Link Centre Dictionary

smirch

UK/smɜː(ɹ)t͡ʃ/ uncommon archaic
noun (2) verb (2)

noun

1.

a blemish made by dirt

  • “he had a smudge on his cheek”
Synonyms
2.

an act that brings discredit to the person who does it

  • “he made a huge blot on his copybook”
Synonyms

verb

1.

smear so as to make dirty or stained

Synonyms
2.

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

  • “The journalists have defamed me!”
  • “The article in the paper sullied my reputation”
Synonyms

Origin

From 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.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.