World of the word: smile

Notes

I really love when people smile. I especially like when women smile. A research conducted by Orbit Complete revealed that 69% of people find women who smile more attractive than women who wear makeup. Smiling is a sign of good intention, joy, acceptance, and happiness. Smile is the most beautiful expression. Smiles are contagious. In one Swedish study, people had difficulty frowning when they looked at other subjects who were smiling, and their muscles twitched into smiles all on their own. We smile when we feel good but this connection goes both ways: we feel good when we smile. Smile boosts your immune system and improves your physical condition overall. Your body immediately releases endorphins when you smile. It becomes more relaxed even when you force the smile, which contributes to good health. You release stress and feel better. Please, smile!

Pronunciations

smile

Definitions

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

• n. A facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision.
• n. A pleasant or favorable disposition or aspect.
• intransitive v. To have or form a smile.
• intransitive v. To look with favor or approval: Fortune smiled on our efforts.
• intransitive v. To express cheerful acceptance or equanimity: We smiled at the bad weather and kept going.
• transitive v. To express with a smile: Grandmother smiled her consent.
• transitive v. To effect or accomplish with or as if with a smile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• n. 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.
• v. or (intransitive) To have a smile on one's face

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• 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.
• n. 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.
• n. Gay or joyous appearance; an appearance that would naturally be productive of joy: as, the smiles of spring.
• n. Favor; countenance; propitiousness: as, the smiles of Providence.
• n. 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 WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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

Etymologies

From Middle English smilen, to smile, probably of Scandinavian origin.

(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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. (Wiktionary)

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