smoothn.
/smuːð/, U.S. /smuð/ 1. † a. A level space, = smeeth n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > [noun] > flat or level surface or side
floor?a1400
plain?a1425
pane1434
smoothc1440
platform1551
superficies1571
flat1624
level1634
plane1663
sole1711
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 460/2 Smethe, or smothe,..planicies.
b. U.S. A meadow; a grass field.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > meadow land > meadow
meadOE
meadowOE
meadlOE
plainc1330
praiere?c1335
meadow?a1400
sike1479
preea1625
sitch1842
smooth1845
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. ii. 6 Get some plantain and dandelion on the smooth for greens.
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms 314.
c. Nautical. A stretch of comparatively smooth or calm water in a rough sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [noun] > rough sea > calm stretch in
smooth1840
smooth chance or spell1840
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xlii. 303 You will find that two waves will run into one another, and..neutralize each other, so that, for a few seconds, you have what they call a smooth.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Smooth, a Cornish term applied when the surf abates its fury for a short space. Also, the lee of a ship or of a rock.
1878 D. Kemp Man. Yacht & Boat Sailing 245 If there is much sea, a ‘smooth’ should be watched for, to tack in.
d. Coal Mining. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 228 Smooth, the line of face of a stall.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 228 Smooths, planes of cleavage more or less vertical.
2.
a. The smooth part or surface of something; smoothness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [noun] > smooth part or surface
smooth1551
planitude1598
levity1613
smoothness1674
1551 Bible (Matthew's) Gen. xxvii. 16 She put ye skynnes vpon his handes, & vpon the smothe of hys necke.
1805 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1806) 9 339 Like the silver-wing'd dove was the smooth of her hair.
1880 R. Browning Pan & Luna in Dramatic Idyls 13 See how the sluggish jelly..Turns marble to the touch of who would loose The solid smooth.
b. Smooth water or ground.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [noun] > smooth sea
softnessc1275
smoothnessc1374
plain1566
hyaline1667
smooth1667
serene1772
sea level1873
the world > the earth > land > ground > [noun] > condition for movement > smooth
skelping earth1607
smooth1799
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 409 On smooth the Seale, And bended Dolphins play. View more context for this quotation
1799 W. Wordsworth Lucy Gray xvi O'er rough and smooth she trips along.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 32 To light us to the edge Through rough and smooth.
c. The agreeable or pleasant part, side, or aspect of anything. Used in contrast to rough.
ΚΠ
1612 Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 126 I truly delivered as well the rough as the smooth of all my speech.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun] > a polite or veiled
smooth1595
1595 A. Day Eng. Secretorie (new ed.) ii. sig. Ll2v Asteismus, a smooth, as we call it, as when one tels a thing repugnant to the present matter or company, to say, I had as lieue he told me it snew.
4. An act of smoothing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [noun] > making smooth
slicking1495
smoothing1577
smooth1848
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxv. 593 She..gave one smooth to her hair, and finally let in her visitor.
5. An implement for smoothing or reducing the roughness of a surface; a smoother; a smooth file.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > shaping tools or equipment > [noun] > smoothing
planer1413
calender1688
smoother1688
surfacer1775
rib1825
boss1860
smooth1879
Decoudun1889
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 414/1 When cooled, the roughnesses were taken off with a ‘smooth’ or scraper, and it was ready to receive the silver.
1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 245 The bents are then cut in the tumbler with a small saw, and finished with files and smoothes.
1895 Model Steam Eng. 92 ‘Smooth,’ Dead Smooths, the finest of all, complete the various forms of files.
6.
a. A species of moth (see quot. 1832).
ΚΠ
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 110 The Smooth (Cleora teneraria, Stephens) appears the end of June or beginning of July.
b. A smooth-coated dog.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [noun] > defined by coat
shag-hair1598
shough1599
shock1638
shock-dog1673
smooth coat1890
smooth1897
longcoat1953
1897 Westm. Gaz. 11 May 4/3 He owns a brace of smooths named Dame Fortune and Dona Fortuna.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
smoothadj.
/smuːð/, U.S. /smuð/ 1. absolute.1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) iii. xxi. 67 For the vertue of groping the soule knowith..nesshe and hard, smothe and rough.
a. Having a surface free from projections, irregularities, or inequalities; presenting no roughness or unevenness to the touch or sight.In the first example the sense is ‘unruffled, serene’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adjective]
smeethc725
unroughOE
plaina1398
balghc1440
smoothc1440
glat1481
fair1486
handsmooth1530
terse1602
smooth-faced1647
sleekyc1725
smack-smooth1755
knotless1792
gleg1808
textureless1846
glabrous1860
unsculptured1891
a1050 Liber Scintill. (1889) i. 6 Se þe mid soðre lufe full ys mid smyltum mode..& mid smoþestum andwlitum forðstæpþ.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 542 Hir fleshe tendre as is a chike With bent browis, smothe and slyke.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 6 So smal, so smoþe her sydez were.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 461/1 Smothe, pleyne, planus.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 461/1 Smothe, or softe, lenis.
a1470 Dives & Pauper (1496) x. vi. 379/2 The basynet..is..made slyke and smothe that shot may soone glyde of.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 324/2 Smothe as a borde is that is well planed, hony.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Biiij My smooth moist hand..Would in thy palme dissolue. View more context for this quotation
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 67 Women of elegant beauties, for the most part..cleare, and smooth as the polished ivory.
1682 G. Hartman Digby's Choice Coll. Rare Secrets ii. 172 Cast this Matter upon a smooth stone.
1763 O. Goldsmith in R. Brookes New Syst. Nat. Hist. I. Introd. p. xxviii These inequalities serve the better to grind..their food, but they grow smoother with age.
1779 Mirror No. 2 We are not..to wonder if the smooth enamel of the gentleman has received some little injury from the collision of such coarse materials.
1835 J. Duncan Nat. Hist. Beetles (Naturalist's Libr.: Entomol. II) 148 It is..of a black colour, rather smooth and glossy.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess v. 97 Brows as pale and smooth, As those that mourn..In deathless marble.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxiv. 48 Smooth ivory glossy from Indies.
b. Specialized uses in the sciences.
(a) Anatomy. Applied to those muscles of vertebrates that are neither skeletal (sense 1b) nor cardiac, such as those forming the gut wall, being capable of sustained but not rapid contraction and generally not under voluntary control; also to the non-striated muscle of invertebrates.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > muscle substance > [adjective]
muscular1673
musculary1679
staminal1830
striated1846
brawn-like1849
striped1850
myoid1857
smooth1860
myoepithelial1881
myoblastic1890
sarcoplasmic1891
myofibrillar1927
myoplasmic1960
myofibrillary1975
the world > animals > invertebrates > bodies or parts > [adjective] > relating to muscle
smooth1971
1860 G. Busk & T. H. Huxley tr. A. Kölliker Man. Human Histol. (new ed.) I. xxxiv. 112 In the areola of the nipple, the smooth muscles, which are especially well developed in the female, are disposed circularly in a delicate layer.
1866 T. H. Huxley Lessons Elem. Physiol. (1872) xii. 291 Muscle is of two kinds striated, or striped, and smooth, plain, or unstriated.
1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. ii. 117 The nervous system controls striped muscle, heart muscle, smooth muscle, and glands.
1959 W. Andrew Textbk. Compar. Histol. viii. 335 Alternating with these elastic tissue laminae are the masses of smooth muscle fibers with some collagenous fibers.
1962 Lancet 8 Dec. 1192/2 There was swelling of the vessel walls with separation of the smooth-muscle fibres.
1971 N. Garamvölgyi in K. Laki Contractile Proteins & Muscle 83 There is a wide variety in the different smooth muscles of invertebrate and vertebrate species.
1982 Sci. Amer. June 48/2 It is not known how calcium causes contraction in smooth muscle (most involuntary muscle).
(b) Bacteriology. Applied to a bacterial phenotype characterized by smooth-looking colonies of regular outline, and by cells having polysaccharide capsules.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > bacterium > [adjective] > specific quality of
tetragenous1888
lysogenic1899
toxicogenic1899
cryophilic1916
R1920
rough1921
smooth1921
sulphate-reducing1926
thermoduric1927
lac−1947
induced1951
inducible1953
thermoacidophilic1976
1920 J. A. Arkwright in Jrnl. Pathol. & Bacteriol. 23 359 The appearance of colonies on agar of the two forms is different. The S form makes smooth, round, domed, shiny, translucent colonies; the R form grows in colonies which have a more or less jagged outline.]
1921 J. A. Arkwright in Jrnl. Pathol. & Bacteriol. 24 38 The irregularity of the surface has led to this variant being called the Rough (‘R’) form in distinction from the Smooth (‘S’) form.
1947 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 1 20 The sharply distinct antigenic pattern observed in the smooth colony of encapsulated organisms is not preserved in the rough colony of unencapsulated variants.
1973 Klainer & Geis Agents of Bacterial Dis. i. 23 Smooth (S) colonies are convex, round, and slimy and are usually regarded as the ‘normal’ form.
(c) Of a graph, function, or distribution: having no breaks, discontinuities or irregularities.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [adjective] > of a graph
reconcilable1873
smoothed1888
linear1910
J-shaped1911
nomographic1915
smooth1929
complete1935
spanning1956
reachable1959
embeddable1961
1929 Jrnl. du Conseil Internat. pour l'Explor. de la Mer 4 211 The result was a smooth unimodal curve but very skew.
1933 Econometrica 1 242 If the values of a variable extend over a wide range, there will be little likelihood that the distribution will be smooth and unimodal.
1946 M. G. Kendall Adv. Theory Statistics II. xxix. 386 The conception of a trend as a ‘smooth’ or ‘regular’ movement is equivalent to the supposition that the trend can be represented, at least locally, by a smooth mathematical function.
1959 Listener 2 July 14/1 The light-curve is not entirely smooth, as the increase to maximum is steeper than the subsequent drop.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iv. 82 Microphones with a smooth response in the upper middle frequency range have come into general use.
1966 Rep. Comm. Inq. (Univ. of Oxf.) II. 400 Scales A and B bring the total college and university stipend to the same level as far as possible with a smooth college scale.
c. In tennis, squash, etc., of one of the two sides of the racket (see quot. 1901): used as a call when the racket is spun to decide the right to serve first or to choose ends. Opposed to rough adj. 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > [adjective] > side of racket
rough1837
smooth1890
1890 J. Marshall et al. Tennis, Rackets, Fives 26 Smooth, the front of the racket, which shows no knots. Spin, the decision by a racket, thrown spinning up into the air by one player, while the other calls ‘rough’ or ‘smooth’.
1901 Encycl. Sport II. 621/2 Smooth side or racket, the side from which the twisted gut does not project.
1911 C. H. B. Quennell in L. Weaver House & its Equipm. 204 It spoils the game if, as a result of guessing ‘rough’ or ‘smooth’ [etc.].
1961 Times 4 July 11/4 The vicar's niece, whose professed ignorance of the game [sc. lawn tennis] was emphasized by a call of ‘heads’ when she should have called ‘smooth’.
1973 M. Russell Double Hit xxv. 186 Nevil spun his racket. ‘Smooth,’ said Colleano. ‘Rough. I'll serve.’
2.
a. Free from hairs or bristles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > villosity or ciliation > [adjective] > free from hair, etc.
smoothc1405
glabrous1640
glabrate1857
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 690 No berd hadde he,..As smothe it was as it were late yshaue.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. xxvii. B Beholde, my brother Esau is rough, and I am smooth.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Glaber, smooth without heare.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 6 On their under side they are thin and smooth, but their upper outer edge is parted into two hairy edges.
1783 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 73 221 The caterpillar..is of a jetty black, smooth as to a privation of hair, but covered with innumerable wrinkles.
b. Botany. Of leaves, etc.: ‘Free from asperities or hairs, or any sort of unevenness’ (Lindley).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > appearance of plant > defined by texture > [adjective] > smooth
smooth1688
lucid1790
nitidous1882
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 88/2 Bacchar hath a long smooth leaf.
1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) 379 Lævis, smooth, free from Protuberances or Inequalities.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 356 Leaves flat and smooth.
1834 Penny Cycl. II. 11/2 A perennial plant..having one or two smooth..leaves.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. ii. iii. 593 The Gentian Order... Usually smooth herbs.
3. † b. to make smooth work of, to level with the ground, to demolish. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of ground, ways, etc.: Not rugged, rough, or broken; free from obstructions; easy to traverse. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > ground > [adjective] > condition for movement
foec1400
smoothc1400
soft?1523
skelp1607
heavy1710
tender1727
severe1881
holding1891
underfoot1976
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [adjective] > of a way, road; not rugged or rough
smoothc1400
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §29. 39 Lat thyn Astrelabie kowch adown euene vp-on a smothe grond.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 525 Whanne the sitter knowith weel the same ambuler be..redi into stumbling, thouȝ the wey be smothe and euen.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke iii. f. lxxvjv The rought wayes shalbe made smoth.
1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 3 The right path of a vertuous..Education; laborious indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth,..so full of goodly prospect.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 8 Our Fortune rolls, as from a smooth Descent.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives III. 448 The traitor led him a way that was smooth and easy at first.
1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. iii. 48 The road was..sandy enough, in all conscience, and not so smooth as it might have been.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 291 Hesiod..says that the road to wickedness is smooth and very short.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > break [verb (transitive)] > break down, demolish, or ruin
spillc950
fellOE
to cast downc1230
destroy1297
to turn up?c1335
to throw down1340
to ding downc1380
to break downa1382
subverta1382
underturn1382
to take downc1384
falla1400
to make (a building, etc.) plain (with the earth)a1400
voida1400
brittenc1400
to burst downc1440
to pull downc1450
pluck1481
tumble1487
wreck1510
defacea1513
confound1523
raze1523
arase1530
to beat downc1540
ruinate1548
demolish1560
plane1562
to shovel down1563
race?1567
ruin1585
rape1597
unwall1598
to bluster down16..
raise1603
level1614
debolish1615
unbuilda1616
to make smooth work of1616
slight1640
to knock down1776
squabash1822
collapse1883
to turn over1897
mash1924
rubble1945
to take apart1978
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale viii. 433 Biddes battries all, and musketes wholie shoote, and make smoothe worke of th' seaun mountes and the towne.
4.
a. Of water, the sea, etc.: Not broken or turbulent; free from big waves or roughness; running or flowing evenly, calmly, or gently. smooth chance or spell, a stretch of calm water in a rough sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [adjective] > not rough
stillOE
plainc1330
smoothc1374
demure1377
calmc1440
softa1450
glassy1535
sleek1603
eddyless1621
oily smooth1803
waveless1804
foamless1821
undimpled1821
rippleless1832
the world > matter > liquid > water > [adjective] > properties or characteristics of water > still, calm, smooth, or without current
stillOE
deada1000
lithec1275
smoothc1374
unruffled1710
unrippled1775
streamless1863
streamline1907
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [noun] > rough sea > calm stretch in
smooth1840
smooth chance or spell1840
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) i. metr. ii. 8 Þe causes whennes þe soundyng wyndes moeuen..þe smoþe water of þe see.
14.. J. Lydgate Chorle & Bird xxvii Smothe waters been ofte tyme depe.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 33 The sea being smooth, How many shallow bauble boates dare saile, Vpon her ancient brest.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 450 While smooth Adonis from his native Rock Ran purple to the Sea. View more context for this quotation
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 106 It being smooth Water, she work'd very well.
1757 T. Gray Ode I i. i, in Odes 5 Now the rich stream of music winds along Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna xii. xix. 259 A river deep, which flies with smooth but arrowy speed.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast v. 40 An English lad..seeing what he thought was a ‘smooth spell’, [he] started to go forward.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxv. 266 Watching for a ‘smooth chance’, we determined to show the other boats the way it should be done.
1876 L. Morris Epic of Hades ii. 23 Summer sea, Which gently heaved and surged, and kissed the ledge With smooth warm tides.
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b. Of a passage, voyage, etc.: Accompanied by or performed in good weather.Common in recent colloquial use.
5. Of wind or weather: Not rough or stormy; agreeable, pleasant. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > fine weather > [adjective] > calm (of weather, climate, or the elements)
smoltc950
lithec1275
still1390
smoothc1402
peaceablec1425
calmc1440
serenousc1440
lownc1485
stormlessc1500
serene1508
calm-winded1577
unwindy1580
calmy1587
sleek1603
halcedonian1611
pacific1633
settled1717
unstormy1823
untempested1846
placable1858
untempestuous1864
unrestless1919
c1402 J. Lydgate Compl. Black Knight 57 The eyre attempre, and the smothe wind Of Zepherus, among the blossomes whyte.
c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 3 The ayre attempered, the wyndes smowth and playne.
?1610 J. Fletcher Faithfull Shepheardesse i. sig. C2v Ayre..as fresh and sweet, As where smooth Zephirus plaies on the fleet Face of the curled streames.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 260 We had a smooth Gale of Wind at West.
6.
a. Of liquids, etc.: Having a uniform or even consistency; free from lumps or knots. †Also of light: Uniform, equable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > free from lumps
smoothc1450
sooth1819
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [adjective] > of light: uniform or equable
smooth1656
c1450 Two Cookery-bks. 77 Take vinegre and wyne, & stepe þe brede therein, and drawe hit thorgh a streynour..til hit be smoth.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 77 A fiery light, which being smooth and in some manner thick, they conceived of kin to diurnall light.
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 79 Pour it between two Vessels out of one into the other, till it is quite smooth.
1846 A. Soyer Gastron. Regenerator 588 Stir in the curdled sauce by degrees until the whole has become very smooth.
1874 ‘M. Harland’ Common Sense in Househ. (new ed.) 183 Put the flour and salt in a bowl, and add a little at a time of the water or milk, working it very smooth as you go on.
b. Of liquor: Soft or pleasing to the taste; free from sharpness or acidity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > smooth
silky1740
smooth1743
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes II. iii. xxi. 99 Corvinus, Guest divine, Bids me draw the smoothest Wine.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles i. xv. 26 At Sea-port Towns I shall expect to find My Wines of generous and of smoother Kind.
1896 A. Austin England's Darling ii. i. 32 More tuns of marsh water, I warrant, than combs of smooth ale.
7.
a. Of looks, words, etc.: Pleasant, affable, polite; seemingly amiable or friendly; having a show of sincerity or friendliness.The unfavourable sense is the more usual, as in 7b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective] > (of words or conduct) friendly
smoothc1400
amiablec1405
goodlyc1405
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > [adjective] > agreeable in manner > bland or suave > of conduct or words
smoothc1400
sarcenet1598
fair-spoken1611
urbane1659
velvety1861
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [adjective] > having or given specious appearance > appearing pleasant
smoothc1400
sugared1426
honeyed1435
sugary1591
fair-faced1601
buttered1605
sugar-candied1623
slid1719
smoothie1959
(a)
(b)1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. FFviii Softe wordes & smothe be to be ministred to idiottes and foles.a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. B4v To sooth me vp with such smooth flatterie.1628 in Catholic Tractates (S.T.S.) 272 Knox had withdrawne the harts of the people craftily from the Catholik faith, by his smoath language.1704 J. Trapp Abra-Mule iii. i I..with smooth Words Persuaded him t'intrust me with his Letter.1754 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1889) 86 I doubt not but they will indeavour to amuse you with many smooth stories, as they did me.1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iii. i. 70 I cannot shape my tongue To syllable black deeds into smooth names.1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vii. ix. 383 The General,..speaks vaguely some smooth words to the National President.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1763 With smoþe smylyng & smolt þay smeten in-to merþe, Þat al watȝ blis & bonchef [etc.].
1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London v. sig. E3v They knew howe smooth soeuer his lookes were, there was a diuell in his bosome.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 23 Colour'd with a smooth pretence Of specious love, and duty.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent ii. i With such smooth looks, and many a gentle Word The first fair She, beguil'd her easie Lord.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 853 Where fashion shall not sanctify abuse, Nor smooth good-breeding..ape the work of love!
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. ii. 37 [Oliver spoke] in his smoothest manner, and in a tone more insinuating than that which he usually employed.
b. Of the tongue, or of persons: Speaking fair or smoothly; using specious or attractive language; plausible, bland, insinuating, flattering.Usually with implication of insincerity or selfish designs, but occasionally in a better sense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > [adjective]
ficklinga1240
glozing1297
blandingc1315
blandishingc1374
glaveringc1394
fleering?a1400
sleekedc1400
faginga1425
smoothc1450
flattering1484
cogging1542
flatterous1546
butterya1585
smooth-tongueda1593
oily1598
silken1598
slick-tongued1598
soothing1599
sleek1601
slick1606
blandiloquous1615
supellectile1615
colloguing1620
losengeous1632
oiled-tongued1632
daubing1655
blandiloquious1689
smooth-booted1706
palavering1764
pill-gilding1764
oily-tongued1788
buttering1789
sleeky1810
smooth-spoken1821
oleaginous1833
butteraceous1837
saponaceous1837
soft-soapy1849
soapy1854
blarneying1884
smarmy1924
sweet-talking1956
smoothie1959
smarming1970
blandiloquent-
(a)
(b)1592 T. Tymme Plaine Discouerie Ten Eng. Lepers E iij b These kinde of burnished and smooth fellowes do they know not what.a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) v. iv. 45 I haue bin politicke with my friend, smooth with mine enemie. View more context for this quotation1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme iii. xi. §2 That sly, smooth Physician, and faithful Patron of Witches.1708 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 103 A smooth Preacher, and a rank Whigg.1781 W. Cowper Friendship 23 That man, when smoothest he appears, Is most to be suspected.1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess v. 113 I saw That it was little better in better times With smoother men.1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. iv. 119 He found the smooth of speech Nestor, the Pylian orator.in combination.1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 17 Those smooth-slie Aspicks, with their poysonie sting Murder mine honour.c1450 J. Lydgate Secrees 675 Whysperyng tounges,..Smothe afore folk, to fawnyn and to shyne, And shewe two facys in oon hood.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Sivv/2 A Smouth tong, lingua compta.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 70 This leathern Ierkin,..smothe tongue. View more context for this quotation
?1610 J. Fletcher Faithfull Shepheardesse i. sig. C2v A chastity, That neither pleasing age, smooth tongue, or gold, Could euer breake vpon.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. v. vii. 332 Bertrand-Moleville has a smooth tongue,..gall in his heart.
1863 G. J. Whyte-Melville Gladiators I. 32 She is not to be won by a smooth tongue and a beardless face.
c. Superior, excellent, ‘classy’; clever, ‘neat’. colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]
faireOE
bremea1000
goodlyOE
goodfulc1275
noblec1300
pricec1300
specialc1325
gentlec1330
fine?c1335
singulara1340
thrivena1350
thriven and throa1350
gaya1375
properc1380
before-passinga1382
daintiful1393
principala1398
gradelya1400
burlyc1400
daintyc1400
thrivingc1400
voundec1400
virtuousc1425
hathelc1440
curiousc1475
singlerc1500
beautiful1502
rare?a1534
gallant1539
eximious1547
jolly1548
egregious?c1550
jellyc1560
goodlike1562
brawc1565
of worth1576
brave?1577
surprising1580
finger-licking1584
admirablea1586
excellinga1586
ambrosial1598
sublimated1603
excellent1604
valiant1604
fabulous1609
pure1609
starryc1610
topgallant1613
lovely1614
soaringa1616
twanging1616
preclarent1623
primea1637
prestantious1638
splendid1644
sterling1647
licking1648
spankinga1666
rattling1690
tearing1693
famous1695
capital1713
yrare1737
pure and —1742
daisy1757
immense1762
elegant1764
super-extra1774
trimming1778
grand1781
gallows1789
budgeree1793
crack1793
dandy1794
first rate1799
smick-smack1802
severe1805
neat1806
swell1810
stamming1814
divine1818
great1818
slap-up1823
slapping1825
high-grade1826
supernacular1828
heavenly1831
jam-up1832
slick1833
rip-roaring1834
boss1836
lummy1838
flash1840
slap1840
tall1840
high-graded1841
awful1843
way up1843
exalting1844
hot1845
ripsnorting1846
clipping1848
stupendous1848
stunning1849
raving1850
shrewd1851
jammy1853
slashing1854
rip-staving1856
ripping1858
screaming1859
up to dick1863
nifty1865
premier cru1866
slap-bang1866
clinking1868
marvellous1868
rorty1868
terrific1871
spiffing1872
all wool and a yard wide1882
gorgeous1883
nailing1883
stellar1883
gaudy1884
fizzing1885
réussi1885
ding-dong1887
jim-dandy1888
extra-special1889
yum-yum1890
out of sight1891
outasight1893
smooth1893
corking1895
large1895
super1895
hot dog1896
to die for1898
yummy1899
deevy1900
peachy1900
hi1901
v.g.1901
v.h.c.1901
divvy1903
doozy1903
game ball1905
goodo1905
bosker1906
crackerjack1910
smashinga1911
jake1914
keen1914
posh1914
bobby-dazzling1915
juicy1916
pie on1916
jakeloo1919
snodger1919
whizz-bang1920
wicked1920
four-star1921
wow1921
Rolls-Royce1922
whizz-bang1922
wizard1922
barry1923
nummy1923
ripe1923
shrieking1926
crazy1927
righteous1930
marvy1932
cool1933
plenty1933
brahmaa1935
smoking1934
solid1935
mellow1936
groovy1937
tough1937
bottler1938
fantastic1938
readyc1938
ridge1938
super-duper1938
extraordinaire1940
rumpty1940
sharp1940
dodger1941
grouse1941
perfecto1941
pipperoo1945
real gone1946
bosting1947
supersonic1947
whizzo1948
neato1951
peachy-keen1951
ridgey-dite1953
ridgy-didge1953
top1953
whizzing1953
badass1955
wild1955
belting1956
magic1956
bitching1957
swinging1958
ridiculous1959
a treat1959
fab1961
bad-assed1962
uptight1962
diggish1963
cracker1964
marv1964
radical1964
bakgat1965
unreal1965
pearly1966
together1968
safe1970
bad1971
brilliant1971
fabby1971
schmick1972
butt-kicking1973
ripper1973
Tiffany1973
bodacious1976
rad1976
kif1978
awesome1979
death1979
killer1979
fly1980
shiok1980
stonking1980
brill1981
dope1981
to die1982
mint1982
epic1983
kicking1983
fabbo1984
mega1985
ill1986
posho1989
pukka1991
lovely jubbly1992
awesomesauce2001
nang2002
bess2006
amazeballs2009
boasty2009
daebak2009
beaut2013
1893 W. K. Post Harvard Stories 210 ‘Well, you'll have a rattling good time down there.’ ‘A smooth time, you mean,’ corrected Rattleton.
1893 W. K. Post Harvard Stories 216 I have forgotten now which pin it was; but it was the symbol of some particularly ‘smooth’ and secret band of brothers.
1900 E. E. Peake Darlingtons iii. 26 Mr. Darlington's eyes sparkled fondly back upon the building, just as they had every morning from the time the walls had gone up. ‘Pretty smooth, Carol!’ said he, admiringly. ‘Pretty smooth, papa!’ she answered, adopting his slang.
1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 43 The Benevolent Lady..derived much Joy from the Knowledge that..People were..remarking..‘Say, ain't she the Smooth Article?’
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Bill the Conqueror iii. 82 How did you come to think of this stunt?.. It was the smoothest trick I ever heard of.
1942 E. B. White Let. 31 Jan. (1976) 222 MacLeish looks a little like Doctor Devol, and he is some smooth poet.
1946 P. G. Wodehouse Joy in Morning xxvi. 237 Smooth work, Uncle Percy... There can't be many fellows about with brains like yours.
1970 C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 106 Smooth, very adept; clever.
d. Of manners, dress, etc.: stylish, suave, chic. colloquial.Sometimes indistinguishable from senses 7b, 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > smart
gallantc1420
galliard1513
fine1526
trickly1580
pink1598
genteel1601
sparkful1605
sparkish1657
jaunty1662
spankinga1666
shanty1685
trig1725
smartish1738
distinguished1748
nobby1788
dashing1801
vaudy1805
swell1810
distingué1813
dashy1822
nutty1823
chic1832
slicked1836
flash1838
rakish1840
spiffy1853
smart1860
sassy1861
classy1870
spiffing1872
toffish1873
tony1877
swish1879
hep1899
toffy1901
hip1904
toppy1905
in1906
floozy1911
swank1913
jazz1917
ritzy1919
smooth1920
snappy1925
snazzy1931
groovy1937
what ho1937
gussy1940
criss1954
high camp1954
sprauncy1957
James Bondish1966
James Bond1967
schmick1972
designer1978
atas1993
as fine as fivepence-
1920 P. G. Wodehouse Jill the Reckless xix. 350 ‘What charming manners Major Selby has. So polished... So smooth!’ ‘Smooth,’ said Mr. Pilkington dourly, ‘is right!’
1924 P. Marks Plastic Age xi. 99 A ‘smooth’ boy who prided himself on his conquests.
1924 P. Marks Plastic Age xvi. 168 These were the ‘smooth boys’, interested primarily in clothes and ‘parties’.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §233/10 Stylish; ‘chic’...smooth.
1944 Chicago Tribune 10 Dec. (Grafic Mag.) 4 Watch those people whom you consider smooth; see how they dress.
1977 N. Marsh Last Ditch iii. 55 Louis..looked almost embarrassingly smooth in breeches, boots, sharp hacking-jacket and gloves.
8.
a. Of style or diction: Flowing gently or easily; nicely modulated; not harsh or rugged; polished.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adjective] > refined or cultured
polite?a1500
fileda1533
facetious1542
exquisited1581
refined1582
smooth1589
perpolite1592
terse1628
washed1628
refine1646
parliamentary1789
literary1793
urbane1800
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 164 And our speech is made melodious or harmonicall..by choise of smoothe words.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. vi. i. sig. Mm7v I some times..tri'd my Pen in a smoother, and more florid style.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 42 Who then shou'd sing the Nymphs, or who rehearse The Waters gliding in a smoother Verse!
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vii. 132 Their Stile is clear, masculine, and smooth, but not florid.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion vi. 273 Smooth verse, inspired by no unlettered Muse. View more context for this quotation
1874 W. Chappell Hist. Mus. I. v. 99 Plato [described the Phrygian mode]..as smooth and fit for prayer.
b. Of writers: Having an easy, polished style.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adjective] > refined or cultured > of a writer
smooth-tongued1658
smooth1670
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. i. 12 Joseph of Exeter, the only smooth Poet of those times.
1805 G. Ellis in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1837) II. i. 31 Indeed, who is so unequal as Dryden? It may be said that he was not intentionally so—but to be very smooth is very often to be tame.
9. Making smooth; producing smoothness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adjective] > making smooth
smoothing1495
smootha1596
smoothening1841
sleeking1873
a1596 Sir Thomas More (1911) iv. iii I haue had A smoothe courte shauing.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Smooth Boiling of Sugar, (among Confectioners) is when the Sugar is Boil'd to such a Degree, that [etc.].
10. Free from disturbance or excitement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > quietness or tranquillity > [adjective]
stillc1275
coyc1330
restful1340
quieta1382
peaceablec1384
peacefula1400
undisturbleda1400
somec1460
quietous1528
reposeda1533
unnoyed1543
calma1568
halcyon1570
calmya1586
quietsome1595
halcyonian1602
undisturbeda1610
halcedonian1611
tranquila1616
tranquillous1638
slumbering1645
halcydon1648
smooth1757
slumberous1765
stilly1776
sleeping1785
unfrenzied1805
Sabbath-like1824
unbustling1826
eddyless1862
restinga1865
pacific1865
Sabbatismal1881
the mind > emotion > calmness > [adjective] > untroubled
untormentedc1374
unstrainedc1400
unscourgedc1412
quietc1460
untroubled1484
secure1545
unstricken1548
unplagued1549
unoppressed1559
incurious1570
secure1578
undistressed1582
unclouded1598
unpangeda1625
indisturbed1664
unpained1667
ungrieved1676
smooth1757
unhaunted1818
unteased1843
unfazed1855
all serene1856
unfussed1907
unthrown1959
OK1978
1757 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful i. §5. 12 That smooth and voluptuous satisfaction which the assured prospect of pleasure bestows.
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 121 Hence have I Smooth passions, smooth discourse, and joyous thought.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iii. 222 Majesties' Apartments closed in smooth rest.
11. Free from, unaccompanied by, obstruction, interruption, impediment, or difficulty. Also in to make smooth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adjective] > not hindering or encumbering > not hindered or encumbered
freeeOE
unletted?a1425
unimpeachedc1430
frank1481
nearc1520
untangled1539
unclogged1548
uncumbered1551
unprevented1572
cumberless1581
unentangleda1586
undebarred1595
unstayed1600
disencumbered1611
unhindered1615
unretarded1615
unstopped1621
unobstructed1648
unengaged1653
extricated1657
unbeclogged1674
unhampered1702
unembarrassed1708
unencumbered1722
unstemmed1732
disembarrassed1741
unstifled1742
unimpeded1760
smooth1792
untrammelled1795
unintercepted1814
unmired1834
frictionless1848
unsmothereda1849
unbalked1888
unlocked1890
1792 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 371 If government is perfectly in earnest, every thing ought to be made smooth for them.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iii. iv. 167 Consider too whether he had smooth times of it.
1884 Manch. Examiner 21 May 5/3 The progress of the measure through Committee should..be fairly smooth and speedy.
1890 J. Martineau Seat Authority Relig. i. i. 10 Except where the evolution was smooth and the order eternal.
12. Of sounds: Soft, not harsh or grating.In quot. 1887 used to render Latin tenuis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > pleasantness of sound > [adjective] > gentle or not harsh
smalleOE
softc1230
gentle1548
softly1576
melting1585
mellow1650
dulcified1684
tender1709
silken1785
smooth1836
velvety1896
1836 G. Dubourg Violin ix. 234 It is not age, but constant use, that is the means of producing a smooth, clear tone.
1887 A. S. Cook tr. E. Sievers Old Eng. Gram. (ed. 2) iii c is the character for the smooth guttural and the smooth palatal.
Compounds
C1.
a. Special collocations.† smooth-pate n. Obsolete a smooth-headed person.
smooth breathing n. see breathing n. 9.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by manner > [noun] > aspirate > aspiration > smooth breathing
spiritus lenis1625
smooth breathing1746
1746 T. Nugent tr. C. Lancelot New Method of Learning Greek Tongue The Grammarians call breathing (πνεῦμα) the manner of breathing a Syllable in pronouncing it. These breathings are twofold; one soft and smooth..thus ἐγὼ..The other rough and hard ..thus ἅμα.
1888 J. E. King & C. Cookson Princ. Sound & Inflexion Greek & Lat. 172 The prefix sm̥- (together) appears as ă- with a smooth breathing in ἀ-δελϕός.
smooth calf-skin n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 4th Ser. 264/2 Coloured calf-skins may be bought almost as cheaply as ‘smooth’ calf (uncoloured ones).
smooth coat n. a smooth-coated dog.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [noun] > defined by coat
shag-hair1598
shough1599
shock1638
shock-dog1673
smooth coat1890
smooth1897
longcoat1953
1890 Daily News 10 Dec. 2/3 This is the best show..ever held by the club, especially of the smooth coats.
smooth core n. (see quot. 1926).
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 590/2 The same law has also been found to hold true for a smooth-core ring or drum armature.
1926 Brit. Engin. Standards Assoc., Electr. Engin. 61 Smooth core, a core of a machine in which the windings are on the surface of the core and not in slots.
smooth-file n. (see quots. 1875).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > shaping tools or equipment > file > [noun] > fine
smooth-file1678
rat-tail file1744
rat's tail file1777
rat-tail1820
rat-tail rasp1827
rat's taila1830
Swiss file1960
dead-file-
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. i. 15 The Smooth file is to take out those cuts or file-stroaks that the fine file made.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2227/1 Smooth-file, 1. A finishing-file, whose teeth are of a grade of coarseness between the second-cut and the dead-smooth... 2. The rubbing-tool used by the needle-maker in pressing and rolling a pack of wires, cut for needles.
smooth-file v.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > work with tools or equipment [verb (transitive)] > filing, polishing, or smoothing tool
planea1398
pumicea1425
roll?1523
plain1535
pounce1580
file1616
smooth-file1683
plane1726
sandpaper1846
pumice-stone1851
paper1875
lap1881
sand1928
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 67 These Ribs must be purely Smooth-fil'd and Pollish'd.
smooth grace n. Music (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1659 C. Simpson Division-violist 9 Graces done with the Fingers, are of two sorts: viz. smooth and shaked.
smooth-head n. Mining (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 228 Smooth-heads. See Bright-heads [backs or slines].
smooth mouth n. the worn teeth without cusps found in horses more than seven or eight years old.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > mouth or type of > teeth > that indicate age
gnomons1607
shell-tooth1706
smooth mouth1940
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 560/2 Mouth, smooth (Vet.). Smooth and polished grinding surface of the molar teeth of horses.
1955 R. P. Hobson Nothing too Good for Cowboy vi. 51 Between eight and ten years of age..they [sc. horses] acquire what we call a smooth mouth.
smooth-mouthed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [adjective] > having particular type of mouth
well-moutheda1425
smooth-mouthed1974
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 154 The yellow, gibbose, smooth-mouthed Porcellana.
1974 H. S. Thomas Horses x. 183 At age nine the cusps are gone from the corner incisors. The horse is said to be smooth-mouthed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > [noun] > state of having no > person having no
callowc1300
ballarda1382
pilgarlica1529
bald-head1535
bald-pate1601
smooth-patea1616
alopic1623
bald-coot1823
baldy1863
bladder of lard1864
skinhead1945
slaphead1990
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) i. ii. 37 The horson smooth-pates [1600 smoothy-pates] doe now weare nothing but high shoes.
smooth-plane n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > shaping tools or equipment > plane > [noun] > finishing plane
smoothing-plane1678
smooth-plane1875
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2227/2 Smooth-plane, a smoothing or finishing-plane; the last used of the series of bench-planes.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 825/2 Smooth Plane, one the bit of which is set at a relatively more obtuse angle than that of a block plane.
smooth-sayer n. U.S. a smooth-tongued or plausible person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > [noun] > flatterer
fickler?c1225
losenger1303
glothererc1325
flatterera1340
blander1340
flatter1340
glozera1420
fleecherc1425
fager1435
soother1553
smooth-boots1599
sleekstonea1610
blandisher1611
cogger1611
over-prizer1611
smoother1611
colloguer1631
dauber1642
pargetera1656
flattercap1681
whillywhaa1682
sweetener1728
proneur1809
carney1818
soft-soaper1839
soft-solderer1851
smooth-sayer1872
incenser1873
soft-mouth1881
blarneyer1882
flannel-mouth1882
oiler1883
jollier1896
smoodger1898
plámáser1919
sweet-talker1946
smarmy1957
1872 C. D. Warner Backlog Stud. 132 I should rather, ten times over, dispense with the flatterers and the smooth-sayers than the grumblers.
b. In the names of animals, esp. fishes and reptiles.
smooth anemone n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1858 G. H. Lewes Sea-side Stud. i. 16 The common Smooth Anemone may be had not far from high-water mark in many places.
smooth blenny n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > [noun] > suborder Blennioidei > family Blenniidae > member of genus Blennius (blenny) > blennius pholis (smooth blenny)
stone-fish1668
mulgronnick1673
bulcard1674
sea-lark1694
shan1713
smooth shan1713
smooth blenny1769
shanny1836
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 169 The Smooth Blenny..on the rocky coasts of Anglesea.
1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 99 The Smooth Blenny (Blennius pholis) is commonly known as the Shanny.
smooth dab n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 221 The Lemon Dab, or Smooth Dab, is not of such frequent occurrence as the common Rough Dab.
smooth flounder n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 183 The Smooth Flounder..is very similar in habits and appearance to the Flat Fish.
smooth-head n. a deep-sea fish belonging to the family Alepocephalidæ, resembling a herring with a larger body and dark-coloured skin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > [noun] > member of family Alocephalidae (smooth-head)
smooth-head1931
1931 J. R. Norman Hist. Fishes viii. 150 A species of Smooth-head (Leptoderma) captured in the Bay of Bengal has been described as having the skin covered all over with a thick, opalescent, and uniformly luminous epidermis.
1969 A. Wheeler Fishes Brit. Isles & N.-W. Europe 123 Smooth-heads..are deep-water relatives of the herring family.
1975 Times 5 Dec. 12/3 Smooth-head is abundant, but..its flesh has the consistency of custard.
smooth hound n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 123 [In list of Fish] Roughe hounds, smothe houndes.
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 91 The Smooth Hound..is called smooth, not that the skin is really so, but because it wants the spines on the back.
smooth perch n.
ΚΠ
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes I. 9 The Smooth Perch, Perca channus, a fish..frequently occurring on the coast of Cornwall.
smooth serranus n.
ΚΠ
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes I. 9 The Smooth Serranus. Serranus cabrilla.
smooth shan n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > [noun] > suborder Blennioidei > family Blenniidae > member of genus Blennius (blenny) > blennius pholis (smooth blenny)
stone-fish1668
mulgronnick1673
bulcard1674
sea-lark1694
shan1713
smooth shan1713
smooth blenny1769
shanny1836
1713 Jago in Ray's Syn. Pisc. 164 Cataphractus lævis Cornubiensis. Smooth Shan.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes I. 230 The Shanny, or smooth Shan, blennius pholis.
smooth shark n.
ΚΠ
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 393 Squalus mustelus, Smooth shark.
smooth-sides n.
ΚΠ
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 61 It is known as the Sapphirine gurnard..: sea crow:..smooth sides.
smooth snake n.
ΚΠ
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 515 Smooth Snake,..Coronella Austriaca.
1897 G. C. Bateman Vivarium 273 The Smooth Snake..is by far the most interesting of our three English snakes.
smooth sole n.
ΚΠ
1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 191 The Smooth Sole..is extremely thin, pellucid, and white.
1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 69 The Scald-fish, or Megrim, or Smooth Sole (Arnoglossus laterna).
c. In the names of plants or trees.
smooth acanthus n.
ΚΠ
1812 S. Edwards New Bot. Garden I. 2 Both the Smooth and Prickly Acanthus are found to succeed in any common soil.
smooth archangel n.
ΚΠ
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 88 Lamium Lævigatum. Smooth Archangel.
smooth flower n.
ΚΠ
1887 G. Nicholson Illustr. Dict. Gardening III. 446 Smooth flower, a popular name for Leianthus longifolius, and other species.
smooth holly n.
ΚΠ
1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Plants Austral. 554 Hedycarya angustifolia... ‘Native Mulberry’, ‘Smooth Holly’.
smooth kedlock n.
ΚΠ
1790 W. Marshall Agric. Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Midland Counties II. 434 Cadlock, smooth, brasica napus, wild rape.
smooth maple n.
ΚΠ
1882 F. B. Hough Elem. Forestry 239 The Smooth Maple (Acer glabrum).
smooth rock spleenwort n.
ΚΠ
1859 A. Pratt Brit. Grasses & Sedges 211 Smooth Rock Spleenwort.
smooth sumac n.
ΚΠ
1882 F. B. Hough Elem. Forestry 297 The Smooth Sumach (Rhus glabra).
C2. With nouns used attributively. See also smooth-bore n. 2.
smooth-bark adj.
ΚΠ
1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 123 Of hickory, we have both the shagbark and smooth bark.
smooth-face adj.
ΚΠ
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood Epigram xii. sig. Bv Therefore for the smooth-face cut he calles.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 12 Apr. 3/3 Some are in handsome smooth-face cloth.
smooth-side adj.
ΚΠ
1880 Harper's Mag. Aug. 397 The carvel-built or smooth-side canoe is lighter as well as speedier than the clinker built.
C3.
a. Forming parasynthetic adjectives.Only a few of the earlier or more important examples of this type are given.† smooth-dittied adj. Obsolete† smooth-foreheaded adj. Obsolete† smooth-fronted adj. Obsolete
smooth-bellied adj.
ΚΠ
1607 T. Tomkis Lingua iii. ii And your smooth-bellied..drones are never without him.
smooth-browed adj.
ΚΠ
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion iii. 42 The smooth-brow'd Plaine..doth bid The Larke to leaue her Bowre.
smooth-cheeked adj.
ΚΠ
1633 J. Ford 'Tis Pitty shee's Whore i. sig. Cv All that smooth'd-cheeke Vertue could aduise.
1927 V. Woolf in Nation & Athenæum Aug. 661/2 One of those smooth-cheeked, steady-eyed men.
smooth-chinned adj.
ΚΠ
1623 P. Massinger Duke of Millaine ii. i. sig. D4 The smooth-chin'd Courtiers are abroad.
smooth-coated adj.
ΚΠ
1696 London Gaz. No. 3243/4 Lost,..a Liver colour and white Spaniel Setting Dog,..smooth Coated.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 198 Amongst the smooth-coated beauties in the kennel..[is] ‘Lady Help’.
ΚΠ
1637 J. Milton Comus 4 His soft Pipe, and smooth-dittied Song.
smooth-edged adj.
ΚΠ
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 78 That of smooth edged leaves: or that whose leaves are..curled or waved about the edges.
smooth-fleshed adj.
ΚΠ
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (London ed.) 41 Fig-trees, weird fig-trees Made of thick, smooth silver..Thick, smooth-fleshed silver.
ΚΠ
1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor v. i. sig. M2 Lets all be smoth fore headed once agayne. View more context for this quotation
ΚΠ
1598 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. ii. 28 That land..Which to smooth-fronted peace is most procliue.
smooth-grained adj.
ΚΠ
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 90 Nor Box, nor Limes,..Smooth-grain'd, and proper for the Turner's Trade. View more context for this quotation
1963 Times 16 May 16/1 Viennese singers are frequently smooth-grained in comparison with their Italian colleagues.
smooth-haired adj.
ΚΠ
1637 J. Milton Comus 25 Millions of spinning worms, That in their green shops weave the smooth-hair'd silk.
1871 ‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshman 30 A smooth-haired terrier.
smooth-lined adj.
ΚΠ
1930 W. B. Yeats Wild Apples 23 And land and strand and all are fair As that smooth-lined up-tilted boat From which the Foam-Born Queen stept out.
smooth-lipped adj.
ΚΠ
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan sig. Hv But yet when my discourse hath staide your quaking, You will be smoother lipt.
1862 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 9 Or on the swell Tugg'd the boss'd, smooth-lipp'd, giant Strombus-shell.
smooth-paced adj.
ΚΠ
1656 A. Cowley Misc. 39 in Poems The smooth-pac'ed Hours of ev'ery day Glided numerously away.
a1941 V. Woolf Captain's Death Bed (1950) 151 A large, smooth-paced cart horse.
smooth-perfumed adj.
ΚΠ
1923 E. Sitwell Bucolic Comedies 29 Smooth-perfumèd stephanotis.
smooth-plumed adj.
ΚΠ
1918 W. de la Mare Motley & Other Poems 72 The smooth-plumed bird.
smooth-surfaced adj.
ΚΠ
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi xxv. 274 The Devil's Tea Table..a great smooth-surfaced mass of rock.
1967 M. Clark in Coast to Coast 1965–66 34 Fluffy, bouncy balls and not those smooth-surfaced..ones.
smooth-swarded adj.
ΚΠ
1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 56 Naked they came to the smoothswarded bower.
smooth-tempered adj.
ΚΠ
1834 J. S. Knowles Beggar of Bethnal Green iii. (Rtldg.) i. 380 The smoothest-temper'd fellow in Christendom.
smooth-tongued adj.
ΚΠ
1686 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 500 Lawyers..whereof one the smoth-tong'd Soliciter.
b. In the specific names of birds, fishes, etc.
ΚΠ
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 306 The smooth-bodied Raia.
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 125 The lesser, smooth-clouded..Cochlea.
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 28 The smooth-nosed Shrimp.
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 118 Smooth-legged Eared Owl,..having the legs bare of feathers.
1787 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds Suppl. I. 67 Smooth-billed Toucan.
1829 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom VII. 467 Smooth-billed Barbican, Pogonias Levirostris.
1831 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom IX. Syn. 37 Smooth-necked Guana, Iguana Delesatissima.
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes I. 81 The Smooth-tailed Stickleback, in which the lateral plates extend no farther than the ends of the rays of the pectoral fin.
c1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 91 The second sub-family of the Hirundinidæ.—Smooth-winged Swallows.
1893 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. I. 474 The Smooth-nosed Mungooses.
c. In the specific names of plants or trees.
ΚΠ
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 240 Gramen cristatum..is in English called smooth-crested grass.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 587 A small species of vetch, called the smooth-podded tare.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 621 Smooth-stalked meadow-grass thrives best in dry situations.
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 7 Long Smooth-headed Poppy.
1822 S. Clarke Hortus Anglicus II. 160 Biscutella Lævigata. Smooth podded Buckler Mustard.
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters (1858) 398 The prevailing vegetable is the smooth-stemmed tangle—Laminaria saccharina.
1887 G. Nicholson Illustr. Dict. Gardening III. 35 Buckeye; Smooth-fruited Horse Chestnut.
1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Plants Austral. 441 The former [was called] by the colonists ‘Rough-barked Bloodwood’, and the latter ‘Smooth-barked Bloodwood’.
1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Plants Austral. 476 The ‘Smooth-barked Ironbark’ from Brisbane.
Draft additions December 2015
Mathematics. [Apparently after German glatt (W. F. Osgood Lehrb. der Funktionentheorie (1907) I. 122), although possibly coined first in English by the same author.] Of a function: having a continuous first derivative at each point; capable of being differentiated an infinite number of times. Of a curve or other mathematical structure: involving smooth functions in some way.
ΚΠ
1908 E. R. Hedrick in Ann. Math. 9 163 A curve x = f(t), y = ϕ(t), (t0 ≦ t ≦ t1) is smooth according to Professor Osgood..if f(t) and ϕ(t) possess continuous first derivatives which satisfy the relation f′(t)2 + ϕ′(t)2 > 0 for every value of t considered.
1936 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 40 196 Under Theorem VIII fall such smooth functions as e−t.
1963 Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 352 There are smooth manifolds which are diffeomorphic but not concordant.
1986 M. Crampin & F. A. E. Pirani Applicable Differential Geom. x. 252 A vector field is smooth if and only if its components in the charts of any atlas are smooth functions.
2013 K. Cahill Physical Math. ii. 94 An infinitely differentiable function is said to be smooth or C∞.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
smoothv.
/smuːð/, U.S. /smuð/ 1. absolute.1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xli. 7 The carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer, him that smote the anuill. View more context for this quotationfigurative.1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. ii. 98 What tongue shall smooth thy name, When I thy three houres wife haue mangled it. View more context for this quotation1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 200 Time, that smooths All things, hath smoothed the front of my offence.
a. transitive. To make (a surface or substance) smooth, even, or level; to remove or reduce the roughness, irregularity, inequality, or unevenness of; to give a smooth or glossy surface to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)]
smeethc1000
slipe1390
smoothc1440
sleck1530
explain1549
smooth1611
besmooth?1615
sleek1619
deglabrate1623
unruffle1629
smoothen1678
cleanse1680
smoothen1680
smooth1859
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 430 Of the claue Is best an handful greet..Er eyther ende ysmothed is to haue.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) iii. xiv. 58 This vertue informatiua thyrllyth what shall be thirlled, and smotheth what is rough.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 58 It surpasseth..all images of the caruer or grauer smothed and fined with his chosen instruments.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. ii. 13 To smooth the yce, or adde another hew Vnto the Raine-bow.
1630 M. Drayton Muses Elizium vii. 61 Here be fine night Maskes, plastred well within, To supple wrinckles, and to smooth the skin.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 57 Let the weighty Rowler run the round, To smooth the Surface of th' unequal Ground. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. viii. 141 His Majesty's Ship-Carpenters..helped me in smoothing them, after I had done the rough Work.
1763 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry IV. 217 The head of the stock being cut off and smoothed.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward I. Introd. p. xlvii An immense assiêtte of spinage, not smoothed into a uniform surface.
1881 H. James Portrait of Lady II. xvii. 204 Rosier got up, and stood smoothing his hat.
b. To iron (linen, etc.). Now dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (transitive)] > press or iron
set1530
press1555
pote1600
poke1606
smooth1617
iron?1670
goffer1706
steel1746
goose1808
streak1823
flat-iron1865
fuller1880
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 172 They have little skill in washing, starching, or smoothing linnen.
1654 E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 58 The girle at that present..being smoothing of Lynnen.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Heater An iron made hot, and put into a box-iron, to smooth and plait linnen.
c. To cause (feathers, hair, etc.) to lie smooth and even. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)] > specific hair, feathers, etc.
smooth1637
1637 J. Milton Comus 9 How sweetly did they float upon the wings Of Silence,..At every fall smoothing the Raven downe Of darknesse till she smil'd.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 692 To smooth The shag of savage nature.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 165 There to his proud horse Lancelot turn'd, and smooth'd The glossy shoulder.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar viii. 81 Sylla himself had to smoothe the ruffled plumes of his aspiring follower.
d. transferred. To reduce to a simple vowel.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > furnish with or produce by vowel [verb (transitive)] > convert to monophthong
smooth1894
monophthongize1910
1894 H. Sweet Anglo-Saxon Reader (ed. 7) p. xxiv In Angl. c(x), h, g..‘smooth’ a preceding diphthong.
e. To transform or modify (a graph, distribution, or function) so as to make it smooth; to lessen irregularities or fluctuations in (something that can be represented by a graph). Cf. sense Phrasal verbs 3c below.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > create a graph [verb (transitive)] > modify a graph
extrapolate1874
smooth1889
embed1922
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > collect or employ statistics [verb (transitive)] > alter or modify
smooth1889
weight1901
partial1928
skew1929
studentize1934
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > transformation > transform [verb (transitive)] > smooth
smooth1889
1889 F. Galton Nat. Inheritance vii. 100 These [relations] came out distinctly after I had ‘smoothed’ the entries.
1898 Knowledge 1 Oct. 235/1 Then the thirteen year series of these numbers is smoothed with averages of four.
1934 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. Oct. 249 The theoretical periodogram was..made to conform... It was therefore smoothed per ten units, thus making it resemble a curve of old log. units.
1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics x. 203 The performance of the diode rectifier is improved by the use of a filter circuit to smooth the output.
1979 Sci. Amer. May 52/3 This generalization is strictly statistical, because our analysis has smoothed the gas distribution... It does not rule out the existence of isolated patches of vigorous star formation.
2.
a. To make (a way) easy or plain; to free from obstruction, difficulty, or impediment. Chiefly in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > make easy or easier > make free of hindrances or encumberment
smooth1582
disclog1611
uncloga1616
unhamper1648
disembarrass1726
debarrass1789
distrammel1856
disentrammel1866
clarify1876
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 56 Thee fats thee passage shal smooth.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. ii. 65 I would remoue these tedious stumbling blockes, And smooth my way vpon their headlesse neckes. View more context for this quotation
1628 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. iii. sig. B5v Hee counts it not profanenesse..to smooth his way by Aristotle to Schoole-Diuinitie.
1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 39 The more effectualy to smooth my way.
1717 A. Pope Eloisa to Abelard in Wks. 433 Thou, Abelard! the last sad office pay, And smooth my passage to the realms of day.
1779 Mirror No. 32 A qualification extremely useful for smoothing a man's way through the world.
1865 E. Burritt Walk to Land's End 99 Intending to smoothe the way to matrimonial happiness.
1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 249 His earliest work was to smooth the way for Cardinal Pole's return to England.
b. To diminish or clear away (an obstruction, difficulty, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > make easy or easier > resolve (difficulties)
smooth1611
smootha1616
to iron out1880
sort1948
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. ii. 185 We doubt not now, But euery Rubbe is smoothed on our way. View more context for this quotation
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands v. 147 Those who had so kindly..smoothed for her all the difficulties of her journey.
3. To render (the brow) free from wrinkles, lines, frowns, etc., by natural effort; to invest with, replace by, a calm or placid expression. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [verb (transitive)] > contract or relax
knitc1405
strain1556
unknit1566
unpleat1572
unfret1594
unplaitc1595
smooth1597
uncontract1628
plait1642
to roll into ——1656
unbend1718
gather1790
knot1844
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 9 Grim-visagde warre, hath smoothde his wrinkled front. View more context for this quotation
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida iii. sig. E4 How I clap my hands, and smooth my brow!
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) ii. vi. 32 Good fortune bids vs pause, And smooth the frownes of War, with peacefull lookes. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 164 To..smooth the rugged'st brow. View more context for this quotation
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes II. iii. xxix. 24 Such Scenes have charm'd the Pangs of Care, And smooth'd the clouded Forehead of Despair.
1825 W. Scott Talisman ix, in Tales Crusaders III. 230 The Grand Master..casting his eye on the Marquis, smoothed his frowning brow as well as he could.
1895 G. Meredith Odes French Hist. 28 She smoothed a startled look.
4.
a. To make smooth, plausible, or specious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (intransitive)]
fikea1225
flatter?c1225
ficklec1230
blandisha1340
smooth1340
glaver1380
softa1382
glozec1386
to hold (also bear) up oila1387
glothera1400
flaitec1430
smekec1440
love?a1500
flata1522
blanch1572
cog1583
to smooth it1583
smooth1587
collogue1602
to oil the tongue1607
sleek1607
wheedle1664
pepper1784
blarney1837
to pitch (the) woo1935
flannel1941
sweet-talk1956
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 57 Hit biualþ þet þe speche is grat zenne uor þet hi deþ grat kuead þaȝ hy by uayre and ysmoþed.
1599 W. Shakespeare et al. Passionate Pilgrime (new ed.) sig. D And when thou comst thy tale to tell, Smooth not thy toung with filed talke.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 66 She will deliuer him from the strange woman, which smootheth her words.
1673 J. Milton Psalm V in Poems (new ed.) 136 An open grave their throat, their tongue they smooth.
b. To refine (a person or his manners); to free from rudeness or rusticity. ? Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > humanistic studies > improve the mind, cultivate [verb (transitive)]
till1393
enrich1502
refine1592
cultivate?1631
unblade1633
urbanize1642
smooth1644
culture1677
metropolitanize1870
1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 7 The solemn and divine harmonies of musick..have a great power over dispositions and manners, to smooth and make them gentle from rustick harshnesse.
1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 17 Oct. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1421 I am very glad..that you like good company so well. I already imagine you a little smoothed by it.
1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 24 Oct. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1425 Such a share of them [sc. humours] left as may contribute to smooth and polish you.
c. To render smooth to the ear; to polish.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > compose elegantly [verb (transitive)] > refine or make more elegant
file1551
raise1581
refine1582
smooth1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 626 Harmonie Divine So smooths her charming tones, that Gods own ear Listens delighted. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden Notes & Observ. in tr. Virgil Wks. 635 Both Verses are very rough: But of choice; for it had been easie for me to have smooth'd them.
1724 L. Welsted Epist. 43 Great Spencer first..Smoothed our old Metre, and refined our Lays.
a1800 W. Cowper Epist. to R. Lloyd in Poems (1980) I. 56 Matthew..with endless pains Smooth'd, and refin'd, the meanest strains.
a. To use smooth, flattering, or complimentary language to (a person). Obsolete. (Cf. Phrasal verbs 1a.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (transitive)]
flatter?c1225
flackera1250
slickc1250
blandishc1305
blandc1315
glozec1330
beflatter1340
curryc1394
elkena1400
glaverc1400
anointa1425
glotherc1480
losenge1480
painta1513
to hold in halsc1560
soothe1580
smooth1584
smooth1591
soothe1601
pepper1654
palp1657
smoothify1694
butter1700
asperse1702
palaver1713
blarney1834
sawder1834
soft-soap1835
to cock up1838
soft-solder1838
soother1842
behoney1845
soap1853
beslaver1861
beslobber1868
smarm1902
sugar1923
sweetmouth1948
smooth-talk1950
1591 R. Greene Maidens Dreame ix The poor he smooth'd, the proud he kept in awe.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. ii. sig. C4 Slie deceits smooth Bel-imperias eares.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 144 A scholler smoothed him with this foolish allusion.
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon iii. xi. 572 Some expressions of Civility, and Complement, to smooth him withal, at his departure.
1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell i. xxi. 44 He could Smooth or Flatter none upon any Consideration whatsoever.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (intransitive)]
fikea1225
flatter?c1225
ficklec1230
blandisha1340
smooth1340
glaver1380
softa1382
glozec1386
to hold (also bear) up oila1387
glothera1400
flaitec1430
smekec1440
love?a1500
flata1522
blanch1572
cog1583
to smooth it1583
smooth1587
collogue1602
to oil the tongue1607
sleek1607
wheedle1664
pepper1784
blarney1837
to pitch (the) woo1935
flannel1941
sweet-talk1956
1587 W. Baldwin et al. in J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) iii. Burdet iii Fortunes guyle, Which smirking though at first, she seeme to smoothe and smyle.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 48 Because I cannot flatter..Smile in mens faces, smoothe, deceiue and cog. View more context for this quotation
a1618 J. Sylvester Iob Triumphant in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 911 Or, ween you, smoothing, these Deceits to smother?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (intransitive)]
fikea1225
flatter?c1225
ficklec1230
blandisha1340
smooth1340
glaver1380
softa1382
glozec1386
to hold (also bear) up oila1387
glothera1400
flaitec1430
smekec1440
love?a1500
flata1522
blanch1572
cog1583
to smooth it1583
smooth1587
collogue1602
to oil the tongue1607
sleek1607
wheedle1664
pepper1784
blarney1837
to pitch (the) woo1935
flannel1941
sweet-talk1956
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. ix. 480 We must smooth it, and sooth it, and carie two faces vnder one hoode.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 ii. i. 22 Proude Protector dangerous Peere, to smooth it thus with King and common-wealth.
d. reflexive. To put on smooth ingratiating airs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > put on flattering air [verb (reflexive)]
sleek1607
smooth1868
1868 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 251 At the worst, I never smoothed myself for Belial or for Mammon.
6. absolute.1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. ii. vi. 137 All is dissolution, mutual rancour, gloom and despair:—till National-Assembly Commissioners..gradually levelling, strive in all wise ways, to smooth and soothe.
a. To allay, assuage, mitigate the force of (passion, trouble, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > mitigate or alleviate
lithec897
lighteOE
lissea1000
stillc1000
alightOE
alithe?a1200
softc1225
swagec1330
abate?c1335
easea1374
accoya1375
allegea1375
stintc1374
slakea1387
assuage1393
planea1400
slecka1400
plasterc1400
soften?c1415
lighten?a1425
mitigate?a1425
relievec1425
asoftc1430
alleviate?a1475
allevya1500
sletcha1500
alleve1544
allevate1570
salve?1577
sweetena1586
smooth1589
disembitter1622
deleniate1623
slaken1629
tranquillitate1657
soothe1711
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] > make something less violent or severe
soften?c1415
smooth1837
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. Bv The King thus smoothing the heate of his cares.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 73 Such smiling roges as these..smooth euery passion That in the natures of their Lords rebell. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 120 Whereof hee soon aware, Each perturbation smooth'd with outward calme, Artificer of fraud. View more context for this quotation
b. To render (the mind, etc.) calm or tranquil; to soothe.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > compose or make calm [verb (transitive)]
softa1225
stilla1325
coolc1330
accoya1375
appeasec1374
attemperc1386
lullc1386
quieta1398
peasea1400
amesec1400
assuagec1400
mesec1400
soberc1430
modify?a1439
establish1477
establish1477
pacify1484
pacify1515
unbrace?1526
settle1530
steady1530
allay1550
calm1559
compromitc1574
restore1582
recollect1587
serenize1598
smooth1604
compose1607
recompose1611
becalm1613
besoothe1614
unprovokea1616
halcyon1616
unstrain1616
leniate1622
tranquillize1623
unperplexa1631
belull1631
sedate1646
unmaze1647
assopiatea1649
serenate1654
serene1654
tranquillify1683
soothe1697
unalarm1722
reserene1755
quietize1791
peacify1845
quieten1853
conjure1856
peace1864
disfever1880
patise1891
de-tension1961
mellow1974
1604 W. Alexander Crœsus v. ii What could the world afford, or man affect, Which did not smooth my soule.
1633 G. Herbert Nature in Temple iii O smooth my rugged heart, and there Engrave thy rev'rend law and fear.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Leonine Elegiacs The ancient poetess singeth, that Hesperus all things bringeth, Smoothing the wearied mind.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities ii. v. 58 What has roughened your temper? Put some punch to it and smooth it again.
7. To hush up, gloss over, make less conspicuous or offensive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keep from knowledge [verb (transitive)] > cover up
smother1579
to shuffle up1588
smother1589
smooth1592
smooth1592
slobber1630
to hush up1632
slubber1646
smooth1684
sopite1746
shade1785
smug1857
hugger-mugger1862
to cover up1926
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. iii. sig. Gv This that I did was for a policie, To smooth and keepe the murder secret.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 235 + 2 Oh had't beene a stranger,..To smooth his fault I should haue beene more milde. View more context for this quotation
1697 H. Prideaux True Nature Imposture in Life Mahomet 146 Which raising a great Noise, and many being offended with him for it; to smooth the matter again, he hath recourse to his old Art.
8. intransitive. To become smooth, calm, or tranquil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > become smooth [verb (intransitive)]
unruffle1697
smooth1837
smoothen1888
the world > action or operation > inaction > quietness or tranquillity > be quiet or tranquil [verb (intransitive)] > become quiet or tranquil
stilla900
saughtelc1400
peasec1450
quieta1572
settlea1578
smooth1837
quieten1890
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott (1845) lxiv. 570/1 Mrs. Coutts's brow smoothed, and..she was as..easy as ever she was in her life.
1860 All Year Round 28 July 384 Once within the friendly shelter of the pier, the water smoothed rapidly.
1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 241 I trust that things are smoothing now.
Phrasal verbs
PV1. transitive. With up:† a. To flatter, encourage.† b. To cover or hush up; to conceal. Obsolete.† c. To contrive smoothly. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)] > wheedle, coax, or cajole
fleechc1425
coyc1490
flatter?a1513
cuittlec1565
smooth1584
ingle1602
cajole1645
collogue1660
wheedle1661
coax1663
to wheedle with1664
to cajole with1665
manage1677
whilly1721
carney1811
whillywha1816
canoodle1864
patise1891
schmear1910
sweet-talk1936
soft-talk1946
snow-job1962
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (transitive)]
flatter?c1225
flackera1250
slickc1250
blandishc1305
blandc1315
glozec1330
beflatter1340
curryc1394
elkena1400
glaverc1400
anointa1425
glotherc1480
losenge1480
painta1513
to hold in halsc1560
soothe1580
smooth1584
smooth1591
soothe1601
pepper1654
palp1657
smoothify1694
butter1700
asperse1702
palaver1713
blarney1834
sawder1834
soft-soap1835
to cock up1838
soft-solder1838
soother1842
behoney1845
soap1853
beslaver1861
beslobber1868
smarm1902
sugar1923
sweetmouth1948
smooth-talk1950
1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus Famous Hyst. ii. f. 100v Hector,..whome it behoued not to smooth vp his brother in hys filthy leachery.
1593 G. Harvey New Let. in Wks. (1884) I. 275 He that neither cockereth himselfe, nor loueth to be lulled, or smoothed-up of freindes.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Invisible World (1659) iii. v. 166 He smooths us up in the good opinion of our own gracious disposition.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keep from knowledge [verb (transitive)] > cover up
smother1579
to shuffle up1588
smother1589
smooth1592
smooth1592
slobber1630
to hush up1632
slubber1646
smooth1684
sopite1746
shade1785
smug1857
hugger-mugger1862
to cover up1926
1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ Def. Conny-catching sig. E3 All things was smoothed vp so cunningly, that he suspected nothing lesse then the reuenge intended against him.
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 12 She..went to her husband with much flattery,..to smooth-up the matter.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > invention, devising > invent, devise [verb (transitive)]
findeOE
understand1297
devisea1300
shapec1381
warpa1387
enginec1400
weavec1420
reparel1434
studyc1530
conjecture1551
spina1575
ingeniate1592
think1599
to pattern out1601
decoct1602
smooth1603
to fetch about1611
fancy1635
plait1642
erect1646
1603 S. Daniel Def. Ryme in Panegyrike (new ed.) sig. G5v To delight an exterior sense, wee smoothe vp a weake confused sense.
d. To polish up, improve.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)] > purify or refine
slick1340
filec1400
polishc1400
burnish1526
polite1535
extirpate1548
purify1548
soften1579
purgea1582
refine1592
mellow1593
civilize1596
rarefy1600
incivilize1603
sublimate1624
alembicate1627
chastise1627
sublime1631
calcine1635
gentilize1635
ennoble1636
subtilize1638
deconcoct1655
sublimizea1729
smooth1762
absterge1817
decrassify1855
sandpaper1890
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 226 A squire from the country..desirous of..smoothing up the rudiments of his rural minuet.
PV2. With over:† a. To win over, appease. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)] > win over
procurec1325
to gain over1582
bribe1592
overwork1593
overwin1600
smooth1608
overpersuade1639
spirit1656
over-entreata1661
engage1699
to bring over1724
to draw over1734
conciliate1796
to carry over1855
society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > appease or propitiate
soft?c1225
queema1325
appeasec1374
pleasea1382
softena1382
mollifya1450
pacifya1500
apeace1523
temper1525
mitigatea1535
qualify?c1550
thaw1582
propitiate1583
aslake1590
smooth1608
to lay down1629
addulce1655
sweeten1657
acquiesce1659
gentle1663
palliate1678
placate1678
conciliate1782
to pour oil on the waters (also on troubled waters)1847
square1859
square1945
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 163 For the Dragon beeing smoothed ouer with these gyfts,..was contented to forsake the old place.
b. To make smooth or smoother in some way, esp. by the removal of a difficulty.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)]
smeethc1000
slipe1390
smoothc1440
sleck1530
explain1549
smooth1611
besmooth?1615
sleek1619
deglabrate1623
unruffle1629
smoothen1678
cleanse1680
smoothen1680
smooth1859
the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > make easy or easier > resolve (difficulties)
smooth1611
smootha1616
to iron out1880
sort1948
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Calendré,..sleeked, or smoothed ouer.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xii. vi. 409 They were politic enough to smooth over the corrugations of their contempt.
1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iv. i. 100 The high moon.., Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces.
1873 W. Black Princess of Thule xxv. 418 These minor inconveniences were soon smoothed over.
c. To gloss over, minimize.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be unimportant [verb (transitive)] > make less important or unimportant
to set at a pease, at a pie's heel, at a pin's fee1303
mincea1591
to make no matter of1604
triflea1616
to make much (also little, nothing, too much, etc.) of (or on)1632
pygmy1658
insignificate1676
minify1676
smooth1684
trivialize1846
nonentitize1903
minoritize1947
sideline1953
peripheralize1955
marginalize1970
marginate1970
deprioritize1973
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > keep from knowledge [verb (transitive)] > cover up
smother1579
to shuffle up1588
smother1589
smooth1592
smooth1592
slobber1630
to hush up1632
slubber1646
smooth1684
sopite1746
shade1785
smug1857
hugger-mugger1862
to cover up1926
1684 R. Baxter Catholick Communion 40 By hiding, or smoothing over publick sins.
1827 W. Scott Surgeon's Daughter in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. II. vi. 150 This he smoothed over to his conscience.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxiv. 84 There was something about her that Eva never could make out; and she always smoothed it over with thinking that, after all, it was mamma.
PV3. With out:
a. To take out, remove (a fold or crease) by pressure or rubbing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)] > remove wrinkles from > remove (wrinkles)
stretcha1541
extend1541
smooth1683
smooth1785
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 325 As he comes to a Token-sheet, he..smooths out the Crease with the back-side of the Nails of his Right Hand.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 150 He has had a hard task replacing the folios.., smoothing out the creases and dogs-ears.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre III. iii. 81 The creases left by the wet [were] smoothed out.
b. To spread out smoothly or evenly. Also, = sense 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > condition of being broad in relation to thickness > make broad in relation to thickness [verb (transitive)]
drive?a1475
flat1651
flatten1728
smooth1859
spread1859
pancake1879
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)]
smeethc1000
slipe1390
smoothc1440
sleck1530
explain1549
smooth1611
besmooth?1615
sleek1619
deglabrate1623
unruffle1629
smoothen1678
cleanse1680
smoothen1680
smooth1859
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany ii. 19 Some batter, which she smoothed out with a wooden spoon until it was of about the thickness of a pancake.
1900 I. C. Russell in 20th Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1898–9: Pt. 2 196 A belt of country marked by landslide topography which was gradually smoothed out, owing to the decay and erosion of the fallen blocks of basalt.
c. = sense 1e above; also, to lessen (irregularities or fluctuations) in something which can be described by a graph, esp. a time series.
ΚΠ
1933 Econometrics I. 238 An elaborately weighted moving function..prevents the resulting curve from smoothing out fluctuations.
1945 L. A. Maverick Time Series Anal. p. vii In smoothing out the monthly cycle..Wardwell's moving cyclical average of changing length is used.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 432/1 By the provision of storage facilities at the source and of the main aqueduct service reservoirs, these various fluctuations [in demand] can be smoothed out.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio i. 30 At the ‘back’ [of the microphone] the response is fairly flat—the effect of the pad being to smooth out the peak.
1971 Sci. Amer. Oct. 69/1 Tests of nuclear weapons have shown that atmospheric mixing is rapid and that irregularities in composition are smoothed out after a few years.
1978 Daily Tel. 6 Jan. 17 The Americans will be very reluctant to do more than smooth out fluctuations in the exchange rate.
PV4. With down:
a. To make smooth by pressing down. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)] > by pressing down
smooth1688
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > press or force down > make smooth by pressing down
smooth1688
to iron out1753
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Qqq 2v/3 To smooth down with the Nail, as Taylors and Seamstresses do.
1768 E. Burke Let. 9 Mar. in Corr. (1958) I. 348 However,..I am to see him to-morrow, and will smooth down the feathers.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality viii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 157 She had an infant in one arm, and with the other she smoothed down her apron.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 45 One In this hand held a volume as to read, And smoothed a petted peacock down with that.
b. intransitive. To become smooth by settling down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > have or be in specific kind of motion [verb (intransitive)] > grow calm
calm1399
to grow down1748
lull1808
smooth1884
1884 Field 6 Dec. (Cassell) The falls were smoothing down.
PV5. With off, away, etc. (See quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > treat fraudulently, cheat [verb (transitive)] > dispose of fraudulently > by deceiving someone
to fob off1600
foist1602
smooth1680
sham1682
palm1822
shab1840
lowball1973
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)] > remove wrinkles from > remove (wrinkles)
stretcha1541
extend1541
smooth1683
smooth1785
1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 12 The superstitious States-man has his sneer, To smooth a poor man off with that can't bribe him.
1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 560 Th' indented stick, that loses day by day Notch after notch, till all are smooth'd away. View more context for this quotation
a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vii, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 245/1 From his mean front..Smoothing away the unmeaning furrows.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. vi. viii. 416 A moment,—which one had to smooth off with oratory.
1893 ‘Q’ Delectable Duchy 25 Their wives smoothed all intelligence out of their faces as soon as I began to hint at it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
smoothadv.
/smuːð/, U.S. /smuð/ Smoothly, in various senses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adverb] > without hindrance or encumberment
freelyeOE
wellOE
freec1250
glidderly13..
without (also but) lettingc1330
oliver current1466
smootha1500
pronewise1585
currently1586
glib1594
glibly1607
clearly1612
swimminglya1640
smoothly1668
uninterrupted1677
unobstructedly1788
smack-smooth1802
sweetly1825
sweet1846
unimpededly1846
hitchlessly1910
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > [adverb]
smeethlya1225
knotlessc1374
smoothly1489
smootha1500
politely1598
smack-smooth1790
silkily1815
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > [adverb] > smoothly
smoothlyc1400
smootha1500
free and easy1730
swimmingly1745
glidingly1797
soapily1833
silkenly1846
silkily1923
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > [adverb] > with agreeable manner > blandly or suavely
smootha1500
bland1596
blandly1827
suavely1862
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adverb] > in polished or cultured manner
roundly1538
tersely1600
politely1624
smooth1746
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 177 This worthy lorde began to smothe lagh.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. i. 53 Smooth runs the brooke whereas the streame is deepest.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream i. i. 134 The course of true loue neuer did runne smoothe . View more context for this quotation
1673 J. Milton Sonnets xvii, in Poems (new ed.) 60 Time will run On smoother, till Favonius re-inspire The frozen earth.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. x. 62 Smooth flow his Lines, and elegant his Style.
1799 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) IV. 41 I well know your conciliating manners will make every thing go smooth.
Compounds
General attributive. C1. With past participles used attributively or predicatively.† smooth-combed adj. Obsolete† smooth-hewn adj. Obsolete
smooth-bedded adj.
ΚΠ
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §148 The third step..smooth bedded... And the sixth smooth bedded, and all the dove~tails roughed out.
smooth-combed adj.
ΚΠ
1579 T. North tr. Cæsar in Plutarch Lives (1612) 739 Those fat men and smooth combed heads.
ΚΠ
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie i. iii. sig. C6 His perfum'd shee-goate, smooth kemb'd, high fed.
smooth-cut adj.
ΚΠ
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. i. 21 As I paced along the smooth cut velvet walks.
ΚΠ
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 778 White smooth hewen Asheler stone.
smooth-oiled adj.
ΚΠ
1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. i. 49 Double teams matched, smooth-oiled reins.
smooth-polished adj.
ΚΠ
1854 B. Powell Pereira's Lect. Polarized Light (ed. 2) 17 When a beam of light falls on a smooth-polished surface.
smooth-rounded adj.
ΚΠ
1916 D. H. Lawrence Amores 102 A new night pouring down shall swill Us away in an utter sleep, until We are one, smooth-rounded.
smooth-rubbed adj.
ΚΠ
1799 W. Wordsworth Poet's Epit. 29 One to whose smooth-rubbed soul can cling Nor form, nor feeling.
smooth-sculptured adj.
ΚΠ
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 99 Upon his knees he sank, pale as smooth-sculptured stone.
smooth-shaven adj.
ΚΠ
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 39 I walk unseen On the dry smooth-shaven Green.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xii. 244 The Flemings..prided themselves on their civilised and smooth-shaven chins.
smooth-trodden adj.
ΚΠ
1958 R. Graves Steps 249 There are some words carry a curse with them: Smooth-trodden, abstract, slippery vocables.
smooth-worn adj.
ΚΠ
1920 A. Huxley Leda 14 Smooth-worn silver, polished through the years.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 503 Lifting your billowy flounces, on the smoothworn throne.
smooth-woven adj.
ΚΠ
1757 J. Dyer Fleece iv. 123 Copious webs arrive, Smooth-wov'n of other than Britannia's fleece.
smooth-wrought adj.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Norris Coll. Misc. (1699) 37 Who with a smooth-wrought Pipe shall play the Song.
C2. With present participles.† smooth-soothing adj. Obsolete
smooth-flowing adj.
ΚΠ
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vi. ii. 305 Parliamentary Eloquence, in bursts, or in plenteous smooth-flowing floods.
smooth-gliding adj.
ΚΠ
1603 S. Daniel Def. Ryme in Panegyrike (new ed.) sig. G5v We admire them not for their smooth-gliding words.
smooth-going adj.
ΚΠ
1882 W. Black Shandon Bells xvi The Hansom (..was not quite so smooth-going as that of Dr. Bude).
smooth-rolling adj.
ΚΠ
1823 Hazlitt Liber Amoris iii. 156 Thousands of years of smooth-rolling eternity and balmy, sainted repose.
smooth-running adj.
ΚΠ
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings v. 117 The smooth-running ambulances bring broken soldiers.
1941 J. Masefield Gautama 14 The black-bright, smooth-running..typewriting machine.
1977 J. P. Anderson in J. D. Douglas & J. M. Johnson Existential Sociol. vi. 186 To make the screening interview a smooth-running interaction, the patient has to be able to talk about the topics the screening worker thinks are important.
smooth-sliding adj.
ΚΠ
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 275 That neuer guttur gorging durty muds, Defil'd the cristall of smooth-sliding flouds.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 22 in Justa Edouardo King Smooth-sliding Mincius, crown'd with vocall reeds.
ΚΠ
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 60 Smooth soothing Vows, deep Sorrows soon appeas'd.
smooth-speaking adj.
ΚΠ
1753 E. Young Brothers i. i Smooth-speaking, insincere, insulting boy!
smooth-weeping adj.
ΚΠ
1944 E. Sitwell Song of Cold 10 The amber blood of the smooth-weeping tree.
smooth-winding adj.
ΚΠ
1742 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes i. ii. 13 Th' uxorious River glides away,..smooth-winding to the Sea.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1440
adj.a1050
v.1340
adv.a1500