Smeddum
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Fine powder; flour. uncountable
- 2 The powder or finest part of ground malt. uncountable
- 3 Smitham. uncountable
- 4 Zest, energy; pluck; sagacity; quickness of apprehension; gumption; spirit; mettle. Scotland, uncountable
"“Don’t like the name, don’t like it. There’s no smeddum to it. Besides, it makes me think of my Aunt Jinny. She called her three girls Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith didn’t believe in anything—Hope was a born pessimist—and Charity was a miser.[…]”"
- 5 Ore small enough to pass through the wire bottom of a sieve. Northern-England, UK, dialectal, uncountable
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- 6 A layer of clay or shale between two beds of coal. Northern-England, UK, dialectal, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"“Don’t like the name, don’t like it. There’s no smeddum to it. Besides, it makes me think of my Aunt Jinny. She called her three girls Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith didn’t believe in anything—Hope was a born pessimist—and Charity was a miser.[…]”"
Etymology
From earlier smitham, smytham, from Middle English smedma, from Old English smedma, smeodema, smedema (“fine flour, pollen meal, meal”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.