smirch
To dirty; to make dirtyTo dirty; to make dirty.
Meaning
2 senses(archaic, transitive)To dirty; to make dirty.
beschmutzen, verschmutzen
пятна́тьpjatnátʹ, мара́тьmarátʹ
плямитиpljamyty, зама́руватиzamáruvaty
smear so as to make dirty or stained
(archaic, figuratively, transitive)To harm the reputation of; to smear or slander.
Translations
5 languagesOrigin
From Middle English *smorchen ("to spatter, soil"; attested in besmorchid (“bespattered, sFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
smirches, smirching, smirched, smirchedSynonyms
80 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.