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Origin and history of smile

smile(v.)

c. 1300, smilen, "assume a facial expression or change of features indicative of amusement and pleasure," perhaps from Middle Low German *smilen (compare Middle High German smielen) or a Scandinavian source (such as Danish smile "smile," Swedish smila "smile, smirk, simper, fawn"), from Proto-Germanic *smil-, extended form of PIE root *smei- "to laugh, smile" (source also of Sanskrit smayate "smiles;" Latvian smiêt "to laugh;" Latin mirus "wonderful," mirari "to wonder;" Old English smerian "to laugh at, scorn," Old High German smieron "to smile"). Related: Smiled; smiling; smilingly.

It gradually pushed the usual Old English word, smearcian (modern smirk), into a specific, unpleasant sense. Of the eyes, from 1759. Figuratively (of Fortune, etc.), as indicating favor or encouragement, from c. 1400. In Middle English to smile still (c. 1400) was to smile to oneself.

The saying smile and the world smiles with you is by 1884, in quotation marks, in newspaper poetry. An early second line to it was, frown, and it frowns again. [1886, credited to E.L. Ellsworth, "Cleveland Leader"]

The Romance, Celtic, and Slavic languages tend to use a diminutive of the word for "laugh" to mean "smile" (such as Latin ridere "laugh;" subridere "smile"), perhaps literally "small laugh" or "low laugh."

smile(n.)

mid-15c., "expression of the face like that at the start of a laugh, indicating amusement, pleasure, etc.," from smile (v.).

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to smile

smirk(v.)

Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian "to smile." There are no exact cognates in other languages, but probably it is a suffixed form related to smerian "to laugh at, scorn," which is from Proto-Germanic *smer-, *smar-, variant of PIE *smei- "to smile;" see smile (v.).

After c. 1500, smile gradually restricted smirk to the unpleasant sense "smile affectedly; grin in a malicious or smug way," but in some 18c. glossaries smirk still is simply "to smile." Related: Smirked; smirking.

admire(v.)

early 15c. (implied in admired), "regard with wonder, marvel at," from Old French admirer "look upon, contemplate" (correcting earlier amirer, 14c.), or directly from Latin admirari "regard with wonder, be astonished," from ad "to, with regard to" (see ad-) + mirari "to wonder," from mirus "wonderful" (see smile (v.)). The sense has gradually weakened toward "regard with pleasure and esteem," but for a time they overlapped.

Doe not admire why I admire :
My fever is no other's fire :
Each severall heart hath his desire ;
Els proof is false, and truth a lier.
[Campion, "And would You Faine the Reason Knowe," in "Rosseter's Booke of Ayres Part II," 1601]

Related: Admiring; admiringly.

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Trends of smile

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

comity
early 15c., "association," from French comité, from Latin comitas "courtesy, friendliness, kindness, affability," from comis "courteous, friendly, kind," perhaps from PIE *ko(m)smi-, literally "smiling with," from *kom- "together" + root *smei- "to laugh, smile" (see smile (v.)).
marvel
c. 1300, merivelle, "a miracle; a thing, act, or event which causes astonishment," also "wonderful story or legend," from Old French merveille "a wonder, surprise, miracle," from Vulgar Latin *miribilia (source also of Spanish maravilla, Portuguese maravilha, Italian maraviglia),
miracle
mid-12c., "a wondrous work of God," from Old French miracle (11c.) "miracle, story of a miracle, miracle play," from Latin miraculum "object of wonder" (in Church Latin, "marvelous event caused by God"), from mirari "to wonder at, marvel, be astonished," figuratively "to regard,
sneer
The meaning "grin or smile contemptuously" is from 1670s; that of "speak derisively, insinuate contempt in words" is by 1707...
cheese
As a photographer's word to make subjects hold a smile, it is attested from 1930, but in a reminiscence of schoolboy days...Probably for the forced smile involved in making the -ee- sound....
talk
from the same source as tale (q.v.), with rare English formative -k (compare hark from hear, stalk from steal, smirk from smile...
gloat
gaze attentively, stare, scowl, look glum, pout" (mid-15c.), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse glotta "grin, smile...
show
Middle English sheuen, from Old English sceawian "to look at, see, gaze, behold, observe; inspect, examine; look for, choose," from Proto-Germanic *skauwojanan (source also of Old Saxon skauwon "to look at," Old Frisian skawia, Dutch schouwen, Old High German scouwon "to look at"
express
late 14c., "represent in visual arts; put into words," from Old French espresser, expresser "press, squeeze out; speak one's mind" (Modern French exprimer), Medieval Latin expressare, frequentative of Latin exprimere "represent, describe, portray, imitate, translate," literally "
beam
Old English beam, "living tree," but by late 10c. also "rafter, post, ship's timber," from Proto-Germanic *baumaz "tree" (source also of Old Frisian bam "tree, gallows, beam," Middle Dutch boom, Old High German boum, German Baum "tree," and perhaps also (with unexplained sound ch

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Dictionary entries near smile
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