smirk and smile

There is only a vaguely discernible distinction between these two facial expressions, and yet it is one that we all perceive. Our AHD defines a smirk as “an affected, often offensively self-satisfied smile.” This word, which can be either a verb or noun, comes from the Middle English smirken, passed down from the Old English smercian, "to smile." Immediately we notice something interesting – that the meaning of smirk has changed over time to take on its present negative connotation. It therefore seems germane to investigate the word smile. The AHD reports that smile (which we also use as both noun and verb) comes from the Middle English smilen, "to smile, probably of Scandinavian origin." It looks like the Old English smercian must have been used the way we use the verb smile today (in a positive or usually at least neutral sense), until it was supplanted by the likely Scandinavian-related smilen when Middle English flourished. This is seems to be another example of the far-reaching effects of the Scandinavian culture during this time period. The influence appears strong enough to morph everyday vernacular.