smug
English
Etymology
Possibly from Middle Low German smuk (“lithe, delicate, neat, trim”) although the g of the English word is not easily explained. From the Low German derived also North Frisian smok, Danish smuk and Swedish smukk (now obsolete or dialectal). The ultimate source should be Proto-Germanic *smeuganą.
Compare Middle High German gesmuc (“ornament”) and smücken (“to dress, to adorn”), both ultimately from smiegen (“to press to, insert, wrap, to nestle”), hence German schmiegen, Schmuck and schmücken. The adjective schmuck, however, was borrowed from Low German. See smock for more.
Pronunciation
Adjective
smug (comparative smugger, superlative smuggest)
- Irritatingly pleased with oneself, offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.
- Kate looked extremely smug this morning.
- (obsolete) Studiously neat or nice, especially in dress; spruce; affectedly precise; smooth and prim.
- (Can we date this quote by Robynson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?) (More's Utopia)
- They be so smug and smooth.
- (Can we date this quote by De Quincey and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- the smug and scanty draperies of his style
- (Can we date this quote by Beaumont and Fletcher and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- A young, smug, handsome holiness has no fellow.
- (Can we date this quote by Robynson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?) (More's Utopia)
Synonyms
- gloaty
- self-satisfied
- complacent
- See also Thesaurus:arrogant
Derived terms
Translations
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Verb
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- (obsolete, transitive) To make smug, or spruce.
- (Can we date this quote by Dryton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Thus said, he smugged his beard, and stroked up fair.
- (Can we date this quote by Dryton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- (obsolete, transitive) To seize; to confiscate.
- (obsolete, transitive, slang) To hush up.
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 The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.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 “smug”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)
Further reading
- “smug”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “smug”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
Noun
smug
Derived terms
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
- smau (Nynorsk also)
Etymology
From the verb smyge
Noun
smug n (definite singular smuget, indefinite plural smug, definite plural smuga or smugene)
References
- “smug” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Polish
Pronunciation
Noun
smug m inan
- A narrow strip of meadow or, less commonly, of a field or forest.
- Any meadow, especially one that is marshy.
- (archaic) Alternative form of smuga (“streak, trail, contrail”).
Declension
Noun
smug f
Further reading
- English terms borrowed from Middle Low German
- English terms derived from Middle Low German
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Rhymes:English/ʌɡ
- English lemmas
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- English terms with obsolete senses
- Requests for date/Robynson
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- Requests for date/Beaumont and Fletcher
- English transitive verbs
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- English slang
- en:Emotions
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
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- Norwegian Bokmål entries with topic categories using raw markup
- Norwegian Bokmål neuter nouns
- nb:Roads
- Polish 1-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Polish masculine nouns
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- pl:Nature