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smug

adj
/smʌɡ/

Etymology

Originally "spruce, neat," from Low German smuk (“pretty”), from Middle Low German smuk (“lithe, delicate, neat, trim”), although the g of the English word is not easily explained. The ultimate source should be Proto-West Germanic *smeugan (“to crawl, creep”). From the Low German derived also North Frisian smok, Danish smuk and Swedish smukk (now obsolete or dialectal). Compare also Middle High German gesmuc (“ornament”) and smücken (“to dress, to adorn”), both ultimately from smiegen (“to press to, insert, wrap, to nestle”), hence German schmiegen, Schmuck and schmücken. The adjective schmuck, however, was borrowed from Low German. See smock for more.

  1. derived from *smeugan✻ — “to crawl, creep”
  2. derived from smuk — “lithe, delicate, neat, trim”
  3. borrowed from smuk — “pretty”

Definitions

  1. Irritatingly pleased with oneself

    Irritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.

    • Kate looked extremely smug this morning.

  2. Showing smugness

    Showing smugness; showing self-complacency, self-satisfaction.

    • a smug look on her face

  3. Studiously neat or nice, especially in dress

    Studiously neat or nice, especially in dress; spruce; affectedly precise; smooth and prim.

    • They be so smug and smooth.
    • the smug and scanty draperies of his style
    • A young, smug, handsome holiness has no fellow.
  4. ›+ 5 more definitions

    1. To make smug, or spruce.

      • Thus said, he smug'd his beard, and stroked up fair.

    2. to adopt an offensively self-complacent expression.

    3. To seize

      To seize; to confiscate.

    4. To hush up.

    5. The smuggling trade.

      • Have not they some term by which they distinguish the illicit trade? — They usually call it the Smug-pigeon.
      • The smug-boats have been called centipedes by the Europeans, on account of the great number of oars, with which, like legs, they walk the water.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at smug. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01smug02offensively03offensive04indignation05self-righteous06smugly07self-satisfied

A definitional loop anchored at smug. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at smug

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA