Etymology

smirch

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Today it means: Dirt, or a stain. Full definition →

Middle English *smorchen
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smirch · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · derived fromsmeoren
  2. Middle English · inherited from*smorchen
  3. English todaysmirch

From Middle English *smorchen ("to spatter, soil"; attested in besmorchid (“bespattered, soiled all over”)), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a derivative of Middle English smeoren, smuren, smeren (“to smear”) or related to Middle English smotry (“sooty, grimy”). Compare also Middle English bismotered (“bespattered, soiled”), Old French esmorcher (“to torture”), Middle English smoterly, smoterlich (“besmirched”), modern English smut.

smirch · noun2

Blend of smear + chirp.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.