The story
- Middle English · derived fromsmel“smell”
- English todaySmillie
From a derivative of Middle English smel (“smell”), hence a nickname for someone notorious for giving off a smell that was obnoxious even by medieval standards, or for someone who made great use of perfumes and pomanders.
Words from the same roots
Middle Englishsmel all →
smell
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.