Nearby words
smaltite, smalto, smaragd, smaragdine, smaragdite, smarm, smarmy, smart, smart aleck, smart as a whip, smart ass
Origin of smarm
First recorded in 1935–40; back formation from smarmy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for smarm
For such searing, challenging dreams, we have only snark or smarm.
British Dictionary definitions for smarm
smarm
/ (smɑːm) British informal /
verb
(tr often foll by down) to flatten (the hair, etc) with cream or grease
(when intr, foll by up to) to ingratiate oneself (with)
noun
obsequious flattery
Word Origin for smarm
C19: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for smarm
smarm
1914, from colloquial verb smalm, smarm "to smear, bedaub" (the hair, with pomade), 1847, of unknown origin, perhaps somehow suggestive of the action. Verbal meaning "to smear with flattery" is from 1902.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper