Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision.
  • intransitive verb To have or form a smile.
  • intransitive verb To look with favor or approval.
  • intransitive verb To express cheerful acceptance or equanimity.
  • intransitive verb To express with a smile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To show a change of the features such as characterizes the beginning of a laugh; give such an expression to the face: generally as indicative of pleasure or of slight amusement, but sometimes of depreciation, contempt, pity, or hypocritical complaisance.
  • To look gay or joyous, or have an appearance such as tends to excite joy; appear propitious or favorable: as, the smiling spring.
  • To drink in company.
  • To ferment, as beer, etc.
  • To express by a smile: as, to smile a welcome; to smile content.
  • To change or affect (in a specified way) by smiling: with a modifying word or clause added.
  • To smile at; receive with a smile.
  • noun An expression of the face like that with which a laugh begins, indicating naturally pleasure, moderate joy, approbation, amusement, or kindliness, but also sometimes amused or supercilious contempt, pity, disdain, hypocritical complaisance, or the like. Compare smirk, simper, and grin.
  • noun Gay or joyous appearance; an appearance that would naturally be productive of joy: as, the smiles of spring.
  • noun Favor; countenance; propitiousness: as, the smiles of Providence.
  • noun A drink, as of spirit, taken in company and when one person treats another; also, the giving of the treat: as, it is my smile.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To express by a smile
  • transitive verb rare To affect in a certain way with a smile.
  • noun The act of smiling; a peculiar change or brightening of the face, which expresses pleasure, moderate joy, mirth, approbation, or kindness; -- opposed to frown.
  • noun A somewhat similar expression of countenance, indicative of satisfaction combined with malevolent feelings, as contempt, scorn, etc.
  • noun Favor; countenance; propitiousness.
  • noun Gay or joyous appearance.
  • intransitive verb To express amusement, pleasure, moderate joy, or love and kindness, by the features of the face; to laugh silently.
  • intransitive verb To express slight contempt by a look implying sarcasm or pity; to sneer.
  • intransitive verb To look gay and joyous; to have an appearance suited to excite joy
  • intransitive verb To be propitious or favorable; to favor; to countenance; -- often with on.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth while showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression of happiness, pleasure, amusement or anxiety.
  • verb transitive or (intransitive) To have a smile on one's face

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
  • verb express with a smile
  • noun a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English smilen, to smile, probably of Scandinavian origin; see smei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English smilen ("to smile"), of North Germanic origin, from Danish smile ("to smile"), from Old Norse *smīla ("to smile"), from Proto-Germanic *smīlijanan, *smirōnan (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meyə- (“to laugh, be glad, wonder”). Cognate with Swedish smila ("to smile"), Middle High German smielen ("to smile"), Old High German smierōn ("to smile"), Old English smerian ("to laugh at"), Old English smercian, smearcian ("to smile"), Latin miror ("to wonder at"). More at smirk.

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Examples

  • Tomorrow imma smile and be happy Ü and imma talk to mary who will also be alone for Valentines Day Imma be on the phone wif her just talking so that we wont be alone * smile* I miss Mary although she seemed like a bad friend but I realize that she needed a friend too I miss her so much and I miss Sergio too. .aww I wanna go back ...

    fairytears Diary Entry fairytears 2004

  • Alas, I have no dowry to give you, save the blessing of your dear old -- your dear fond, _fond_ father, _ (kisses her forehead) _ But only obey me in this, and Lady Fortune will smile on us all -- smile -- _smile_.

    Oh! Susannah! A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts Mark Ambient

  • It is beautiful, feels unbelievable and just puts a big ole smile on my face * smile*

    Babeland's Blog 2009

  • If it were possible to smile in my present mood, I think I should indulge _one smile_ at the thought of falling in love with a woman who has scarcely had education enough to enable her to write her name, who has been confined to her bed about eighteen months by a rheumatism contracted by too assiduous application to the wash-tub, and who often boasts that she was born, not above forty-five years ago, in an upper story of the mansion at Mount

    Jane Talbot Charles Brockden Brown 1790

  • And, of course, I couldn’t help but smile with how much of what you said I agreed with *smile*

    Amp interviewed on a right-wing website 2005

  • "_Conform a smile to lightning_, make a _smile_ imitate _lightning_, and

    Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 Samuel Johnson 1746

  • We think of Brecht: a smile is a kind of indifference to injustice.

    March « 2010 « Bill Ayers 2010

  • I have always a smile on my face because, as I always say, the smile is the shortest distance between two people.

    Global Voices in English » Brazil: Tips to face the crisis from a popcorn street seller 2009

  • In fact, the smile is a surprisingly persistent motif the literature and mythology of warfare.

    Archive 2009-05-01 2009

  • In fact, the smile is a surprisingly persistent motif the literature and mythology of warfare.

    Pack Up Your Troubles 2009

Comments

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  • whats the longest word in the english language?

    smiles. because it has a mile between the first and last letter.

    December 20, 2006

  • Long-remembered smile

    So ripe with unspoken words

    Where does it dwell now?

    March 10, 2007

  • A perfect smile!!!

    May 4, 2010

  • Who agrees???

    May 7, 2010

  • He certainly looks like a jolly chap.

    May 7, 2010

  • yarb: That jolly chap is Prolagus!!!

    May 7, 2010