smittle

The story

1. Old English · inherited fromsmittian“to defile; pollute; befoul”
2. Middle English · inherited fromsmitten“to smear; smudge; stain; taint”
3. English todaysmittle

Frequentative from Middle English smitten (“to smear; smudge; stain; taint”), from Old English smittian (“to defile; pollute; befoul”). Cognate with German schmitzen (“to pollute”), Danish smitte (“to infect”). Related also to smite.