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."
实用例句
1. I spent lots of money on smart new outfits for work.
我花大笔钱购置了上班时穿的漂亮新套装。
来自柯林斯例句
2. A black coat always looks smart and will never date.
黑色外套看起来总是很潇洒，而且永远也不会落伍。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Laura landed a plum job with a smart art gallery.
劳拉在一家时尚画廊找到了份美差。
来自柯林斯例句
4. This is a smart, yet soft and feminine look.
这是一张透着精明的面孔，但是线条柔和，女人味十足。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Investors are playing it cautious, and they're playing it smart.
