smooth
Etymology
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
Etymology
From Middle English smothe, smethe, from Old English smēþe, smōþ, both from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī, of unknown origin.
Pronunciation- IPA: /smuːð/
smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)
- 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, […].
- Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
- We hope for a smooth transition to the new system.
- Bland; glib.
- 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the page):
- This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.
- Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
- 1670, John Milton, The History of Britain:
- the only smooth poet of those times
- Suave; sophisticated.
- (of an action) Natural; unconstrained.
- (of a motion) Unbroken.
- (chiefly, of water) Placid, calm.
- (of an edge) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
- (of food or drink) Not grainy; having an even texture.
- (of a beverage) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
- (mathematics, of a function) Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
- (math, of a number) That factors completely into small prime numbers.
- (linguistics, classical studies, of a vowel) Lacking marked aspiration.
- (of muscles, medicine) Involuntary and non-striated.
- French: doux, facile
- German: reibungslos, problemlos, glatt
- Italian: facile, dolce, soffice
- Portuguese: suave
- Russian: гла́дкий
- French: sophistiqué
- Spanish: sofisticado
- French: douce
smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)
- Smoothly.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:
- Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.
smooth (plural smooths)
- Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.
- 1861 January – 1862 August, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, The Adventures of Philip on His Way through the World; […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1862, →OCLC ↗:
- I think you and I will take the ups and the downs , the roughs and the smooths of this daily existence and conversation
- A smoothing action.
- A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
- A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
- (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
smooth (smooths, present participle smoothing; simple past and past participle smoothed)
- (transitive) To make smooth or even.
- Synonyms: smoothen
- (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure; to press, to flatten.
- to smooth cloth with a smoothing iron
- (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.
- (transitive) To calm or palliate.
- to smooth a person's temper
- (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
- (West Country) To stroke; especially to stroke an animal's fur.
- Can I smooth your cat?
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
