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A smirk is a smile evoking insolence, scorn, or offensive smugness, falling into the category of what Desmond Morris described as Deformed-compliment Signals.
A smirk may also be an affected, ingratiating smile, as in Mr Bennet's description of Mr Wickham as making smirking love to all his new in-laws in the novel '' Pride and Prejudice''.
A smirk is a smile evoking insolence, scorn, or offensive smugness, falling into the category of what Desmond Morris described as Deformed-compliment Signals.
A smirk may also be an affected, ingratiating smile, as in Mr Bennet's description of Mr Wickham as making smirking love to all his new in-laws in the novel '' Pride and Prejudice''.
Etymology
The word derives fromOld English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''smearcian'', via Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
''smirken''.
It is from the same root as '' smile'', from Proto-Germanic ''*smar-'', but with a velar root extension '' -k-'' (with intensive or frequentative function) particular to English also found in '' talk'' (from the root of '' tell'') and '' stalk'' (from the root of '' steal'') etc.
The sic meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in Early Modern English
Early Modern English (sometimes abbreviated EModEFor example, or EMnE) or Early New English (ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transit ...
, but until the 18th century, it could still be used in the generic sense "to smile".
Historical examples
George Puttenham in the 16th century described what he called "a mock with a scornful countenance as in some smiling sort looking aside". "A constant smirk upon the face, and a whiffling activity of the body, are strong indications of futility," the Earl of Chesterfield once wrote in a letter to his son. German-born psychiatrist Fritz Perls considered the most difficult patients to be the clever know-it-alls, recognisable by what he called "a specific kind of smile, a kind of smirk, a smirk that says, 'Oh, you're an idiot! I know better. I can outwit you and control you.F. Perls, ''Gestalt Therapy Verbatim'' (1973) p. 79See also
*'' Schadenfreude'' * SneerReferences
{{Reflist Facial expressions