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-1‘to laugh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smīlāną1‘to smile’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smīlēn1reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050smielēn1
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350smielen1
  6. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600*smîlen1‘to smile’reconstructed
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smilen1‘to smile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816smile1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English smile
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1816, Lord Byron, Canto III: “When last I saw thy young blue eyes, they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smey-Wiktionary, English smile‘to laugh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smīlānąWiktionary, English smile‘to smile’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*smīlēnWiktionary, English smilereconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050smielēnWiktionary, English smile
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350smielenWiktionary, English smile
  6. Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600*smîlenWiktionary, English smile‘to smile’reconstructed
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smilenWiktionary, English smile‘to smile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816smileWiktionary, English smile. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “smile”. 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 *smey- / smile

Shirt and support for this word