A smirk is a

smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

evoking insolence, scorn, or offensive smugness, falling into the category of what

Desmond Morris Desmond John Morris FLS ''hon. caus.'' (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book '' The Naked Ape'', and for his televis ...

described as Deformed-compliment Signals. A smirk may also be an affected, ingratiating smile, as in

Mr Bennet The Bennet family is a fictional family created by the English novelist Jane Austen, in her 1813 novel, ''Pride and Prejudice''. The family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and their five daughters: Jane, Mary, Catherine, Lydia, and Elizabeth, ...

'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 from

Old English Old English (, ), 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''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 ...

''smirken''. It is from the same root as ''

'', 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 specific meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in

Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...

, 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 Earl of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Philip Stanhope, 1st Baron Stanhope. He had been created Baron Stanhope, of Shelford in the County of Nottingham, in 1616, also ...

once wrote in a letter to his son. German-born psychiatrist

Fritz Perls Friedrich Salomon Perls (July 8, 1893 – March 14, 1970), better known as Fritz Perls, was a Germany, German-born psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and psychotherapist. Perls Neologism, coined the term "Gestalt therapy" to identify the form of psychoth ...

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. 79

References

{{Reflist English words Facial expressions

Etymology

Historical examples

See also

References