30 Words Containing the Letters sm

30 Words Containing the Letters sm 30 Words Containing the Letters sm 30 Words Containing the Letters sm By Mark Nichol After writing a post about the suffix -ism, I explored the class of words that include the letters s and m in sequence in which the letters are not a consonant blend (as in small) or in which the s is not at the end of a prefix (as in besmirch and dismiss); with some exceptions (specified), they have in common an origin in Greek. Here are the qualifying words I found that do not use the suffix -ism or do not refer exclusively to a medical or scientific condition or phenomenon (though a couple of specialized terms that have acquired one or more figurative senses are included). 1. abysmal: very bad; abysm is a poetic alternative to abyss, from the Late Latin abyssus, meaning â€Å"bottomless pit† (which derives abyssos, meaning â€Å"bottomless pool,† although the sm ending either resulted from the superlative abyssimus or was created in imitation of Greek words) 2. basmati: a variety of rice, from Hindi, meaning â€Å"something fragrant† 3. cataclysm: a deluge, from kataklysmos, meaning â€Å"flood† or â€Å"inundation† 4. charisma: charm, from kharisma, meaning â€Å"favor† or â€Å"divine gift†; originally referred to exceptional authority or leadership 5. chasm: a deep crack, from khasma, meaning â€Å"gulf† 6. chiasmus: the inversion for rhetorical effect of two or more clauses (as in Voltaire’s quotation â€Å"The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursues him†), from khiasmos, meaning â€Å"crosswise or diagonal arrangement† 7. chiliasm: belief in Christ’s 1,000-year reign on Earth, ultimately from khilioi, meaning â€Å"a thousand† or referring to the number 1,000 8. chrism: a balm in oil used in church rituals, from khrisma, meaning â€Å"an anointing† 9. cosmetic: a substance used in improving one’s appearance (the plural form, cosmetics, refers to such products collectively), or, as an adjective, pertaining to personal beautification- and the words have an additional sense of â€Å"superficial† or â€Å"for the sake of appearances†- from kosmetikos, meaning â€Å"skilled in adorning or arranging†; these words and cosmetology, the term for the study of beautification, are related to cosmos (see below) in the sense of order or arrangement 10. cosmos: the universe (referred to as â€Å"the cosmos†), from kosmos, meaning â€Å"order† or â€Å"orderly arrangement†; more often seen as cosmic, the adjectival form, and cosmo- is the root word of cosmology (a word for the study of the universe) and other words, and a form of the root is also seen in macrocosm, meaning â€Å"something seen as a miniature version of something larger,† and microcosm, meaning â€Å"a large system consisting of many smaller ones† 11. desmesne: a domain or estate, or possession or use of one’s land, from a respelling in Anglo-French of the Middle English term demeine (â€Å"domain†) 12. dismal: wretched, from the Latin phrase dies mali (â€Å"evil days†) 13. enthusiasm: eagerness or zeal, from enthousiasmos, meaning â€Å"divine inspiration† 14. gismo: gadget (variant spelling of gizmo, of unknown origin) 15. iconoclasm: criticism of conventional beliefs or standard institutions, from eikonoklastes, meaning â€Å"image breaker†; originally referred to literal destruction of images and objects considered idolatrous 16. jasmine: a plant, from Persian 17. kismet: fate, from Arabic qisma, meaning â€Å"portion† or â€Å"lot† 18. melisma: one of several specific types of musical expression, from melisma, meaning â€Å"song† or â€Å"melody† 19. mesmerize: captivate, or hold spellbound, from the name of hypnosis pioneer Anton Mesmer 20. miasma: a literal or figurative cloud or fog of an unhealthy or unpleasant or obscuring nature, from miasma, meaning â€Å"pollution† 21. orgasm: sexual excitement, from orgasmos, meaning â€Å"excitement† or â€Å"swelling† (also a verb referring to the sensation); the noun refers, by extension, to any stimulating experience (note also two slang terms modeled on orgasm: geekgasm, referring to a nerd’s exultation about, for example, a new computer program or video game, and eargasm, the result of an extremely pleasurable song or sound 22. osmosis: movement of a liquid through a solid, or, figuratively, learning or understanding something easily or smoothly; this word is an invention of New Latin and does not come from Greek 23. paroxysm: a sudden attack or a convulsion, from paroxysmos, meaning â€Å"irritation† or â€Å"exasperation†; now also used colloquially to refer to an outburst of emotion 24. phantasm: a ghost or illusion, from phantasma, meaning â€Å"image† or â€Å"phantom†; a related word is phantasmagoria, referring to an exhibition of optical effects or illusions, a constantly changing scene, or a bizarre collection 25. prism: a medium or a shape that refracts light, from prisma, meaning â€Å"something sawn†; also, figuratively, something that colors, distorts, or slants one’s perspective 26. sarcasm: a form of darkly humorous criticism in which the words stated are the opposite of the intended meaning, as in â€Å"Well, that went well!† for a disastrous incident, from sarkasmos, meaning â€Å"jest† or â€Å"taunt† 27. schism: originally referred to dissension within the Catholic Church but now also pertains to any disagreement in philosophy or policy, from skhisma, meaning â€Å"division† 28. seismic: pertaining to earthquakes, from seismos, meaning â€Å"a shaking,† â€Å"a shock,† or â€Å"an earthquake†; several words derived from the root seismo-, such as seismology (the name for the study of earthquakes) and seismograph (the word for a device that measures the motions of an earthquake) also exist (seismic also might be used to describe something of hugely significant import) 29. spasm: a sudden violent muscular contraction, ultimately from spasmos, meaning â€Å"convulsion†; also loosely employed to refer to an emotional outburst 30. talisman: a good-luck charm or something believed to have magical or miraculous powers, from telesma, meaning â€Å"consecration† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? 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