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smooth

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Old English smōþ
Middle English smothe
Proto-West Germanic *smanþī
Old English smēþe
Middle English smethe
English smooth

    From Middle English smothe, smethe, from Old English smēþe, smōþ, both from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī, of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots smuith (“smooth”), Saterland Frisian smoud (“smooth”), Low German smood and smödig (“smooth, malleable, ductile”), Dutch smeuïg (“smooth”) (from earlier smeudig).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /smuːð/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -uːð

    Adjective

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    smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

    1. Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
      • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:
        The outlines must be smooth, […] imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.
      • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
        “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
      • 1964, Philip K. Dick, “THIRTEEN”, in Clans of the Alphane Moon, United States: Ace Books, →OCLC; republished London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996, →ISBN, page 193:
        Smooth and slender and naked, Mary Rittersdorf faced her husband.
      • 2005, Lesley Brown, Sophist, translation of original by Plato, page 229e:
        Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother.
    2. Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
      We hope for a smooth transition to the new system.
      • 2011, Phil McNulty, “Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England”, in BBC‎[1]:
        England's path to Poland and Ukraine next summer looked to be a smooth one as goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent gave them a comfortable lead after 31 minutes.
      • 2019 June 19, Elisabeth Malkin and Ana Swanson, “Mexico Ratifies Trade Deal With the U.S. and Canada”, in The New York Times‎[2]:
        The path to approval has been bumpiest in Washington, where Democrats in Congress have raised concerns over Mexico’s enforcement of labor rights and environmental law — and smoothest in Mexico, where the president has described the accord as a guarantee of stability for his country’s economy.
    3. Bland; glib.
    4. Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
      Synonym: seamless
      • 1670, John Milton, The History of Britain:
        the only smooth poet of those times
      • 1737, [Alexander Pope], The First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated, London: […] T. Cooper, […], →OCLC, page 16:
        VValler vvas ſmooth; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verſe, the full reſounding line, / The long majetſic march, and energy divine.
      • 1713 (indicated as 1714), [John] Gay, “Book III”, in The Fan. A Poem. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 23:
        VVhen bright Minerva roſe, / From her ſvveet Lips ſmooth Elocution flovvs, […]
    5. Suave; sophisticated.
      • 2003, T. Lewis Humphrey, The Price of Love, →ISBN, page 279:
        He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.
    6. (of an action) Natural; unconstrained.
      • 2006, Mary Kay Moskal, Camille Blachowicz, Reading for Fluency, →ISBN, page 3:
        In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.
    7. (of a motion) Unbroken.
    8. (chiefly of water) Placid, calm.
    9. (of an edge) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
    10. (of food or drink) Not grainy; having an even texture.
      • 1997, Lou Seibert Pappas, Sorbets and Ice Creams, →ISBN, page 19:
        A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.
    11. (of a beverage) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
    12. (mathematics, of a function) Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
    13. (mathematics, of a number) That factors completely into small prime numbers.
    14. (linguistics, classical studies, of a vowel) Lacking marked aspiration.
    15. (of muscles, medicine) Involuntary and non-striated.

    Synonyms

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    • (having a texture lacking friction): even,
    • (without difficulty or problems): fluid, slick

    Antonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Adverb

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    smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

    1. Smoothly.
      smooth-running, smooth-tongued, smooth-spoken
      The paths true love never ran smooth(ly).

    Noun

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    smooth (plural smooths)

    1. Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.
    2. A smoothing action.
      • 2006, Julienne Van Loon, Road Story‎[4], →ISBN, page 12:
        She brushes down her hair with a little bit of spit and a smooth of her hand and opens the bright green door, walking a few metres, squinting.
    3. A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
      • 1916, William Ernest Castle, Sewall Wright, Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-pigs and Rats‎[5], page 104:
        In the 4-toe stock there is a wide gap between the lowest rough and the smooths which come from the same parents.
    4. A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
      • 1999, Peter Childs, Mike Storry, Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture‎[6], →ISBN, page 188:
        By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths.
    5. (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
      • 1990, Wolfgang Härdle, Applied Nonparametric Regression‎[7], →ISBN, page 17:
        A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.

    Translations

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    Verb

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    smooth (third-person singular simple present smooths, present participle smoothing, simple past and past participle smoothed)

    1. (transitive) To make smooth or even.
      • 1961, William Gibson, The Miracle Worker‎[8], →ISBN, page 37:
        She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.
      Synonym: smoothen
    2. (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure; to press, to flatten.
      to smooth cloth with a smoothing iron
    3. (transitive) To make straightforward or easy.
      • 2007, Beth Kohn, Lonely Planet Venezuela, page 379:
        Caracas can be a tough place but the tremendously good-natured caraqueños smoothed my passage every step of the way.
    4. (transitive) To calm or palliate.
      to smooth a person's temper
    5. (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
      • 1999, Murray R. Spiegel, Larry J. Stephens, Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Statistics‎[9], →ISBN, page 457:
        […] the 7-month moving averages provide better smoothing of the data in this case than do the 3-month moving averages.
    6. (West Country) To stroke; especially to stroke an animal's fur.
      Can I smooth your cat?

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    See also

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    Anagrams

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