Smeary
/ˈsmɪə.ri/noun
Covered with or causing smears; messy and blurred with a smeared substance.
Did you know?Its core ancestor is a Germanic root meaning “to smear or anoint,” the same deep family that gave English *smear* and related forms in other Germanic languages.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*smēr-
“to smear, rub, or daub”
Old English
OE
smērian
“to smear, anoint, or rub on”
Middle English
ME
smerien
“to smear or daub”
16th Century
English
smear
“to spread a substance over a surface; to stain”
Modern English
English
smeary
“having the quality of being smeared or blurred”