English
smooth
Smooth comes from Middle English smothe, from Old English smēþe, from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī ‘flat’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smanþī‘flat’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smēþe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smothe
- Englishearliest quotation 1591smooth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smanþī‘flat’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smēþe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smothe
- Englishearliest quotation 1591smooth
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī
Today it means
adj Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *smanþī / smooth