Etymograph

English

smart

Smart comes from Old English smeart ‘smarting, painful’, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz ‘hurting’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- ‘to bite, sting’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)merd-1‘to bite, sting’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smartaz1‘hurting, aching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smart1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150smeart1‘smarting, painful’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smert1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611smart1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English smart
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “He that is ſurety for a ſtranger ſhall ſmart…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)merd-Wiktionary, English smart‘to bite, sting’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smartazWiktionary, English smart‘hurting, aching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smartWiktionary, English smartreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150smeartWiktionary, English smart‘smarting, painful’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smertWiktionary, English smart
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611smartWiktionary, English smart. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “He that is ſurety for a ſtranger ſhall ſmart…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with smart, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- ‘to bite, sting’

  • remorse ← remors ← remors ← remorsus ← remordeō
  • morsel ← morsellum ← morsum ← morsus ← mordeo
  • mordant ← mordeō ← *mordeō ← *(s)mord-éye-ti

6 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *(s)merd- →

Another origin of smart

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)merd-‘to bite, sting’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smartaz‘hurting, aching’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smartreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150smeart‘smarting, smart, painful’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smert‘painful, hurtful, punishing, injurious’
  6. Englishtodaysmart

Another origin of smart

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)merd-‘to sting, bite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smertaną‘to hurt’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smertan‘to hurt, to smart’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*smeortan‘to smart’reconstructed
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smerten‘to smart’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smerte‘harm, pain, injury’
  7. Englishtodaysmart

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

verb To hurt or sting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “smart”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- / smart