smatch

S1M3A1T1C3H4

noun

A smack or taste.

OriginMiddle English smacchen, smecchen ← Old English smæċċan ← Proto-West Germanic *smakkijan →
Scrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsmatch (plural smatches)

plural smatches

  1. obsoleteA smack or taste.
  2. obsoleteA trace quantity; a smattering or smidgeon.

    Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it

    1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]
verbsmatch (third-person singular simple present smatches, present participle smatching, simple past and past participle smatched)

present singular third person smatches · participle present smatching · participle past smatched · past smatched

  1. ambitransitiveobsoleteTo have a taste; to taste (something).
  2. ambitransitiveobsoleteTo have a feeling; to smack (of something).

    Allowing his description therein to retain and smatche of veritie

    1578, John Banister, The Historie of Man, from the most approved Authorities in this Present Age

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
flavourtaste

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*smeh₂g-“to taste”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*smakkijan“to taste”
  3. Old Englishsmæċċan“to taste”
  4. Middle Englishsmacchen, smecchen“to taste”
  5. Englishsmatch

From Middle English smacchen, smecchen (“to taste”), from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”), from Proto-West Germanic *smakkijan (“to taste”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smeh₂g- (“to taste”). Cognate with West Frisian smeitse, smeitsje (“to taste”), Dutch smaken (“to taste”), German schmecken (“to taste”), Danish smage (“to taste”), Norwegian smake (“to taste”), Norwegian smak (“a taste”), Lithuanian smagù (“cheerful, enjoyable, pleasant”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

smatch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatch

MLA

“smatch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatch. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smatch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatch.

Source: smatch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.