Where does “smart” come from?

smart (Middle English) comes from Old English smeart, from Proto-Germanic smartaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)merd- — to bite, to sting.

Ancestry of “smart”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsmeartpainful, smarting; first/third-person singular...
2Proto-Germanicsmartazpainful, hurting, aching
3Proto-Indo-European(s)merd-to bite, to sting

Words derived from “smart”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)merd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic smartaz →Every word from Old English smeart →
smart — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer