Etymograph

English

smile

Smile comes from Middle English smilen, from Middle Low German *smîlen, from Middle High German smielen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smey- ‘to laugh, be glad’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-‘to laugh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smīlāną‘to smile’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smīlēnreconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050smielēn
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350smielen
  6. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600*smîlen‘to smile’reconstructed
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smilen‘to smile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816smile

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-‘to laugh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smīlāną‘to smile’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smīlēnreconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050smielēn
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350smielen
  6. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600*smîlen‘to smile’reconstructed
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smilen‘to smile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816smile

Earliest quotation: 1816, Lord Byron, Canto III: “When last I saw thy young blue eyes, they…”

The story

Related also to Old High German smierōn (‘to smile’), Old English smerian (‘to laugh at’), Old English smercian, smearcian ("to smile"; > English smirk), Latin mīror (‘to wonder at’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *smey- ‘to laugh, be glad, wonder’

smith, mirror, admirable, comity, 3 more

Today it means

noun A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth, often showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression of happiness, pleasure, amusement, goodwill, or anxiety.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *smey- / smile

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