Where does “smart” come from?
smart (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from English Smart, from English Ness, from Middle English nesse, from Old English næs, from Proto-Germanic nasją, from Proto-Indo-European néh₂s — nose.
smart (Norwegian Bokmål): clever; smart
Ancestry of “smart”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Smart | — |
| 2 | English | Ness | — |
| 3 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 4 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |