Tags: Cheese, Food.
Schmear is a word of Germanic origin equivalent to ‘smear’ or ‘spread’ (usually fat or butter).In some Germanic languages the cognate of smear itself means butter.Origin: Before 900; (v.) Middle English: smeren smirien to rub with fat anoint; Old English: smirian smerian smerwan; cognate with Dutch: smeren; German: schmieren Old Norse: smyrja smyrwa; (noun) in current senses derivative of the verb; compare obsolete smear: fat grease ointment; Middle English: smere; Old English: smeoru; cognate with Dutch: smear; German: Schmer Old Norse: smjǫr Danish: smør – butter; Greek: σμύρις (smýris) – rubbing powder.The use and spelling schmear or shmear in American English is a direct loanword from Yiddish where its original usage referred to cheese.