schmuck
See also: Schmuck and schmück
English
Alternative forms
- schmock, shmock, shmuck, shmuk
Etymology
From Yiddish שמאָק (shmok, “penis, foreskin, fool”). Further origin uncertain. Probably from Old Polish smok (“dragon”), akin to Bulgarian смок (smok, “grass snake”). Perhaps akin to onomatopoeic Russian смоктать (smoktatʹ) smoktat ("to suck") according to old belief that snakes suck milk from animals. Alternatively a baby-talk corruption of Yiddish שמעקל (shmekl), a dissimilated form of שטעקל (shtekl, “penis/willy”, literally “little stick”). Alternatively from the verb Middle High German smucken, archaic German schmucken, which has several meanings allowing possible semantic connections: 1.) “to squeeze, press, fit into something tight”; 2.) “to hug, snuggle, kiss”; 3.) “to adorn, decorate”. The last of these three senses is perhaps less likely, but compare German Schmuck (“jewellery”) with English crown jewels.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃmʌk/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌk
Noun
schmuck (plural schmucks)
- (colloquial, derogatory, US) A jerk; a person who is unlikable, detestable, or contemptible because he or she is stupid, foolish, clumsy, oafish, inept, malicious, or unpleasant.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:jerk
- 1995 September, The Playboy Interview: Cindy Crawford, Playboy
- One day my girlfriend, her boyfriend and I were sunbathing topless because that's Barbados - you can wear nothing if you want. And the Pepsi guy walks up and with my agent to meet us for lunch. I wondered if I should put on my top because I have a business relationship with him. I didn't want him to get offended because the rest of the beach had seen me with my top off. Meanwhile, as he's walking towards me he's saying to my agent "I hope she puts on her top.". He wasn't even being a schmuck, like wanting to see.
- (colloquial, derogatory) A deplorable, pitiful person; often in the form poor schmuck.
- 1971, Jules Feiffer's screenplay for Mike Nichols's film Carnal Knowledge:
- [Jack Nicholson's character Jonathan:] Bad vibrations? Sandy, I love you, but you're a schmuck. You were always young, Sandy, open. You were schmucky a lot of the time, but maybe schmuckiness is what you need to stay young and open.
- 1971, Jules Feiffer's screenplay for Mike Nichols's film Carnal Knowledge:
Derived terms
- Schmucksville
- schmuckiness
- schmucky
Translations
jerk; unlikable, stupid, foolish, malicious, or unpleasant person
|
deplorable, pitiful person
|
See also
- schlemiel
Further reading
Yiddish language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
German
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle Low German smuk (“supple, bendsome, pleasing, beautiful, petite, cute”) (compare Middle Low German smuk (“ornament, jewellery”)), from Old Saxon *smuk, *smukk, from Proto-Germanic *smukkaz (“flexible, bendsome, easy”), from Proto-Indo-European *smewg- (“to slip, glide, slide”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃmʊk/
Audio (file) - Homophone: Schmuck
- Rhymes: -ʊk
Adjective
schmuck (strong nominative masculine singular schmucker, comparative schmucker, superlative am schmucksten)
- (dated) pretty, spruce
Declension
Positive forms of schmuck
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | er ist schmuck | sie ist schmuck | es ist schmuck | sie sind schmuck | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | schmucker | schmucke | schmuckes | schmucke |
| genitive | schmucken | schmucker | schmucken | schmucker | |
| dative | schmuckem | schmucker | schmuckem | schmucken | |
| accusative | schmucken | schmucke | schmuckes | schmucke | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der schmucke | die schmucke | das schmucke | die schmucken |
| genitive | des schmucken | der schmucken | des schmucken | der schmucken | |
| dative | dem schmucken | der schmucken | dem schmucken | den schmucken | |
| accusative | den schmucken | die schmucke | das schmucke | die schmucken | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein schmucker | eine schmucke | ein schmuckes | (keine) schmucken |
| genitive | eines schmucken | einer schmucken | eines schmucken | (keiner) schmucken | |
| dative | einem schmucken | einer schmucken | einem schmucken | (keinen) schmucken | |
| accusative | einen schmucken | eine schmucke | ein schmuckes | (keine) schmucken | |
Comparative forms of schmuck
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | er ist schmucker | sie ist schmucker | es ist schmucker | sie sind schmucker | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | schmuckerer | schmuckere | schmuckeres | schmuckere |
| genitive | schmuckeren | schmuckerer | schmuckeren | schmuckerer | |
| dative | schmuckerem | schmuckerer | schmuckerem | schmuckeren | |
| accusative | schmuckeren | schmuckere | schmuckeres | schmuckere | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der schmuckere | die schmuckere | das schmuckere | die schmuckeren |
| genitive | des schmuckeren | der schmuckeren | des schmuckeren | der schmuckeren | |
| dative | dem schmuckeren | der schmuckeren | dem schmuckeren | den schmuckeren | |
| accusative | den schmuckeren | die schmuckere | das schmuckere | die schmuckeren | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein schmuckerer | eine schmuckere | ein schmuckeres | (keine) schmuckeren |
| genitive | eines schmuckeren | einer schmuckeren | eines schmuckeren | (keiner) schmuckeren | |
| dative | einem schmuckeren | einer schmuckeren | einem schmuckeren | (keinen) schmuckeren | |
| accusative | einen schmuckeren | eine schmuckere | ein schmuckeres | (keine) schmuckeren | |
Superlative forms of schmuck
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| predicative | er ist am schmucksten | sie ist am schmucksten | es ist am schmucksten | sie sind am schmucksten | |
| strong declension (without article) | nominative | schmuckster | schmuckste | schmuckstes | schmuckste |
| genitive | schmucksten | schmuckster | schmucksten | schmuckster | |
| dative | schmuckstem | schmuckster | schmuckstem | schmucksten | |
| accusative | schmucksten | schmuckste | schmuckstes | schmuckste | |
| weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der schmuckste | die schmuckste | das schmuckste | die schmucksten |
| genitive | des schmucksten | der schmucksten | des schmucksten | der schmucksten | |
| dative | dem schmucksten | der schmucksten | dem schmucksten | den schmucksten | |
| accusative | den schmucksten | die schmuckste | das schmuckste | die schmucksten | |
| mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein schmuckster | eine schmuckste | ein schmuckstes | (keine) schmucksten |
| genitive | eines schmucksten | einer schmucksten | eines schmucksten | (keiner) schmucksten | |
| dative | einem schmucksten | einer schmucksten | einem schmucksten | (keinen) schmucksten | |
| accusative | einen schmucksten | eine schmuckste | ein schmuckstes | (keine) schmucksten | |
Further reading
- “schmuck” in Duden online
- “schmuck” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache