smart: [OE] Smart originated as a verb, meaning ‘be painful’. It came from a West Germanic base *smert-, *smart- (source also of German schmerz and Dutch smart ‘pain’), which may go back ultimately to the same Indo-European ancestor that produced Greek smerdnós ‘terrible’ and Latin mordēre ‘bite’ (source of English morsel, remorse, etc). The adjective smart was derived from the verb in the 11th century, and at first meant ‘stinging, painful’. Its modern senses ‘clever’ and ‘neat’ emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. => morsel, remorse
smart (v.)
Old English smeortan "be painful," from Proto-Germanic *smarta- (cognates: Middle Dutch smerten, Dutch smarten, Old High German smerzan, German schmerzen "to pain," originally "to bite"), from PIE *smerd- "pain," an extension of the root *mer- (2) "to rub; to harm" (cognates: Greek smerdnos "terrible, dreadful," Sanskrit mardayati "grinds, rubs, crushes," Latin mordere "to bite"). Related: Smarted; smarting.
smart (adj.)
late Old English smeart "painful, severe, stinging; causing a sharp pain," related to smeortan (see smart (v.)). Meaning "executed with force and vigor" is from c. 1300. Meaning "quick, active, clever" is attested from c. 1300, from the notion of "cutting" wit, words, etc., or else "keen in bargaining." Meaning "trim in attire" first attested 1718, "ascending from the kitchen to the drawing-room c. 1880" [Weekley]. For sense evolution, compare sharp (adj.).
In reference to devices, the sense of "behaving as though guided by intelligence" (as in smart bomb) first attested 1972. Smarts "good sense, intelligence," is first recorded 1968. Smart cookie is from 1948.
smart (n.)
"sharp pain," c. 1200, from sharp (adj.). Cognate with Middle Dutch smerte, Dutch smart, Old High German smerzo, German Schmerz "pain."
雙語例句
1. I spent lots of money on smart new outfits for work.
我花大筆錢購置了上班時穿的漂亮新套裝。
來自柯林斯例句
2. A black coat always looks smart and will never date.
黑色外套看起來總是很瀟灑,而且永遠也不會落伍。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Laura landed a plum job with a smart art gallery.
勞拉在一家時尚畫廊找到了份美差。
來自柯林斯例句
4. This is a smart, yet soft and feminine look.
這是一張透著精明的麵孔,但是線條柔和,女人味十足。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Investors are playing it cautious, and they're playing it smart.