| 释义 |
▪ I. smart, n.1|smɑːt|
Forms: 3 smi(e)rte, 3–6 smerte (4 -tte), 4–6, 9 Sc. smert, 7 Sc. smairt; 5–6 smarte, 5– smart.
[ME. smierte, smerte, app.:—OE. *smięrtu, f. smeart smart a. Cf. Fris. smert, MDu. and MLG. smerte, smarte (Du. and LG. smart, Da. smerte, Sw. smärta), OHG. smerza fem., also smerzo masc. (MHG. smerze, smerz, G. schmerz masc.).]
1. Sharp physical pain, esp. such as is caused by a stroke, sting, or wound. Also with a and pl.
a1200Moral Ode 114 Wa se seið þet he bo hal him solf wat best his smirte [Trin. smierte, Eg. smerte]. c1320Cast. Love 1153 For vre woke þouȝtes he þolede smerte. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxx. (Bodl. MS.), Þe touche of senewes haþ no feeling of soore and of smerte. c1440Generydes 6242 For eny wo or smerte..I wist hym neuer onkynde. c1491Chastysing Goddes Chyldern 15 It felt no smerte sharply tyll the rodde came. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 204 b, Yf he had pretended to suffre payne, and had feled no smarte. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. vi. 36 She procureth present death wyth⁓out any smart. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 46 He..inflicted both corporall smart and pecuniary mulcts upon them. 1681Baxter Apol. Nonconf. Min. 58 We knew it by our smarts, being sure to be whipt. 1718Pope Iliad xi. 574 Raging with intolerable smart, He writhes his body. 1792Cowper Stanzas Bill Mortality iv, Strange world, that costs it so much smart. 1870Bryant Iliad I. xi. 374 Patroclus..applied a root Of bitter flavor to assuage the smart.
b. Const. of. Also in fig. context.
1570Levins Manip. 33/29 Y⊇ Smart of a wound, æstus. 1596Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. iii. 142 Euen the Prophets..haue felt the smart of hunger. a1604Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 32 Ireland..felt little smart of the Romane sword. 1726Swift Gulliver i. i, When I felt the smart of their arrows upon my face. 1886R. F. Burton Arab. Nts. (abr. ed.) I. 262 For the smart of the stick I confessed, ‘It was I who stole it’.
c. Degree of smarting or painfulness.
1888Bernard Fr. World to Cloister v. 114 The discipline,..at its highest possible smart, never equalled..the sting of such a caning.
2. Mental pain or suffering; grief, sorrow, affliction; sometimes, suffering of the nature of punishment or retribution.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3964 Ȝyf þou..felyst weyl yn þy herte Of a lytyl sorow or smerte. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 2204 Alweye contunyng in his smerte For þe loue of feire Polycene. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 1632 To tel you hou I caght this smert, And al myn evel how it began. c1532G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 921 A man doutfull..is sone converted and tourned in smerte. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. i. 54 Ne let vaine feares procure your needlesse smart, Where cause is none. 1647Cowley Mistr., Loves Visibility v, The very Eye betrays our inward smart. 1679Bunyan Fear of God Wks. 1855 I. 460 Sorrow is the effect of smart, and smart the effect of faith. 1766Gray in Corr. G. & Nicholls (1843) 63 Time..will cure the smart, and in some hearts soon blot out all the traces of sorrow. 1808H. More Cœlebs II. 333 Examine your own heart;..it will be a salutary smart. 1872Blackie Lays Highl. 3, I love the oaks of Derry, And to leave them gives me smart.
b. Const. of.
c1500Lancelot 1051 So prikith hyme the smart Of hevynes, that stood vnto his hart. a1591H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 186 He came when man had sinned, and had felt the smart of sin. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iii. §58. 298 No marvell then that they..be made sensibly to feele the smart of their folly. 1702Eng. Theophr. 141 All parties blame persecution when they feel the smart on't. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. i. 21 Some were sent to prison for hasty words, to which the smart of injury excited them. 1849Robertson Serm. Ser. i. ix. (1855) 147 There is a diseased sensitiveness which shrinks from the smart of acknowledgment.
†c. pl. Loss, damage; adversity. Obs.
1552in Strype Ann. Ref. (1824) VI. 486 Yf chance should fal..that a ship should be lost, the halls might easily bear the smarts therof. 1591Savile Tacitus, Hist. ii. lxiv. 90 Neither did shee..participate any thing els of hir sonnes estate, saue onely the smarts of hir house when it fell.
3. ellipt. = smart money.
1802James Milit. Dict., Smarts, the different sums which are received by recruiting parties under the head of Smart money, are frequently so called. 1887Jamieson's Sc. Dict. Suppl. 321/1 He listed.., but paid the smert and wan hame.
4. attrib.
a. smart-ticket (see quot. 1846).
1801Nelson 11 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. (1845) IV. 504, I will send to the Gannet for Smart Tickets. 1816A. C. Hutchison Pract. Obs. Surg. (1826) 184 Making a pretext of being ruptured in the service, and thereby obtaining smart-tickets, which will entitle them to pensions for life. 1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 288 Smart-ticket, a certificate granted by the surgeon..in favour of any person who has been wounded or hurt in the service, in order that he may receive a single gratuity, or a pension from Greenwich Hospital.
b. U.S. smart-grass, = smartweed.
1845S. Judd Margaret ii. i, May-weed, smart-grass, and Indian tobacco.
▪ II. smart, n.2|smɑːt|
[f. smart a.]
1. One who affects smartness in dress, manners, or talk. (Common in 18th cent.; now Hist.)
1712Steele Spect. No. 442 ⁋3 All Beaux, Rakes, Smarts,..and all Sorts of Wits. 1721Amherst Terræ Fil. No. 46 (1726) 254, I have given great offence to a large body of fine gentlemen there, call'd Smarts. 1753Scots Mag. Oct. 491/2, I put on a sword, supped every night at a tavern,..and was universally confessed to be improved into a Smart. 1821Scott Pirate xiv, The word passed through among the young Templars, and the wits, and the smarts. 1859Green Oxf. Stud. ii. (O.H.S.) 47 The smart of the day [18th cent.] rises late in an age of early risers.
2. Smartness in talk or writing.
1845Tennyson in Life (1897) I. 228, I said something that offended him; and..he..told me that I was ‘affecting the smart’. 1899Westm. Gaz. 25 Oct. 3/2 This needless introduction of the presumably ‘smart’ would ruin the art of any novel.
3. Usu. pl. Intelligence, cleverness, acumen; wits. U.S. slang.
1970It 27 Feb.–13 Mar. 14/4 Now Abbie's a very brilliant cat. He's very far out, very freaked out, but he's still got some smarts. 1970New Yorker 28 Nov. 126/3, I knew I had the smarts—the business smarts—even then. 1972H. Kemelman Monday Rabbi took Off xlv. 263 The whole story is a little weak... I mean, this kid of yours has the normal amount of smarts. 1977N.Y. Times 9 Oct. 26 Mrs. Maynard said that Mr. Miller..‘doesn't have enough smart to run a union as big as the United Mine Workers’. 1979Sunday Star (Toronto) 6 May b7/4 You know—streetwise, lots of smart, lots of quick, playing pinochle with vice cops. 1981Guardian Weekly 26 July 15/4 They complain that the level of intelligence is low and that the soldiers have neither the smarts nor the education to work the complicated weapons of modern warfare.
▪ III. smart, a.|smɑːt|
Forms: 1–2 smeart, 3 smært, 3–5 smerte (5 smyrte), 4–5 smert (5 -tt); 3– smart (4 -tt), 4–6 smarte.
[OE. smeart, related to smeortan smart v. Not represented in the cognate languages.]
I.
†1.
a. Of a whip, rod, etc.: Inflicting or causing pain; sharp, biting, stinging. Obs.
a1023Wulfstan Hom. (1883) 295 Ic wylle swingan eow mid þam smeartestum swipum. a1175Cott. Hom. 243 Þu ahst to habben..Stede and twei sporen and ane smearte ȝerd. a1300Cursor M. 15785 Wit maces and wit neues smert vn-rekenli on him [they] ran. c1325Chron. Eng. 929 He was yschote With an arewe kene ant smert. c1440Pallad. on Husb. i. 940 The Greek seith eek that if a cloude arise Of bresis smert [L. locustarum], men must in house hem hide. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 47 Whan he on ye crosse..Heng nakyd fastnyd wyth nayles smerte. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 325 Their softest Touch, as smart as Lyzards stings. 1671J. Flavel Fount. Life xvi. (1836) 143 Sometimes he spares their outward, and afflicts their inner man, which is a much smarter rod.
†b. Sharp or rough to the touch. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 924 Þis stone.., Be it smethe owþer smert, smaragden hit hat.
†c. Severe or hard on or upon one. Obs.
1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. xxxii. 4 Thy hand on me so grievous was and smart. 1648Bp. Hall Breathings Devout Soul (1851) 164 When thy hand hath been smart and heavy upon me.
2. Of blows, strokes, etc.: Sufficiently hard or severe to cause pain. (In later use approximating to sense 5.) Also in fig. contexts.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 207 Þenne me hine pined mid..smerte smiten of smale longe ȝerden. c1205Lay. 21364 [They] uppen Colgrime smiten mid swiðe smærte biten. a1300Cursor M. 25543 Iesu..Sufferd..Dintes sare and smert. 13..Sir Beues 2883 Beues þanne wiþ strokes smerte Smot þe dragoun to þe herte. c1400Rule St. Benet 22 Yef any be tane ofte in faute,..wyd smerte beting sal sho be chastyd. c1435Torr. Portugal 2572 Smert boffettes they yeldyd there. 1602Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 50 How smart a lash that speech doth giue my Conscience? 1658Sir T. Browne Hydriot. iv. (1736) 45 The smartest Strokes of Affliction leave but short Smart upon us. 1764Reid Inquiry v. §6 Suppose him first to be pricked with a pin—this will, no doubt, give a smart sensation. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 12 Take a good-sized stick, and give her a smart thrashing. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxx, When a man's got his limbs whole, he can bear a smart cut or two.
†3. Of pain, sorrow, wounds, etc.: Sharp, keen, painful, severe. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 58 Wyt chaunce of ded, or chaunce of hert, þat soft began has endyng smart. c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 507 Hym thought hys sorwes were so smerte. c1420Chron. Vilod. 1787 Of goddus Passion..& of his wo & of his woundys hard and smert. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 192 The sorow of your harte Makes my passion mor bitter & mor smarte. 1513Douglas æneid v. xii. 63 The fadir Eneas, smyt with this smart cais. 1678Lively Oracles iii. §5. 264 That long train of smart calamities which succeeded his sin. 1688Bunyan Jerus. Sinner Saved (1886) 64 The gospel..threateneth them with the heaviest and smartest judgments.
4. a. Of words, etc.: Sharp, severe; cutting, acrimonious. Now rare.
a1300Cursor M. 3034 Abraham..thoght þis wordes war to smert. 13..Ibid. 12084 (Gött.), Thoru bolning of his hert, To ioseph spac he wordes ouer smart. 1625–8tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. iii. (1688) 269 A Book which was written..against the Marriage in a smart and stinging Style. 1639Fuller Holy War ii. xxiv, He would often give a smart jest, which would make the place both blush and bleed where it lighted. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. iii, He seldom failed of a smart word or two upon my littleness. 1751Narr. H.M.S. ‘Wager’ 128 This smart Remonstrance touch'd the Lieutenant to the very Heart. 1825Gentl. Mag. XCV. i. 397 ‘To start’ is to apply a smart word to an idle or forgetful person. 1842S. Lover Handy Andy xviii, The crowd ceased its noise when the two Squires were seen engaged in exchanging smart words.
†b. Sharp in criticism or comment upon one.
1692Washington tr. Milton's Def. People Eng. iii. Wks. 1851 VIII. 75 The Lawyer, whoever he be, that you are so smart upon, was not so much out of the way. 1699Bentley Phal. 390 He fansied, he was very smart upon me; but as it generally happens with him, he lashes himself.
5. Brisk or vigorous; having a certain degree of intensity, force, strength, or quickness:
a. Of natural forces or processes.
13..K. Alis. 1184 (Bodl. MS.), To mouþe he sett his Olyfaunt, He bloweþ smert & loude sounes. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 3257 Thai er dungen..With smert stormes als of wynd and rayn. c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 215 What sholde I tellen..of the esy fir, and smart also, Which that was maad? a1400–50Alexander 1309 Quen it was smeten in small with þe smert waȝes. 1672Sir T. Browne Lett. Friend. xii. 136 Sepulchral fires and smart flames. 1692Ray Disc. ii. ii. (1732) 107 A smart and continued Rain. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 31 Jan., We are here in as smart a frost for the time as I have seen. 1726T. Smith Jrnl. (1849) 265 This has been a very smart, close winter. 1800Med. Jrnl. V. 31 They..had a smart fever for three days, and then an eruption. 1808Ibid. XIX. 106 Leaving for him two smart purges of calomel and jalap. 1829Chapters Phys. Sci. 463 It demonstrates its presence both by a sudden flash and a smart report. 1875Ure's Dict. Arts III. 1055 The assistant must look to the oil, and bring it to a smart simmer.
b. Of liquor, with reference to its effect on the palate.
1648J. Beaumont Psyche ix. lxxxi, A flood, to which..smart Gall is dropping Myrrh. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 33 Both in the keenest and smartest, as well as in the weakest and most watrish Vineger. 1710T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. 3 The smarter and staler [ale is], the more it openeth and detergeth. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. lv. (Globe) 177/1 It will eat best with some smart bottled beer. 1818Keats Lett. Wks. 1889 III. 166 We have now begun upon whisky,..very smart stuff it is.
c. Of encounters, attacks, etc.
a1700Evelyn Diary 2 July 1685, There was a smart skirmish. 1716Church Philip's War (1865) I. 125 In the Evening they heard a smart firing at a distance from them. 1791Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) II. 137 A good smart action would be useful rather than pernicious. 1813Sporting Mag. XLII. 68 Cooper planted a smart hit on his adversary's neck. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. Ind. II. 51 A smart affair with the enemy took place. 1885Manch. Exam. 21 Mar. 6/2 A smart passage at arms between his Grace and Lord Bramwell.
6. a. Pretty steep. Now dial. or colloq.
a1668R. Lassels Voy. Italy (1698) I. 44, I went up a smart hill called Mount Aurigo. a1904in Eng. Dial. Dict.
b. Sharp, abrupt, clearly outlined. rare.
1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty xiii. 182 These objects which..come forwardest to the view, must have large, strong, and smart oppositions. 1784J. Barry Lect. Art v. (1848) 187 The cast and manner of their several foldings, some more smart and frequently interrupted, others more flowing. 1870G. M. Hopkins Jrnls. & Papers (1959) 201 The day had been very bright and clear, distances smart.
7. a. Considerable (in number, amount, extent, etc.). Chiefly dial. and U.S.
Bartlett Dict. Amer. (1848) 313 gives various quotations, including three for a smart chance in the sense of ‘a good deal, a large quantity’, etc.
1778S. Foote Devil upon Two Sticks ii. 44 in Wks. IV, [Scot loq.] Ah! for the mater of that, it is a praty smart little income. 1839Sir G. C. Lewis Gloss. Heref. s.v., ‘A smart few’ means a considerable number. 1855Thackeray Newcomes lxxx, Madame..left a smart legacy to the..children. 1882Mrs. Raven's Temptation I. 276 Hope you will get a smart fee with it.
b. So right smart; also as n., a good deal. U.S.
1842J. S. Buckingham Slave States of America II. 327, I asked here, whether the people made much maple-sugar in this neighbourhood; when the gentleman..answered, ‘Yes, they do, I reckon, right smart.’ 1856Mrs. Stowe Dred II. xvi. 162, I sold right smart of eggs des yere summer. 1857Olmsted Texas 301 A ‘right smart chunk of bacon’. 1863S. L. J. Life in South I. vii. 91 We have read right smart of that book. 1879Tourgee Fool's Errand (1880) 88 Directing the work, and, Yankee-like, ‘doing right smart of it’ himself, as they say here. 1932W. Faulkner Light in August i. 25 There is a right smart of folks in Jefferson I don't know. 1938M. K. Rawlings Yearling vi. 54 ‘Howdy, Mr. Forrester. Proud to see you. How's your health?’ ‘Howdy, sir. I'm right smart tol'able, seein' as how I be near about done for.’ 1949L. Nordyke Cattle Empire 81 Heard a right smart about you, Pincham.
II.
8. Pert, forward, impudent. Obs. rare exc. pred. in to be smart or get smart (U.S.).
13..K. Alis. 4160 (Bodl. MS.), Darrie was wel sore anoyede..And seide, ‘of tale þou art smart’. c1449Pecock Repr. i. i. 5 In this trowing and holding thei ben so kete and so smert and so wantoun. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 114 The curst, sharp, smart,..implacable and wanton-rowling-eyed Women. 1933E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness ii. 60 Tommy... Uncle Sid's soused again. Mrs. Miller... You be quiet! Did I ever! You're getting too smart! 1955W. C. Gault Ring around Rosa v. 59 Don't get smart, Callahan. 1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) i. 4 This time Cousin Ida beat me for being smart with her.
9. a. Of persons: Quick, active; prompt.
a1300Cursor M. 7168 Sampson, þat was selcuth smert, Vte o þair handes son he stert. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5575 Þe Sarzyn, þat was fers & smert, howel oppon þe helm he gert. a1500How good wife taught her daughter 194 in Q. Eliz. Acad. 50 When þi seruantes haue do þer werke, To pay þer hyre loke þou be smerte. 1530Palsgr. 324/2 Smarte, swyfte, soudayn. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. iii. §1 This year began the smart and active Councel of Basil. 1687tr. Sallust (1692) 96 All the while Catiline, with the most active and smartest of his followers kept still in the head of his Men. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre iv, Bessie Lee..was smart in all she did. 1899F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 342 We were mighty smart getting under way.
b. transf. Of things.
a1325tr. Stat. Westm. 11 c. 26 (MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 20 b), Þer nis no writ..ware þoru þe plaintifs habbez smarttere riȝt þane þoru þe writ of nouele disseisine. 1658Sir T. Browne Hydriot. Introd., Water hath proved the smartest Grave; which in Forty Days swallowed almost Mankind.
c. Healthy, well. U.S.
1788J. May Jrnl. 31 Aug. (1873) 116 Didn't feel smart enough to go to meeting. 1832J. J. Strang Diary 23 Aug. in M. M. Quaife Kingdom of St. James (1930) 205 This commenced the sickest day I ever suffered since my remembrance but now (evening) I am again smart for a sick person. 1956B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) i. 1 By the time she worked her way out of hock in the hospital and took me home to her folks, I was so big and smart I could sit up in a carriage.
10. a. Clever, capable, adept; quick at devising, learning, looking after oneself or one's own interests, etc. In later use chiefly U.S.
1628Sir R. Le Grys Barclay's Arg. 81 For he a smart young man, and of great iudgement,..held vp the Kings side. a1656Ussher Ann. vi. (1658) 525 Being.. loath to engage in fight with Fimbria, who was both a smart fellow, and a Conqueror to boot. 1709Steele Tatler No. 26 ⁋5 [He] is what we most justly call, a Smart Fellow. 1786M. Cutler in Life, Jrnls., etc. (1888) I. 189 Those of my subscribers who are smart, able men, I have told shall have an equal chance with other proprietors. 1844Mrs. Houston Yacht Voy. Texas II. 215 The Opossum is held in great respect by the Yankees, as a particularly ‘smart’ animal. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. (1890) II. lxv. 484 In America every smart man is expected to be able to do anything he turns his hand to.
b. Marked by special skill or dexterity.
1895Daily News 17 May 3/7 Chatterton being out to a very smart catch at mid-on.
c. Of a device: capable of some independent and seemingly intelligent action. Cf. smart bomb in sense 15 below.
1972Proc. IEEE LX. 1282/1 The term ‘smart terminal’ is used here to identify an interactive terminal in which part of the processing is accomplished by a small computer or processor contained within the terminal itself. 1977Sci. Amer. Sept. 188/1 When smart traffic signals become ubiquitous and are linked to a control center, the traffic cop at the intersection will become obsolete. 1980Economist 15 Mar. 84/3 Tomorrow's vehicles are likely to have a series of ‘smart’ transducers attached to the engine, gear-box, brakes, etc, all sending coded messages via a common wire to the dashboard. 1982Times 1 June 15/5 Smart sensors ensure a direct hit on a target.
11. a. Clever in talk or argument; capable of making witty remarks; good at repartee.
1639Massinger Unnatural Combat iv. ii, A smart quean! 1695J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 514 The younger Vossius is a smart advocate for the Septuagint. 1727Pope, etc. Art of Sinking 109 It is by virtue of this style that..Tully is as short and smart as Seneca. 1753J. Collier Art of Torment. (1811) 194 This, I have been told, is what they call being smart in company. 1778F. Burney Evelina lxiv, You're so smart there's no speaking to you. 189519th Cent. Aug. 324 He is decidedly smarter as an all⁓round talker.
b. Of sayings, etc.: Clever, pointed; witty.
1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. lv. (1674) 71 We find some Histories..abounding in smart Politick Precepts. 1673S'too him Bayes 19, I acknowledge this Expression to be nice and smart. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) VI. xv. 2 Cicero, who ascribes this saying to Timæus, declares it a very smart one. 1752Johnson Rambler No. 194 ⁋11 He mistakes the question, that he may return a smart answer. 1824Dibdin Libr. Comp. 539 A short, but smart notice of him. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. x, She has a reputation for giving smart accounts of things. 1874L. Stephen Hours Libr. (1892) II. vi. 188 Mandeville..passes off his smart sayings upon the public as serious.
12. a. Alert and brisk; esp. combining briskness with neatness or trimness of appearance.
1602Marston Ant. & Mel. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 37, I..Strook a faire wench with a smart speaking eye. 1683Wood Life 9 Sept., The smart lads of the city march'd downe the streets with cudgells in their hands. 1784Cowper Task iv. 648 He hates the field,..And sighs for the smart comrades he has left. 1827O. W. Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 80 Sufficient [room] for a smart vessel to work in or out. 1865Kingsley Herew. v, To a tight smart Viking's son. 1884Pall Mall G. 29 Aug. 1/2 The Egyptian soldier is..smart, clean, and cheap.
b. Neatly and trimly dressed.
1789Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France II. 204 We observed..how the town was become neater, the ordinary people smarter. 1806Beresford Miseries Hum. Life ii. xxiii, Walking out to dinner, clean and smart. 1848Dickens Dombey ix, He became a little smarter in his dress. 1888Poor Nellie 127 Adela had noticed how smart he looked.
c. Of dress, etc.: Neat and trim; stylish.
(a)1716Darrell Gentl. Instr. (ed. 3) iii. i. 476 Nothing would please his Worship, but Smart Shooes, Smart Hats, and Smart Cravats... The truth is he had been bred up with the Groom, and transplanted the Stable-dialect into the Dressing-room. 1754Fielding J. Wild i. x, A blue plush coat,..a smart sleeve, and a cape. 1823Scott Quentin D. ii, The smart blue bonnet..was already recognized as the Scottish head-gear. 1859W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 23 The man..had a collection of smart little boots and shoes.
(b)1823Ct. de Soligny Lett. Eng. II. lxviii, Looking out on the smart shops, the nicely paved streets. 1851Hawthorne Twice-t. Tales I. xvi. 252 There, in a smart chaise, a dashingly dressed gentleman and lady. 1894Sir J. D. Astley Fifty Yrs. Life I. 94 We put up at a very smart hotel.
(c)1864D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 3 One of them..is bound in smart red leather. 1888Poor Nellie 8, I will make a cover for them,..a smart one of blue velvet.
13. Fashionable, elegant, esp. in a very high degree. (Common in recent use, from c 1882.)
The reappearance of the word in this sense was the subject of much comment and criticism in newspapers, etc., from about 1885, and the phrases smart people, smart society, the smart set, etc., have been commonly used as a general designation for the extremely fashionable portion of society (sometimes with implication of being a little ‘fast’).
1718Freethinker No. 158 A Cluster of smart Men, in tawdry Dresses, with little Rapiers. 1793A. Seward Lett. (1811) III. 275 This beach..covered with smart people, and with equipages. 1845M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 24 They..got my wife invited to several very smart balls. 1881Mallock Romance 19th Cent. I. 97, I have seen plenty of smart society. Ibid. II. 254 Many smart people were shy of Mrs. Crane. 1885E. W. Hamilton Diary 20 May (1972) II. 867 Dined at Brook House... This is a house at which one meets the ‘grand set’ as distinct from the ‘smart set’—two totally different sections of the best London Society. 1900Smart Set Apr. 137 The Smart Set of London has for the last ten or fifteen years..been the chief influence of our English playwrights, plays and players. 1937K. Blixen Out of Africa i. i. 12 Our Quasi Smart Set of the Colony. 1949P. Hastings Cases in Court v. 265 Mrs Barney's family were well-known in Mayfair and both Mrs Barney and the dead man were notorious members of the so-called young ‘smart set’. 1974P. Dickinson Poison Oracle ii. 66 Dinah [sc. an ape]..had indeed left the slums to join the evolutionary smart set, Man. 1981V. Glendinning E. Sitwell ix. 131 Edith's interest in the intrigues of the smart set was minimal.
14. Comb., as smart-looking, smart-suited, smart-tongued, smart-witted.
1601B. Jonson Poetaster iv. v, A good smart-tongued Goddesse. 1770‘P. Pennyless’ Sentimental Lucubrations ii. 31 A smart-looking waiter came up to me. a1859in Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) s.v., A powerful smart looking chunk of a pony. 1897Daily News 28 Sept. 2/1 That friendly, but smart-witted Power. 1922Joyce Ulysses 249 James's wax smartsuited freshcheeked models.
15. Special collocations: smart bomb, a powered missile which is guided to its target by an optical system; smart money U.S., money bet or invested by persons with expert knowledge; transf. knowledgeable persons; smart mouth U.S. slang, one who is good at repartee, one who gives cheek; so smart-mouth v. trans. to be cheeky to, to be witty at the expense of; smart-mouthed a.
1972Guardian 29 June 4/2 Three out of four [missions] have been using ‘smart’ bombs. 1975N.Y. Times 8 Sept. 2/4 Since 1973 the Israeli Air Force has been furnished with a variety of ‘smart bombs’ guided by laser beams of television. 1982Sunday Tel. 9 May 17/5 The American ‘smart’ bomb, which homes on a laser beam shone on to the target by a spotter aircraft.
1926Amer. Mercury Dec. 464/2 In referring to money wagered by persons with good tips or information, the term used is smart money. 1930W. R. Burnett Iron Man i. 5 ‘Well,’ said Regan, ‘all the smart money's on the black boy.’ 1947Sun (Baltimore) 6 Aug. 10/5 Bookmakers and layoff men are gamblers and many times they add personal wages to ‘smart money’. 1977H. Fast Immigrants ii. 87 Germany has declared war on Russia, and the smart money says that this is only the beginning. 1981Times 7 Nov. 6/8 Mr Weinberger..is close to the President..much closer than Mr Haig has ever been. In a battle for Mr Reagan's ear, all the smart money would be on Mr Weinberger.
1968Sun Mag. (Baltimore) 13 Oct. 19/1, I was a smart mouth, a troublemaker in school. 1976R. B. Parker Promised Land (1977) xii. 65 Don't smart-mouth me, man. You wising off at me? 1978J. L. Hensley Killing in Gold (1979) viii. 97 He..beat up three kids..when one of them smart-mouthed him.
1976Publishers Weekly 19 Apr. 82/3 Smart-mouthed film critic for Gotham magazine. 1978J. Irving World according to Garp xii. 229 Some smart⁓mouthed motorist..will..ask.., ‘What are you in training for?’
Add:[II.] [15.] smart card (also smartcard) orig. U.S. [cf. intelligent a. 5], a plastic bank card or similar device with an embedded microprocessor, used in conjunction with an electronic card-reader to authorize or provide particular services, esp. the automatic transfer of funds between bank accounts.
1980N.Y. Times 14 Dec. iii. 4/3 They preferred to write checks, knowing these would not clear until the next pay check had arrived. ‘*Smart card’ holders could react the same way. 1983Electronics 10 Mar. 52 The Army started to explore the smart card in January 1982 as a complete records-keeping vehicle. 1984New Scientist 8 Mar. 25/2 The most recent, and most adventurous approach to credit cards is the ‘smartcard’, with built in microchip. 1988Times 23 Feb. 30/7 The beauty of the algorithm..is that it can be built into hardware that will fit even on ‘smart cards’, and enables the identity of end-users to be checked in less than a second.
▸ smart dust n. Telecommunications a collection of very small computerized sensors capable of wireless communication, designed to act as a dispersed network.
1998V. S. Hsu et al. in Univ. Calif., Berkeley: Electronics Res. Lab. Memo. M98/2 (title) Wireless communications for *smart dust. 2000N.Y. Times 31 Dec. iv. 4/3 Clouds of ‘smart dust’—tiny computers and sensors each a cubic millimeter in size—will course through the skies monitoring the weather or the traffic below. 2005Electronic Business (Nexis) 1 Jan. 12 The smart dust networks are built from simple components, including a low-power radio that stays in contact with the next radio in the chain. Each node, or mote, collects data and passes it on through the network until it reaches a point where the data can be processed. 2006Times (Nexis) 14 Feb. 7 Developed by the US military to give blanket coverage to areas under surveillance, smart-dust sensors could eventually be the size of a pinhead.
▸ smart gun n. a (hypothetical) gun incorporating technology that renders it capable of seemingly intelligent action; spec. a gun that can be fired only by an authorized user.
1986Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 13 July 24 Director Cameron had worked hard to create the ‘*Smart-gun’ that Weaver and others used so frequently. 1993CNN News (transcription of TV programme) (Nexis) 5 June A so-called smart gun—a firearm that can only be discharged by its owner. 1998Guardian 23 Oct. i. 17/2 Several other companies are pursuing different smart gun technologies, including one that depends on recognising a gun owner's fingerprints, and one that recognises the owner's hand size.
▸ smartphone n. any of various telephones enhanced with computer technology; (now) spec. a type of mobile phone which incorporates the functions of a palmtop computer, personal digital assistant, or similar device.
1978Business Week (Nexis) 19 June 92 b, ‘Only God knows what the applications could be’ for *smart phones. 1997Computing 6 Nov. 3/5 It said sales of smart phones—mobile phones loaded with data communications software—will nearly treble next year. 2005Men's Health June 50/4 This multimedia widescreen smartphone..also has handwriting recognition.
▪ IV. smart, adv.|smɑːt|
Forms: 3–4 smerte, 4–5 smert; 4 smarte, 4– smart.
[f. smart a.]
= smartly, in various senses. (Common in 14th c.)
a1300Havelok 215 Þe king..dede him sore swinge, And wit hondes smerte dinge. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1643 Þey..smyten to-gyder al so smert. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 426 Þere smit no þinge so smerte ne smelleth so soure. a1400–50Alexander 5515 Þan made he smythis to gaa smert & smethe him a chaiere. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 180 Thes newely come me shale moche more Smertre assayle. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 541 The Stars shine smarter. 1771T. Hull Sir W. Harrington (1797) I. 141 Dressed as smart as my close mourning would permit me. 1794Nelson 19 July in Nicolas Disp. (1845) I. 449 The Enemy have fired smart since daylight. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. ii. 10 He'd..put him to hoeing and digging, and ‘see if he'd step about so smart’. 1886Pall Mall G. 29 Nov. 3/1 It is better for tenants to be compelled to pay up smart than to allow them to heap up a great burden of arrears.
Comb.1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena A iv b, Fenced..with sharp-pointed brambles and smart-stinging briers. 1752–3A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 22, A laced Coat, and smart-cocked Hat. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 379 Smart-dressing servant-maids, perhaps, are my best customers. 1884Pae Eustace 97 We want a smart-built craft like yon.
▪ V. smart, v.|smɑːt|
Forms: 1 -smeortan, 3 smeorte(n, 4 smurte; 2–5 smerten (5 -yn), 2–5 smerte, 4–5 smert, 7 Sc. smairt; 5–6 smarte, 5– smart. pa. tense 2 smeart, 3 smart, 3–4 smert, 4 smurte; pl. smo(u)rte, smerte.
[OE. smeortan str. vb., = Fris. smerte, MDu. smerten, smarten (Du. smarten), MLG. and LG. smerten (hence Da. smerte, Sw. smärta), OHG. smerzan str. vb. (MHG. smerzen str., G. schmerzen wk.); the ablaut-stem smert-, smart-, smurt- is perh. the same as that of Gr. σµερδνός, σµερδαλέος terrible, and L. mordēre to bite. Cf. smart a.]
1. intr. Of wounds, etc.: To be a source of sharp pain; to be acutely painful.
[c893K. ælfred Oros. i. vii. 36 Gnættas comon..mid fyrsmeortendum bitum.] c1175Lamb. Hom. 83 Win makeð wunde smerte. a1225Ancr. R. 238 Þeo hwule þet ȝichinge ilest, hit þuncheð god for to gniden: auh þerefter me iveleð hit bitterliche smeorten. a1300Havelok 2647 Þe dint bigan ful sore to smerte. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1317 Yhit es happe of welthe to drede mare Þan chaunce of angre, þat smertes sare. c1400Sowdone Bab. 1544 Here woundis sore did smerte. c1430Hymns Virgin (1867) 126 Sche answerd me schortly with wordys þat smartyd. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 228 b, Besyde this angre ther came the next daye another corsey that smarted a littell sorer. 1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 168 They basted him with a mixture..which smarted to the very soule of him. 1848Dickens Dombey xlv, He saw that this..rankled and smarted in her haughty breast, like a poisoned arrow.
†b. To be heavy or hard upon one. Obs.
1601Cornwallis Ess. ii. xxxvi. (1631) 122 This smarted doubly upon the taxed people.
2. With dative: To cause pain, be painful, to (a person, etc.).
†a. Impersonally (him, her, etc., smarts). Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 Swo þat hire ne oc ne ne smeart. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 206 He criede anon to ihesu crist, þo him smert so sore. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 433 Sore me meneþ, for me smert, Miche care is in mine hert. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 161 For þe pore may haue no pouwer to playne, þauȝ hem smerte. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1025, I dar wel seyn it smerteth hym ful sore In euery veyne and place of his body.
b. With ns., passing into trans.: To affect with pain or smarting.
a1225Ancr. R. 326 Nis þing i þisse worlde þet smeorteð him so sore ase him doð swuch beatunge. c1310in Wright Lyric P. xxv. 70 Thi suete body to-toren y se, Hit maketh heorte to smerte me. c1374Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. iv. (1868) 39 Þis is a þing þat gretly smertiþ me whan it remembreþ me. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xx. 65 So sore as this martirdom smertith me. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 6075 Mi woundes smert me so sore With you may I fight nomore. 1558T. Phaer æneid ii. 30 Than pardon we for pity gaue, this wayling smartes us so. a1568A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 50 Thay swoun to se ȝow smartit. a1653Adams Serm. Wks. 1862 II. 195 A goad that pricks the skin and smarts the flesh—affliction. 1787Minor III. viii. 188 My wound..still continued to smart me. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 505 It is better that the effluvium be so strong as to smart the eyes. 1884J. Burroughs Locusts & Wild H. 109 There was not enough moisture in the air to take the sting out of the smoke, and it smarted the nose.
3. intr. To feel sharp pain or distress; to suffer acutely or severely. Freq. with preps., as at, beneath, by, from, under.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 207 Þenne wile his heorte aken and smerten. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 322 Þe bodie..þat in strong Anguysche deth smeorte [v.r. smurte]. 13..Sir Beues 631 Þo his bodi be-gan to smerte, He gan plokken vp is hertte. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xv. (Bodl. MS.), Smoke þat dymmeþ þe yȝen and [maketh them] smerte. 1421–2Hoccleve Dialog 650 Smertith the fool for lak of good auys. 1496Coventry Leet Bk. 575 Which I dought not I shall haue ayen or Lammasse day, or ells iij or iiij of þe best of yowe shall smart. 1530Palsgr. 722/1 If thou ytche, care nat, but if thou smarte, beware. a1568A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxiv. 17, I speik expart, suppois I smart. 1609Bp. Hall Passion Serm. (1627) 432 Thou strikest: Christ Iesus smarteth, and will reuenge. 1670Cotton Life of Espernon ii. viii. 371 Countreys that yet smarted with the last years War. 1781Burns Stanzas Prosp. Death 9, I..justly smart beneath his sin-avenging rod. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 200 The just indignation of the public was inflamed by many who were smarting from his ridicule. 1885W. T. Hornaday 2 Yrs. Jungle xxiii. 268 The salt perspiration ran into my eyes and caused them to smart.
b. To bear the penalty, to suffer severely, for some offence, misdemeanour, etc.
1548Somerset Epist. to Scots A vij b, If you doo then..smart for it, whom can you blame, but youre awne eleccion? 1579W. Fulke Conf. Sanders 585 Balthasar abused the holy vessels, he smarted for it. 1634Heywood Maidenh. well lost i. Wks. 1874 IV. 104, I shall ne're smart for't, what is't to me? 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 78 Away, I say, else I'll make you smart for it. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. xxxii. 243 Offences against warning ought to be smarted for. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, ‘You shall smart for this,’ gasped Mr. Pickwick. 1884Sat. Rev. 5 July 5/2 He has done us a wrong, and should be made to smart for it.
†4. trans. To atone for (an offence) by suffering. Obs.—1
a1400Rom. Rose 7057 He shal in prisoun dye; But if he wol..smerten that that he hath do. |