smittle

English

Etymology

Frequentative from Middle English smitten (“to smear; smudge; stain; taint”), from Old English smittian (“to defile; pollute; befoul”). Cognate with German schmitzen (“to pollute”), Danish smitte (“to infect”). Related also to smite.

Verb

1. (obsolete, UK, dialect, transitive) To infect.

Adjective

smittle

1. (obsolete, UK, dialect) Infectious.

Noun

smittle (plural smittles)

1. (obsolete, UK, dialect) An infection.

Related terms

• smit

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “smittle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)