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Smithereens

//smɪðəˈɹiːnz// noun, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Fragments or splintered pieces; numerous tiny disconnected items. informal, plural, plural-only

    "The urn shattered into smithereens the moment it hit the ground."

  2. 2
    plural of Smithereen form-of, plural
  3. 3
    a collection of small fragments considered as a whole wordnet

Etymology

Uncertain. The following words, all first attested later than the headword, have been compared: * Irish smidiríní, smiodairíní (“smithereens”), from smiodar (“broken piece, fragment”) + -ín (suffix forming diminutive nouns) + -í (slender form of -aí (suffix forming plurals of some nouns)). * smither (“fragment; atom”), which would be suffixed with -een (forming diminutive nouns in Irish English). * Hiberno-English (Wexford) smaddereen, a variant of smattering (“small amount or number of something; shallow or superficial knowledge of a subject”). * Hiberno-English (Wexford) smithered, smashed

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