Why Does Smart Mean Hurt?

We often use words interchangeably, even when they have very similar meanings. The word smart has been used to refer to the cause of pain since Old English, with its origin stemming from the Old English word 'smear', which means to cause pain. This sense is still widely used today, both as a verb and an adjective. When used as an adjective, 'hurt' means injured, physically injured, while 'intelligent' means exhibiting social ability or cunning.

An example of intelligence is how the arm feels after an injection. It causes a sharp, stabbing pain. It is interesting to note that 'intelligent' (learned) and 'intelligent' (pain) are actually two different words from unrelated sources. When used as a noun, 'hurt' means an emotional or psychological humiliation or a bad experience, while 'intelligent' means a sharp, fast and vivid pain. The SMART Lab researches and develops new technologies to make US infrastructure “smart, secure and cost-effective”.

Although smart is most often used to describe someone who is intelligent, it can also be used to describe someone who is elegant and fashionable in their dress or an intelligent and daring wise man. As a verb, “to be smart” has always meant “to hurt”, usually literally, although later uses have invoked the word in a figurative sense (“The fact that it was his own mother who sent him to the IRS was what really hurt me).Romney was crippled by attacks throughout his time as the head of Bain Capital, the Boston private equity firm he founded. The term 'smart', meaning good sense or intelligence, was first recorded in 1968 (Middle English had ingeny intellectual ability, cunning (early 15c). You speak in cold blood, Master Heriot, and I was hurt by the thousand evils inflicted on me under the mask of friendship. This led to “intelligent” meaning “strong, fast and intense”, which led, in the 17th century, to the word being used to mean “intelligent”, ingenious or “knowledgeable”.

The feeling that “smart people are fast, resourceful and fashionable” soon after led to the use of “smart” to also mean “well-dressed and “trimmed”. Google's voice recognition means he understands most of the questions you ask him, and the navigation app powered by Google Maps is smart enough to know your battery's state of charge so that it can tell you to charge if needed on the go. It is clear that 'smart' has been used for centuries to refer to both physical pain and intelligence. While it may seem strange that one word can have two such different meanings, it is actually quite common for words to have multiple meanings. It is important to remember that when using words like 'smart', context is key in order to ensure that you are conveying your intended meaning.