap1961

(a)

971 Blickling Hom. 73 Þæt næfre ne afulaþ þæt mid hire gesmered biþ.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 994 Bulltedd bræd..smeredd wel wiþþ ele sæw.

c1330 Arth. & Merl. 599 (Kölbing) Were ȝour werk ysmerd þer wiþ, Euer it wold stond in griþ.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 60 Hy smerieþ þane way of helle mid hony.

a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 68 The fende alweye wolde smere her in the face with the brennynge piche, grese, oyle, lede, and terre.

a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 88 Her shone smered wyth talowe.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. xi. f. 161^v These they smere or annoint with the pytche of molten Bitumen.

1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia iv. 161 All their bits were smeared ore With dusty dryed frothy gore.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 731 A Vessel of huge bulk..Smeard round with Pitch.

1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) §9 Stems of trees, smeared over with tar, are preserved thereby from being hurt by..goats.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 123 The unctuous substance with which it is smeared.

1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor vii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. III. 108 The fatal weapon was found in the chamber, smeared with blood.

1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly I. i. 16 I don't suppose he smears his hands with treacle.

(b)1592 Arden of Feversham v. i Sweete Arden, smeard in bloode and filthy gore.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 69 If any such be heere..that loue this painting Wherein you see me smear'd . 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad v. 176 His troops..smear their paths in blood.

b. Without const.

ΚΠ

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 277 Þeo streccheð him towart us. as þing þet ismired is.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) v. xxvi Men vseth to smere þe iointe of an Elephant to dry þe better.

a1400 Seuyn Sages (W.) 1151 In ech [hole] he pelt a dosele, And smerede the holes al aboute.

1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1537) 82 One..had nede of greace to grease shues or smeere bootes.

1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. iii. sig. H2^v Let him feede on slime That smeares the dungeon cheeke.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 302 Other Temples have other Pagods;..some of them are painted or smeered black; others red.

1763 C. Churchill Prophecy of Famine 16 Slugs, pinch'd with hunger, smear'd the slimy wall.

1805–6 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Inferno xxi. 8 Tenacious pitch, to smear Their unsound vessels.

1900 Daily News 4 June 6/2 The youngsters were smeared to the eyes.

c. figurative. (a) Chiefly const. with, and usually implying something base or discreditable; (b) (without const.), to attempt to discredit (a reputation, etc.) (colloquial, originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > disfigure [verb (transitive)] > smear

smear1549

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > affect detrimentally > affect injuriously with

overgoOE

overruna1538

smear1549

blast1605

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > stain or sully [verb (transitive)]

filea1325

foulc1330

tache1390

dark?c1400

distain1406

smita1413

blemish1414

black?c1425

defoul1470

maculate?a1475

macule1484

tan1530

staina1535

spota1542

smear1549

blot1566

besmear1579

defile1581

attaint1590

soila1596

slubber1599

tack1601

woad1603

besmirch1604

blur1604

to breathe upon ——1608

be-smut1610

clouda1616

sullya1616

taint1623

smutch1640

blackena1649

to cast, put, throw (etc.) a slur on or upon (a person or thing)1654

beslur1675

tarnish1695

blackwash1762

carbonify1792

smirch1820

tattoo1884

dirten1987

society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > pollute or defile

afileeOE

awemOE

filec1175

wemc1175

soila1250

foulc1330

defoula1340

bleckc1380

blemishc1380

pollutea1382

tache1390

sulpa1400

vilec1400

spota1413

stain1446

defilec1450

violate1490

tan1530

smear1549

beray1576

moil1596

discolour1598

smut1601

bespurtle1604

sullya1616

commaculatec1616

decolour?c1622

collutulate1623

deturpate1623

berust1631

smutch1640

discolorate1651

smoot1683

tarnish1695

tar1817

dirten1987

1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Jas. iv. f. xxxvii Why are you smeared with the vaine pleasures of this world?

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 296 Sche smeiris baith his mynd and eires with thir wordes.

1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iii. sig. D4 If the least soyle of lust smeers my pure loue.

1631 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man (new ed.) iii. ii. 171 Happi's that man..whom glory doth not smeere With lying drosse.

1652 E. Benlowes Theophila xiii. lvii. 243 After Nights Soot smears Heav'n, Day gilds its Face.

1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. iv. 63 People smearing each other over the stupid flattery.

1879 ‘E. Garrett’ House by Wks. II. 165 She would not smear his memory by any falsehoods now.

(b)1936 W. Irwin Propaganda & News xxii. 292 When the Republicans began calling this line of attack the ‘smear Hoover’ campaign, Michelson..faced the microphone with a masterpiece of ingenious invective.1945 G. Endore Methinks the Lady xi. 268 You had plenty of time..to hold up the jury while you smeared the science of psychoanalysis.1948 Manch. Guardian Weekly 23 Sept. 9 He is afraid of being smeared.1951 Here & Now (N.Z.) May 23/2 Mary Jane Keeny has been a target for the red~baiters who from time to time try to smear the UN as a Communist-dominated organisation.1966 Listener 30 June 934/2 What the successors are trying to do seems to me not so much to prove particular corruption as to smear the previous regime.1978 G. McDonald Fletch's Fortune (1979) xix. 130 Is the campaign against me going to continue? Are the March newspapers going to continue to smear me?

d. technical. To glaze (pottery) by a process of evaporation.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > pottery-making or ceramics > make pottery [verb (transitive)] > glaze

glazec1400

lead1558

smear1839

salt glaze1968

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1019 The operation called smearing, consists in giving an external lustre to the unglazed semi~vitrified ware.

1893 Handbk. Brit. Pottery & Porcelain (Mus. Pract. Geol.) 58 Certain compositions may also be placed in the bottom of the closed saggers, and by their evaporation the ware in them may be smeared or semi-glazed.

e. In Southern Africa, to coat over (the floor of a hut, etc.) with a mixture of cow-dung and water.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > clad or cover with other materials

pitcheOE

lute1495

loam1600

bitume1609

wainscota1631

mud1632

putty1719

compo1809

belute1837

smear1839

puddle1844

plash1864

canvas1865

cement1886

TP1962

toilet-paper1964

1839 W. C. Harris Wild Sports S. Afr. xvii. 143 The space was smeared with a mixture of mud and cow-dung, resembling that used in all parts of India for similar purposes.

1878 H. A. Roche On Trek in Transvaal xii. 251 A Kafir came to ‘daager’ or smear our floors.

1880 H. M. Prichard Friends & Foes 282 Kafir women..smear the walls and floor with ‘dargha’.

1893 R. Blennerhassett & L. Sleeman Adventures Mashonaland ii. 32 We were unsuited physically for such work as ‘daghering’ huts or ‘smearing floors’.

5. To lay on in a thick or greasy layer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > coat or cover with a layer [verb (transitive)] > smear or spread with a substance > smear (a substance)

cleamc1000

smeara1400

spread?a1425

strike1525

splet1530

dab1592

stroke1594

sponge1607

daub1647

wipe1738

plaster1799

teerc1850

slather1866

cake1944

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6077 Þis lamb blod..On airer post þer hus to smer.

1595 A. Duncan Appendix Etymologiae: Index in Latinae Grammaticae Illino, illinio, to smeir on.

1847 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1867) 284 A coat of enamel brown smeared smoothly and evenly on the glass.

1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 23 The [slab] of lead or cast-iron, on which rather, but not very, coarse emery is smeared with water.

1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 550 If some of the exudation from the brain be smeared on these media.

a. To rub out with a smear or smudge; to rub or draw in a smeary manner. Also with off, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > efface, obliterate [verb (transitive)] > by rubbing

planec1350

to rub outc1400

to rub offa1425

sponge1548

wipe1564

spongea1636

sponge1720

smear1838

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > rubbing or friction > rub [verb (transitive)] > rub out or in

smear1838

smudge1864

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear > rub with a smear

smear1838

1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist xiii A dirty Belcher handkerchief..with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke.

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. iii. 90 If he did by accident form a letter properly, he immediately smeared it out again with his arm.

1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 19 You go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs. Richards is a wearing for your Ma!

1854 W. Collins Hide & Seek III. viii. 231 They seemed to get smeared out of my head—like we used to smear old sums off our slates at school.

1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iv. xv. 287 Smearing his sleeve across his mouth.

1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses ii The passengers..bent their eyes on the man in black, who smeared his face with his cuff.

1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Bliss 73 And then there is the waiter... When he is not smearing over the table or flicking at a dead fly or two, he stands with one hand on the back of a chair.

1964 W. Golding Spire ii. 37 One delver relaxed, and smeared a hand over his sweaty face.

1964 W. Golding Spire viii. 155 He peered in [a metal sheet] closer and closer until his breath dimmed his own image and he had to smear it off with his sleeve.

b. To thrash or kill; to wipe out or destroy by bombing. slang.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > victory > make victorious [verb (transitive)] > wipe out by bombing

smear1935

the world > life > death > killing > killing by specific method > kill [verb (transitive)] > by bombing

smear1935

1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 109/1 Smear, to kill.

1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 68 To smear someone, to thrash a person in a bout of fisticuffs.

1944 Amer. Speech 19 187 He [sc. S. J. Baker] gives examples of Australian argot, of which several follow:..smear, to murder, [etc.].

1957 P. Frank Seven Days to Never ix. 245 We can smear every base, every industrial complex, once and for all.

1958 ‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 43 The report on the..Russian I.C.B.M. site had removed his..doubt..whether his bombers could smear it before the missiles were fired off.

Draft additions June 2015

Rock Climbing and Mountaineering.

a. transitive. In the absence of a secure foothold, to push (the foot or climbing shoe) directly against a rock surface so as to gain purchase using friction; to gain purchase on (a rock) in this way.

ΚΠ

1974 D. K. Scott Big Wall Climbing 318/3 Edging on tiny flakes with stiff cleated soles or ‘smearing’ the hold with a non-cleated sole.

1977 R. Bridge Climbing x. 237 Scoops and pockets may give better purchase if the foot is 'smeared', the lower side placed on the hold, and the foot twisted into the depressions.

2003 Trail Nov. 103 If you can't get a positive, horizontal foothold, try to get as much sole rubber in contact with the rock as possible. ‘Smearing’ your foot like this gives you more grip.

b. intransitive. In the absence of a secure foothold, to use friction to gain purchase on a rock by pushing the sole of the climbing shoe directly against the rock surface.

ΚΠ

1985 Mountain No. 102 94/2 There are two basic techniques—to edge (including toe) and to smear.

1993 Climbing Oct. 35 You can't do it in slippers—you need the stiffness that a boot gives you, but you still need to be able to smear.

2010 S. M. Green Rock Climbing Colorado 5/1 Smear and edge up right on perfect granite to a final tricky traverse.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	smear
释义	smearn. Brit. /smɪə/, U.S. /smɪ(ə)r/ Forms: Old English smeoru, smeoro, smeru, smero, smera, Middle English smere (Middle English smer), 1600s smeer, 1500s–1600s smeare, 1700s– smear (1800s technical smeir). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: In sense 1 common Germanic: Old English smeoru , smeru , etc., = Old Frisian smere (East Frisian smiri , smēr , North Frisian smēr , smör , West Frisian smoar ), Middle Dutch smere , smeer (Dutch smeer ), and smare , smaer , Old Saxon smero (Middle Low German smere , smer ), Old High German smero , smer (Middle High German smer , German schmer ) fat, grease, Old Norse smjǫr (Icelandic smjer , Swedish smör , Danish and Norwegian smør ) butter < Germanic smerwa neuter. The stem smer-* , with different suffix, is represented in Gothic by smairþr neuter, fat. Cognate forms outside of Germanic are Lithuanian smarsas fat, Old Irish smir (Gaelic smior ) marrow, and perhaps Greek μύρον ointment. The later senses are mainly, if not entirely, < smear v., like German schmiere. In Old English the w of the stem appears regularly in the genitive and dative smeor(u)wes, -we, smer(e)wes, -we, etc. †1. a. Fat, grease, lard; ointment. Obsolete. ΘΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > greasy or fatty material > [noun] > derived from animals smearc725 smolta1000 seamc1200 greasec1290 fat1393 creesha1400 brawn1535 axunge?1541 axungiety1599 axungiousness1599 c725 Corpus Gl. U 257 Unguentum, smeoru. c825 Vesp. Ps. xvi. 10 Smeoru his [hie] bilucun. c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 74 Cnucige wið eald smeoru. c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 68 Heorotes smera oþþe gate oþ þe gose. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13244 Nohht þurrh nan eorþliȝ smere. acc all. Þurrh haliȝ gastess sallfe. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1573 In heuene deu and erðes smere [Esau] Gatte him bliscing. c1330 Arth. & Merl. 1306 (Kölbing) Newe schon þat man haþ bouȝt,..And smere, to smere hem al about. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS) iv. vii Þe fatnesse þerof..is mad white and turnid in to talowe and smere. 1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 78 Full of pyke rosen oyle and smere. c1450 Middle Eng. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 201 Tak þe crotyng of a goot, & old smere of a red swyn. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Oing, (Hogs) grease, or seame; smeare. 1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Smeeren,..to Rub with Grease or Smeare. †b. A ‘company’ of curriers. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > companies involved in specific business misbeliefa1450 safeguarda1450 squatc1450 smearc1476 bleach1486 poulterer1534 water company1710 land-company1805 publishing house1819 railway company1824 oil company1827 bus line1843 rails1848 accountancy1860 art house1882 poulter1884 automaker1899 energy company1910 record label1926 label1930 utility1930 re-roller1931 prefabricator1933 seven sisters1962 energy firm1970 chipmaker1971 fragmentizer1972 fixit1984 infomediary1989 multi-utility1994 c1476 in Hors, Shepe, & Ghoos (Roxb.) 4 iv b A Smere of coryers. 1486 Bk. St. Albans f vj b A Smere of Coryouris. †2. Smeared or dirty condition. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > smeared condition smear1600 smudge1830 smudginess1864 smeariness1866 1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 79 Neither was he like a tinker in any thing, but only the smeare and collour of his beard. 3. a. A mark, smudge, or stain made by smearing, or suggestive of this; a layer or patch of some substance applied by smearing. ΘΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > smeared condition > smear blur1601 smear1611 daub1731 smudgea1774 clart1808 slake1818 smooch1825 the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > [noun] > smearing or spreading with a substance > that which is smeared or spread beplastering1598 smear1611 daub1693 schmear1958 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Macheure, a blacke..smeare. 1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xliv. 225 I see through his disguise, as I should the hand of a great master through the smear of varnish. 1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany 50 As the figures were moving, no trace of them is seen [in the stereograph], except a light smear along the shops. 1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 16 Roof, and walls, and floor, alike abounding in old smears of flour, red-lead.., and damp. 1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 25 The smears of balsam being ultimately cleaned off with a piece of rag or silk moistened with benzol. figurative.1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. viii. iv. 322 Here is the unprecise but indubitable fact, as the Prussian Dryasdust has left us his smear of it. b. A small quantity of some substance prepared for microscopical investigation by being smeared upon a slide, esp. a sample of human or other cells obtained without surgery; vaginal smear, a smear of cells obtained from the vagina, studied to detect cervical cancer of the womb. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [noun] > sample spread1895 smear1903 squash1942 sonicate1955 stabilate1965 the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > tests > [noun] > materials tested blood film1856 blood sample1873 blood1890 night-blood1894 smear1903 swab1903 phantom1922 cervical smear1944 1903 Med. Record 7 Feb. 209 Gonococci were demonstrated..by smears only. 1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. Sept. 599 A smear from the red marrow in the case appeared identical in character with the picture of the blood film. 1917 Stockard & Papanicolaou in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. 22 227 In order to examine the vagina [of a guinea-pig] thoroughly we have introduced a small nasal speculum which facilitates clear view of the interior and a smear is made of any fluid that may be present. 1917 Stockard & Papanicolaou in Amer. Jrnl. Anat. 22 227 A study of the vaginal smears from guinea-pigs. 1920 Proc. Nat. Conf. Social Work 1919 58 Dr. Knight's plan of requiring a smear [for the detection of venereal disease] from every female child coming under their care would seem a wise precaution. 1925 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 8 May 1422/2 The guinea-pig is a particularly suitable animal for such an investigation, on account of the regularity of its estrual cycle. The use of vaginal smear examinations makes it possible to detect the return of estrus in a very exact way. 1928 G. N. Papanicolaou in 3rd Race Betterment Conf. 530 In a case of benign tumor everything you find in a vaginal smear is more or less normal... In contrast to this, in..cases..of malignant tumors, there are some definite characteristic changes. 1943 Papanicolaou & Traut Diagnosis Uterine Cancer by Vaginal Smear vi. 34 Vaginal smears made after the operation continued to show the carcinoma cells in considerable numbers. 1958 E. Day in R. W. Raven Cancer III. xxii. 450 In taking cervical smears by the Papanicolaou method a cotton~tipped applicator is used. 1966 Listener 4 Aug. 151/1 Cervical smear centres for the early diagnosis of womb cancer..have..been outstandingly successful. 1969 Awake! 8 Nov. 15/1 A study conducted at the University of Chicago ‘reportedly shows a sixfold increase in positive Pap smears..among women who have taken oral contraceptives’. 1975 Nature 9 Oct. 480/1 The presence of sperm cells in vaginal smears taken [from rats] the following morning was taken as positive indication of pregnancy. c. A slanderous or defamatory remark; an attempt to defame by slander. colloquial (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > a stain or slur spota1225 umberc1380 blotc1386 maculate1490 touch1508 blemish1526 blur1548 attaint1592 stain1594 attainder1597 tachec1610 sullya1616 tainta1616 smutch1648 slur1662 woad1663 a blot on an escutcheon1697 blotch1860 smear1943 1943 Sun (Baltimore) 22 Oct. 8/3 ‘This is an outright smear,’ Stromberg asserted. 1953 E. Simon Past Masters iv. v. 256 Our only hope is to get some sort of official enquiry..to scotch all the smears. 1958 Spectator 15 Aug. 225/2 I would have expected from Mr. Lehmann not that implied smear but approving pats on both our heads. 1959 Listener 25 June 1115/1 I became aware of a gentle campaign of smear. 1977 E. Ambler Send no More Roses x. 246 There is the smear, and I'm the subject of it. †4. slang. A painter; a plasterer. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > plasterer or rough-caster daubera1382 plasterer1440 pargenar1501 dirt-dauber?1518 pargeter1538 roughcaster1594 spargener1600 seiler1672 smear1725 tarras-layer1819 parge-worker1908 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > decorator > [noun] > painter painter1240 smear1725 1725 New Canting Dict. Smear, a Painter, a Plaisterer, &c. 1728 Street-robberies, Consider'd 34 Smeer, a Painter. 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Smear, a plaisterer. 5. a. An application for smearing sheep. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > [noun] > smearing with tar or salve > salve salve1528 broom-salve?1530 grease?1530 smear1802 sheep-smearing1824 1802 C. Findlater Gen. View Agric. County of Peebles 190 (note) He proposes a smear composed of butter, train oil, and turpentine. 1870 G. Armatage Every Man his own Cattle Doctor 559 Arsenical dips and mercurial smears. b. A product in the making of sugar. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > sugar manufacture > [noun] > substance produced in smear1843 greens1867 1843 G. R. Porter Nature & Properties Sugar Cane (ed. 2) 220 The wet heads are cut off and put into a large mould; these are called bastard heading or smear. c. Fishing. (See quot. 1848.) ΚΠ 1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 241 Pollack are often attracted round the boat by what the fishermen call ‘smear’, that is, offal of fish and bilge-water, which they occasionally throw overboard. d. Pottery. A mixture used for glazing. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > glaze > for ceramics or pottery glaze1807 lustre1829 smear1875 smear-glaze1893 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2220/1 Smeir, a semi-glaze on pottery; common salt added to an earthenware glaze. 1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 221/1 ‘Smears’ and ‘flows’ are glazes applied by volatilization. 1897 J. C. L. Sparkes & W. Gandy Potters 40 The kind of semi-glaze known as a ‘smear’. 6. In Jazz, a short glissando; a slurring or sliding effect produced by a brass instrument, esp. a trombone. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > section of piece of music > ornament > [noun] > glissando rip1869 glissando1873 gliss1926 smear1926 slide1959 1926 Amer. Speech 1 500/2 Two Italian words, glissando and portamento are similar in meaning to the word ‘smear’, the principal difference being that the last-named is used [in trombone-playing] for a comic effect while the others are used for carrying the voice or sliding the fingers on the violin from one stop to the next. 1944 New Yorker 1 July 29/2 Someone may advocate extending a note or cutting it off. The sax section may want to put an additional smear on it. 1959 M. T. Williams Art of Jazz (1960) iv. 36 Those devices that gave..the illusion of smear and roughness to his tone. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. (In sense 1.) † smear-gavel n. Obsolete gavel n.¹ Π a1400 Eng. Gilds (1870) 359 Euerych sellere of grece and of smere and of talwȝ shal..to þe kynge a peny, in þe name of smergauel. smear-monger n. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > sellers of other specific things soaper?c1225 oilman1275 smear-monger1297 upholder1333 basket-seller?1518 broom-seller?1518 upholster1554 rod-woman1602 starchwoman1604 pin manc1680 colour seller1685 potato-woman1697 printseller1700 rag-seller1700 Greenwich barber1785 sandboy1821 iceman1834 umbrella man1851 fly-boy1861 snuff-boxera1871 pedlar1872 snake-boy1873 bric-a-brac man1876 tinwoman1884 resurrectionist1888 butch1891 paanwallah1955 1297 in W. P. W. Phillimore Placita Coram Rege (1898) 65 Johannes le Smeremongere. 1304 Patent Roll, 32 Edward I 29 Aug. (P.R.O.: C 66/124) m. 8^v Radulphus le Smermonger. b. (In sense 3c.) smear document n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism smear document1940 smear story1947 smear sheet1951 smear interview1960 smear journalism1967 1940 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Oct. 22/6 This was the pamphlet attacked by Republicans as a ‘smear document’. 1977 M. Walker National Front vii. 183 Tyndall denied responsibility for the smear document. smear interview n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism smear document1940 smear story1947 smear sheet1951 smear interview1960 smear journalism1967 1960 New Statesman 23 Jan. 96/1 But the elaborate smear interviews and paragraphs in Sydney were nobody's mistake, but just the boys obeying orders. smear job n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics smear campaign1938 smear tactics1945 smear job1970 1970 E. Ambler Intercom Conspiracy iii. 73 It was a smear job hashed up to discredit one or another of his clients' competitors. smear journalism n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > [noun] > other specific types or styles of journalism penny-a-lining1842 publicism1846 New Journalism1872 investigative reporting1890 ink-slinging1894 yellowism1897 chip paper1935 Afghanistanism1948 telejournalism1959 parajournalism1965 smear journalism1967 gonzo1972 plutography1985 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism smear document1940 smear story1947 smear sheet1951 smear interview1960 smear journalism1967 1967 Punch 8 Feb. 190/2 This touched the muddiest depths of smear journalism, full of cheap sneers and nasty innuendo. smear merchant n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > one who sullies or stains blottera1631 stainer1647 blurrer1681 tar-brusher1884 smircher1888 smearer1955 smear merchant1963 smear-monger1967 1963 Times 15 May 9/2 The finding on this point was a bitter disappointment to the smear merchants. smear-monger n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > one who sullies or stains blottera1631 stainer1647 blurrer1681 tar-brusher1884 smircher1888 smearer1955 smear merchant1963 smear-monger1967 1967 Punch 8 Feb. 190/2 I read with great satisfaction the editorial..on the smearmongers of the Press and other vehicles of opinion. smear process n. Π 1958 Times 26 Feb. 9/5 Mr Gaitskell's intention was, I imagine, to minimize the value of the report and rob it of its influence.., another application of the now well-known ‘smear’ process. smear sheet n. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > sensational sensational1861 yellow1897 scandal sheet1904 smear sheet1951 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism smear document1940 smear story1947 smear sheet1951 smear interview1960 smear journalism1967 1951 Observer 16 Dec. 7/4 He is instructed to dismiss five people..accused by a smear-sheet of Communist sympathies. smear story n. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > writing or journalism smear document1940 smear story1947 smear sheet1951 smear interview1960 smear journalism1967 1947 New Statesman 22 Nov. 404/3 The Garry Allighan affair has done great harm in confirming in the minds of thoughtless people the smear stories about politicians that are put about by people who are not thoughtless. 1955 ‘E. C. R. Lorac’ Ask Policeman v. 56 They didn't want the Sunday papers to write up Rosetta Towers as a smear story. c. (In sense 3b.) smear preparation n. Π 1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. Sept. 602 Smear preparations were also made in order that the form of the individual cells might be more closely studied. C2. smear campaign n. a plan to discredit someone or something, or to destroy a reputation, by means of smears. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics smear campaign1938 smear tactics1945 smear job1970 1938 Sun (Baltimore) 7 May 1/5 He called the Lobby Committee ‘a snooping committee’ which was engaged in ‘a smear campaign’, a campaign of ‘terror and intimidation’ against newspapers and magazines which dare to criticize activities of the New Deal. 1978 N. Freeling Night Lords vii. 31 We'll get accused of a smear campaign against Rolls-Royce cars. † smear-dock n. Scottish Obsolete ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > allgood mercuriala1300 smear-dockc1325 papwort?a1425 mercuryc1450 allgood1578 good Henry1578 smear-docken1775 mercury goosefoot1853 c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 162 Mercurial, smerowo[r]t (smerdocke). smear-docken n. English Mercury. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > culinary herbs > allgood mercuriala1300 smear-dockc1325 papwort?a1425 mercuryc1450 allgood1578 good Henry1578 smear-docken1775 mercury goosefoot1853 1775 Tippermalluch Receipts 12 (Jam.) Rub the person over with the juice of Allgood (called in Latin Bonus Henricus, others call it the Smear-docken). † smear-gelt n. Obsolete (see quot. 1785). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [noun] > bribe gift1382 handy-dandyc1390 pricec1400 bud1436 bribe?a1439 golden (also silver) keyc1450 fee1549 golden shower1589 oil of angels1592 sugar-plum1608 bribera1616 palm oil1625 greasinga1661 sop1665 sweetbreada1670 vail1687 douceur1739 sweetener1741 bonus1759 buckshee1773 smear-gelt1785 grease1823 boodle?1856 soap1860 ice1887 palm-grease1897 poultice1902 fix1929 dropsy1930 pay-off1930 drop1931 oil1935 squeeze-pidgin1946 sling1948 bung1958 back-hander1960 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Smear gelt, a bribe. smear-glaze n. = 5d; hence smear-glazed adj. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > glaze > for ceramics or pottery glaze1807 lustre1829 smear1875 smear-glaze1893 society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [adjective] > glazed in specific way crazed1874 plumbeous1875 lustred1893 lead-glazed1899 tin-glazed1904 faienced1912 smear-glazed1963 1893 E. A. Barber Pottery & Porcelain U.S. vi. 82 Glaze, which in the kiln would vaporize and form a slight deposit on the ware, technically known as ‘smear’ glaze. 1963 Times 26 Jan. 11/7 The delicately smear-glazed porcelain more usually associated with small Victorian statuary and so suggestive of marble that it was known as parian ware. 1971 L. A. Boger Dict. World Pottery & Porcelain 320/1 Smear glaze was a development following salt glaze and is frequently mistaken for it. † smear-nep n. Obsolete bryony. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > bryony neepOE hound's-berrya1300 smear-nepa1400 white vine?a1425 psilothre?1440 black vine1552 bryony1552 tetter-berry1597 Mary's seal1600 psilothrum1601 wild vine1607 lady's seal1617 black bryony1626 Our Lady's signet1640 poison-withe1693 felon-berrya1715 cow-bind1820 bryony-vine1842 oxberry1859 wood-vine1861 mandrake1886 a1400 J. Mirfield Sinonoma Bartholomei (1882) 43 Viticella, smernepe. smear-shading n. a method of shading used in glass-painting; so smear-shadow. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > ornamental glass-work > [noun] > glass-colouring > glass-painting > methods of glass-painting smear-shading1847 matting1885 mirror painting1886 1847 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1867) 284 A stipple shadow is..always more transparent than a smear shadow of equal depth. 1848 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1865) 80 The first and oldest kind of shading may be called Smear shading, and the second Stipple shading. smear tactics n. the tactics used in a smear campaign. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > campaign or tactics smear campaign1938 smear tactics1945 smear job1970 1945 West Va. Rev. Nov. 40/1 In recent years there has developed in his country a group of press agents who have adopted ‘smear’ tactics. 1974 Times 14 Feb. 22/3 In the old days they used to be called smear tactics but this year..mini-Watergates. smear test n. a test for cancer of the womb made by microscopic examination of a smear (see sense 3b). ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > diagnosis or prognosis > tests > [noun] > specific test pneobiomantia1846 blood test1851 drug test1863 Romberg test1872 Rinne1881 Romberg's sign1884 tuberculin test1892 guaiac test1894 agglutination1896 percolation test1899 Pirquet test1908 skin test1908 Wassermann1909 Romberg1915 Pandy('s) test1916 glucose tolerance test1917 Kolmer1921 patch test1922 skin testing1923 provocation1924 Kolmer–Wassermann1925 Queckenstedt1928 Kline1929 Prausnitz–Küstner1929 cross-match1930 Mantoux test1931 paraffin test1935 Paul–Bunnell test1935 stress test1937 Burpee test1939 lepromin test1939 patch testing1941 pinprick1941 breath test1945 provocation test1948 protamine titration1949 Coombs test1950 smear test1950 Schilling test1955 tanned-(red-)cell1956 amniocentesis1958 Pap smear1963 Pap test1963 drugs test1967 Schultz–Charlton1974 amnio1984 cross-matching- 1950 Consumer Rep. XV. 367/1 The smear test for uterine cancer is done by scraping tissue..from the rear of the vagina. 1977 Spare Rib May 19/1 Yearly smear tests are important as they give early warning of a disease which takes 15 years to develop. smear-word n. a word which in spite of its literal meaning is used to imply something derogatory. ΘΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > [noun] > word smear-word1938 1938 I. Goldberg Wonder of Words xv. 298 The term Bolshevik..becomes so encrusted with non-political significance that it loses any sharpness of outline..and grows into what has been called ‘a smear-word’—a word that takes on whatever emotional color the speaker may..desire. 1961 20th Cent. Jan. 87 ‘Philology’, that smear-word among students everywhere. Draft additions June 2015 Rock Climbing and Mountaineering. In the absence of a secure foothold, an act of using friction to gain purchase on a rock by pushing the sole of the climbing shoe directly against the rock surface (see smear v. Additions); (also) a poor or insecure foothold. ΚΠ 1980 B. Godfrey Outward Bound ii. 78 We learn about laybacks, underclings, pressure holds, and smears. 2000 ‘J. Roberts’ Rock & Ice Climbing! vii. 44 Doing a smear, the climber puts as much of his or her foot as possible on the hold point. 2007 Climb Mag. May 12/1 The slab is so blank and featureless..legend has it that the route could only be climbed by a series of dynamic rock-overs all linked together without stopping because the smears were too poor to stand on. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022). smearv. Brit. /smɪə/, U.S. /smɪ(ə)r/ Forms: α. Old English smirian ( smiran), Middle English smirien, Middle English smyrie. past tense Old English, Middle English smirede (Old English smiride), Middle English smired, smyrede. past participle Middle English i-smiret. β. Old English smyrian ( smyrigan), Old English–Middle English smurien. past participle Middle English i-smured. γ. Old English smerian, Middle English smeorie, Middle English smerie; Middle English smeren, Middle English–1500s smere (Middle English smer), 1500s–1600s smeere, Scottish smeir, 1600s smeer; 1500s–1600s smeare, 1500s– smear. past tense Old English–Middle English smerede, Middle English smered (Middle English smeryd), Middle English smerd. past participle Middle English i-, Middle English y-smered (Middle English smerd), Middle English, 1500s smered (Scottish1500s smerit, smeiret). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English smir- , smyr- , smerian (also smir- , smerwan ), < smeoru , smeru smear n., = Old Frisian smera (East Frisian smēre, smüri, North Frisian smēr, smerri, smöre, West Frisian smarre, †smerre), Middle Dutch smeren, smieren, smaren* (Dutch smeren), Middle Low German smeren (schmärn, schmirn), Old High German smirwan (Middle High German smirwen, smirn, German schmieren, †schmeren), Old Norse smyrva, -ja (Middle Swedish smyrja, smöria, Swedish smörja; Middle Danish smørie, Danish smøre). 1. transitive. To anoint with oil, chrism, etc., as a symbolic ceremony. In later use only with contemptuous force. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > (extreme) unction > anoint [verb (transitive)] smearc825 ChristeOE fatc1000 elec1275 chrisoma1300 enoil1340 alinec1350 anelec1350 anoint1357 ointa1382 anointa1398 creme1398 forsmerla1400 nointa1400 smerla1400 in oil(s)a1536 chrism1537 benoint1594 chrismatize1664 c825 Vesp. Ps. lxxxviii. 21 In ele halgum minum ic smirede hine. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9377 Vr lige louerd þat yeled is, & ismered to Ihesu Crist. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2457 Cristene folc..ben smered ðor-quiles he liuen Wið crisme and olie. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 93 Of þise oyle byeþ ysmered þo þet god heþ ymad kynges and lhordes of þe wordle. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7377 Vn-to king þou sal him smer. 1548 R. Crowley Informacion & Peticion sig. Aii^v So long as ydle bealies may come to the bishope and be smered for money. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. vii. 181 What will be left to the descendants of Charlemayne..save to smear themselves with oil at Rheims, and to eat their dinner under a high canopy? figurative.c825 Vesp. Ps. xliv. 8 Smirede ðec god..mid ele blisse.a1200 Vices & Virt. 33 For ði haueð ðin lauerd ismered þe mid ða ele of blisse. 2. a. To anoint, to rub or daub (a part of the body) with oil, grease, or some similar preparation. Said also of the oil, etc. In later use with suggestion of sense 4. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > oiliness or greasiness > [verb (transitive)] > smear with unguent smearc825 enoil1340 anointa1375 ointa1382 balm1398 nointa1400 ensalvec1485 strake1506 grimec1580 inungate1599 inunct1623 unguent1656 illite1657 lubricate1791 c825 Vesp. Ps. cxl. 5 Ele..synfulles ne smireð heafud min. 971 Blickling Hom. 69 Maria genam an pund deorwyrþre smerenesse, & smerede þæs Hælendes fet. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 17 Þonne ðu fæste, smyra þin heafod, and þweah þine ansyne. c1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Alswa doð monie of þas wimmen heo smurieð heom mid blanchet, þet is þes deofles sape. c1305 Judas Iscariot 126 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 110 Wiþ þis swete oignement heo smired oure louerd þer. c1315 Shoreham i. 374 For oyle smereþ þane champion, Þat me ne schel him festne. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 94 The Groom..stript for Wrestling, smears his Limbs with Oyl. View more context for this quotation 1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 454 The Indian Fair Is nicely smear'd with Fat of Bear. 1790 Coll. Voy. round World I. ii. 33 Their..foreheads..being generally smeared with brown and red paints. 1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi xi. 231 Their foreheads were smeared with white flour. 1885 E. Clodd Myths & Dreams i. vi. 105 They smear themselves with black paint in memory of that tradition. figurative.971 Blickling Hom. 73 Gif we nu willaþ ure saula smerian mid mildheortnesse ele.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 180 Beoden smirieð him. mid swote olchninge. ach teares prikeð him. †b. To prepare (a dead body) with unguents before burial. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > preparation or treatment of corpse > prepare corpse [verb (transitive)] > anoint or cere smearc950 cerec1465 c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xiv. 8 [Hia] forecuom to smiriane [Rushw. smiranne, Cp. smyrianne, Hatt. smeriene] lichoma min on bebyrgennise. c1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) 8 299 Mid þam man smyrað ricra manna lic. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 274 Nichodemus brochte to smirien ure lauerd. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2442 [I]osep dede hise lich..Wassen, and riche-like smeren. 3. a. To anoint medicinally; to treat (a wound, etc.) with a copious application of some thick or greasy medicament. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment by topical applications > treat by topical applications [verb (transitive)] > salve or anoint salvea800 smearc950 anointa1375 supplea1425 epithem1543 assalve1570 baste1570 taint1578 scarify1596 obviscate1684 c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John ix. 11 Monn..lam worhte & smiride ego mino. c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 114 Smure þæt sar gelomelice mid. c1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 An helendis Mon..wesch his wunden mid wine and smerede mid oli. a1225 Leg. Kath. 1600 Þe engles wið smirles of aromaz smireden hire wunden. a1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 277 He let is heued of-smyte, and smeorie [Harl. smyrede] him with is blod. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13547 Wit þis vn-to þe erth he spitt,..And smerd þar-wit his oþer ei. 14.. Sir Beues 3857 + 16 (MS. C.) [He] smeryd hur with oyntment. 1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 17 446 Mischief must extend, although the injured parts be smeared with turpentine. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxvi. 331 We were in the habit of smearing it [sc. the skin] with zinc ointment for several days successively. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vii. 269 We smear him with grease and gunpowder in lieu of sulphur. figurative.a1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 7 And bringue with him þe eoyle of milce..to smeorie þare-with and bringe of pine þine fader and alle his. b. To rub (sheep) with a mixture fitted to keep wet out of the fleece and prevent disease or vermin. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > sheep-farming > rear sheep or wool [verb (transitive)] > salve greasec1380 salve?1530 smearc1535 c1535 Ploughman's Tale iii. sig. C.i Ne Christes Apostels were neuer so bolde No suche lordshippes to them enbrace But smeren her shepe and kepe her folde. 1561 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 94 Sic sanctitude was Sathanis sorcereis, Christis sillie scheip and sobir flok to smeir. 1692 A. Symson Large Descr. Galloway (1823) 72 The most part of their laid-wool, call'd in other parts smear'd wool, is..so called, because..they melt butter and tar together, and therewith they..smear their sheep. 1796 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XVIII. 570 In..November the whole stock is smeared; a practice which..is found to be..beneficial. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1115 When the skin of sheep is covered with such substances they are said to be smeared. 1884 L. F. Allen New Amer. Farm Bk. 439 Smearing, or salving sheep, is a custom little practiced in this country. 4. a. To spread, daub, cover thickly or in patches, with some unctuous, greasy, sticky, or dirty substance. Sometimes said of the substance. Also rarely with in. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear smear971 besmearc1050 slobber1529 slubber1530 smore1530 to-ray1562 slubbera1586 blur1592 beblur1598 beslubber1598 besmother1598 besmouche1600 slur1602 illine1615 slerga1758 slaister1773 gaum?1825 smarm1847 slob1851 maum1888 the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > coat or cover with a layer [verb (transitive)] > smear or spread with a substance smear971 dechea1000 cleamc1000 besmearc1050 clamc1380 glue1382 pargeta1398 overslame?1440 plaster?1440 beslab1481 strike1525 bestrike1527 streak1540 bedaub1558 spread1574 daub1598 paste1609 beplaster1611 circumlite1657 oblite1657 fata1661 gaum?1825 treacle1839 butter1882 slap1902 slather1941 nap1961 (a) 971 Blickling Hom. 73 Þæt næfre ne afulaþ þæt mid hire gesmered biþ. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 994 Bulltedd bræd..smeredd wel wiþþ ele sæw. c1330 Arth. & Merl. 599 (Kölbing) Were ȝour werk ysmerd þer wiþ, Euer it wold stond in griþ. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 60 Hy smerieþ þane way of helle mid hony. a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 68 The fende alweye wolde smere her in the face with the brennynge piche, grese, oyle, lede, and terre. a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 88 Her shone smered wyth talowe. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. xi. f. 161^v These they smere or annoint with the pytche of molten Bitumen. 1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia iv. 161 All their bits were smeared ore With dusty dryed frothy gore. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 731 A Vessel of huge bulk..Smeard round with Pitch. View more context for this quotation 1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) §9 Stems of trees, smeared over with tar, are preserved thereby from being hurt by..goats. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 123 The unctuous substance with which it is smeared. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor vii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. III. 108 The fatal weapon was found in the chamber, smeared with blood. 1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly I. i. 16 I don't suppose he smears his hands with treacle. (b)1592 Arden of Feversham v. i Sweete Arden, smeard in bloode and filthy gore.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 69 If any such be heere..that loue this painting Wherein you see me smear'd . View more context for this quotation1807 J. Barlow Columbiad v. 176 His troops..smear their paths in blood. b. Without const. ΚΠ ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 277 Þeo streccheð him towart us. as þing þet ismired is. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) v. xxvi Men vseth to smere þe iointe of an Elephant to dry þe better. a1400 Seuyn Sages (W.) 1151 In ech [hole] he pelt a dosele, And smerede the holes al aboute. 1531 W. Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1537) 82 One..had nede of greace to grease shues or smeere bootes. 1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. iii. sig. H2^v Let him feede on slime That smeares the dungeon cheeke. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 302 Other Temples have other Pagods;..some of them are painted or smeered black; others red. 1763 C. Churchill Prophecy of Famine 16 Slugs, pinch'd with hunger, smear'd the slimy wall. 1805–6 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Inferno xxi. 8 Tenacious pitch, to smear Their unsound vessels. 1900 Daily News 4 June 6/2 The youngsters were smeared to the eyes. c. figurative. (a) Chiefly const. with, and usually implying something base or discreditable; (b) (without const.), to attempt to discredit (a reputation, etc.) (colloquial, originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > disfigure [verb (transitive)] > smear smear1549 the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > affect detrimentally > affect injuriously with overgoOE overruna1538 smear1549 blast1605 the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > sullying or staining of reputation > stain or sully [verb (transitive)] filea1325 foulc1330 tache1390 dark?c1400 distain1406 smita1413 blemish1414 black?c1425 defoul1470 maculate?a1475 macule1484 tan1530 staina1535 spota1542 smear1549 blot1566 besmear1579 defile1581 attaint1590 soila1596 slubber1599 tack1601 woad1603 besmirch1604 blur1604 to breathe upon ——1608 be-smut1610 clouda1616 sullya1616 taint1623 smutch1640 blackena1649 to cast, put, throw (etc.) a slur on or upon (a person or thing)1654 beslur1675 tarnish1695 blackwash1762 carbonify1792 smirch1820 tattoo1884 dirten1987 society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > pollute or defile afileeOE awemOE filec1175 wemc1175 soila1250 foulc1330 defoula1340 bleckc1380 blemishc1380 pollutea1382 tache1390 sulpa1400 vilec1400 spota1413 stain1446 defilec1450 violate1490 tan1530 smear1549 beray1576 moil1596 discolour1598 smut1601 bespurtle1604 sullya1616 commaculatec1616 decolour?c1622 collutulate1623 deturpate1623 berust1631 smutch1640 discolorate1651 smoot1683 tarnish1695 tar1817 dirten1987 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Jas. iv. f. xxxvii Why are you smeared with the vaine pleasures of this world? 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 296 Sche smeiris baith his mynd and eires with thir wordes. 1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iii. sig. D4 If the least soyle of lust smeers my pure loue. 1631 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man (new ed.) iii. ii. 171 Happi's that man..whom glory doth not smeere With lying drosse. 1652 E. Benlowes Theophila xiii. lvii. 243 After Nights Soot smears Heav'n, Day gilds its Face. 1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. iv. 63 People smearing each other over the stupid flattery. 1879 ‘E. Garrett’ House by Wks. II. 165 She would not smear his memory by any falsehoods now. (b)1936 W. Irwin Propaganda & News xxii. 292 When the Republicans began calling this line of attack the ‘smear Hoover’ campaign, Michelson..faced the microphone with a masterpiece of ingenious invective.1945 G. Endore Methinks the Lady xi. 268 You had plenty of time..to hold up the jury while you smeared the science of psychoanalysis.1948 Manch. Guardian Weekly 23 Sept. 9 He is afraid of being smeared.1951 Here & Now (N.Z.) May 23/2 Mary Jane Keeny has been a target for the red~baiters who from time to time try to smear the UN as a Communist-dominated organisation.1966 Listener 30 June 934/2 What the successors are trying to do seems to me not so much to prove particular corruption as to smear the previous regime.1978 G. McDonald Fletch's Fortune (1979) xix. 130 Is the campaign against me going to continue? Are the March newspapers going to continue to smear me? d. technical. To glaze (pottery) by a process of evaporation. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > pottery-making or ceramics > make pottery [verb (transitive)] > glaze glazec1400 lead1558 smear1839 salt glaze1968 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1019 The operation called smearing, consists in giving an external lustre to the unglazed semi~vitrified ware. 1893 Handbk. Brit. Pottery & Porcelain (Mus. Pract. Geol.) 58 Certain compositions may also be placed in the bottom of the closed saggers, and by their evaporation the ware in them may be smeared or semi-glazed. e. In Southern Africa, to coat over (the floor of a hut, etc.) with a mixture of cow-dung and water. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > clad or cover with other materials pitcheOE lute1495 loam1600 bitume1609 wainscota1631 mud1632 putty1719 compo1809 belute1837 smear1839 puddle1844 plash1864 canvas1865 cement1886 TP1962 toilet-paper1964 1839 W. C. Harris Wild Sports S. Afr. xvii. 143 The space was smeared with a mixture of mud and cow-dung, resembling that used in all parts of India for similar purposes. 1878 H. A. Roche On Trek in Transvaal xii. 251 A Kafir came to ‘daager’ or smear our floors. 1880 H. M. Prichard Friends & Foes 282 Kafir women..smear the walls and floor with ‘dargha’. 1893 R. Blennerhassett & L. Sleeman Adventures Mashonaland ii. 32 We were unsuited physically for such work as ‘daghering’ huts or ‘smearing floors’. 5. To lay on in a thick or greasy layer. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > coat or cover with a layer [verb (transitive)] > smear or spread with a substance > smear (a substance) cleamc1000 smeara1400 spread?a1425 strike1525 splet1530 dab1592 stroke1594 sponge1607 daub1647 wipe1738 plaster1799 teerc1850 slather1866 cake1944 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6077 Þis lamb blod..On airer post þer hus to smer. 1595 A. Duncan Appendix Etymologiae: Index in Latinae Grammaticae Illino, illinio, to smeir on. 1847 C. Winston Hints Glass Painting (1867) 284 A coat of enamel brown smeared smoothly and evenly on the glass. 1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 23 The [slab] of lead or cast-iron, on which rather, but not very, coarse emery is smeared with water. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 550 If some of the exudation from the brain be smeared on these media. 6. a. To rub out with a smear or smudge; to rub or draw in a smeary manner. Also with off, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > efface, obliterate [verb (transitive)] > by rubbing planec1350 to rub outc1400 to rub offa1425 sponge1548 wipe1564 spongea1636 sponge1720 smear1838 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > rubbing or friction > rub [verb (transitive)] > rub out or in smear1838 smudge1864 the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > smear > rub with a smear smear1838 1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist xiii A dirty Belcher handkerchief..with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke. 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. iii. 90 If he did by accident form a letter properly, he immediately smeared it out again with his arm. 1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 19 You go a smearing your wet face against the expensive mourning that Mrs. Richards is a wearing for your Ma! 1854 W. Collins Hide & Seek III. viii. 231 They seemed to get smeared out of my head—like we used to smear old sums off our slates at school. 1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iv. xv. 287 Smearing his sleeve across his mouth. 1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses ii The passengers..bent their eyes on the man in black, who smeared his face with his cuff. 1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Bliss 73 And then there is the waiter... When he is not smearing over the table or flicking at a dead fly or two, he stands with one hand on the back of a chair. 1964 W. Golding Spire ii. 37 One delver relaxed, and smeared a hand over his sweaty face. 1964 W. Golding Spire viii. 155 He peered in [a metal sheet] closer and closer until his breath dimmed his own image and he had to smear it off with his sleeve. b. To thrash or kill; to wipe out or destroy by bombing. slang. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > victory > make victorious [verb (transitive)] > wipe out by bombing smear1935 the world > life > death > killing > killing by specific method > kill [verb (transitive)] > by bombing smear1935 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 109/1 Smear, to kill. 1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 68 To smear someone, to thrash a person in a bout of fisticuffs. 1944 Amer. Speech 19 187 He [sc. S. J. Baker] gives examples of Australian argot, of which several follow:..smear, to murder, [etc.]. 1957 P. Frank Seven Days to Never ix. 245 We can smear every base, every industrial complex, once and for all. 1958 ‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 43 The report on the..Russian I.C.B.M. site had removed his..doubt..whether his bombers could smear it before the missiles were fired off. Draft additions June 2015 Rock Climbing and Mountaineering. a. transitive. In the absence of a secure foothold, to push (the foot or climbing shoe) directly against a rock surface so as to gain purchase using friction; to gain purchase on (a rock) in this way. ΚΠ 1974 D. K. Scott Big Wall Climbing 318/3 Edging on tiny flakes with stiff cleated soles or ‘smearing’ the hold with a non-cleated sole. 1977 R. Bridge Climbing x. 237 Scoops and pockets may give better purchase if the foot is 'smeared', the lower side placed on the hold, and the foot twisted into the depressions. 2003 Trail Nov. 103 If you can't get a positive, horizontal foothold, try to get as much sole rubber in contact with the rock as possible. ‘Smearing’ your foot like this gives you more grip. b. intransitive. In the absence of a secure foothold, to use friction to gain purchase on a rock by pushing the sole of the climbing shoe directly against the rock surface. ΚΠ 1985 Mountain No. 102 94/2 There are two basic techniques—to edge (including toe) and to smear. 1993 Climbing Oct. 35 You can't do it in slippers—you need the stiffness that a boot gives you, but you still need to be able to smear. 2010 S. M. Green Rock Climbing Colorado 5/1 Smear and edge up right on perfect granite to a final tricky traverse. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.c725v.c825
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