smartweed

Bot.: Polygonum hydro piper , called also Arse smart. The English names refer to the acrid qualities of the plant, which is from one to three feet high, and grows in watery places. [POLYGONUM.] smart, *smerte, v . i . . [A. S. smeortan , cogn. with Dut. smarten = to give pain; smart =pain; Dan.smerte; Sw.smärta; O. H. Ger. smerzan =to pain, smetza = smart, pain; Ger. schmerzen = to smart; schmerz =smart, pain; Lat. mordeo =to bite.] A. Intransitive : 1. To feel a lively, pungent pain; to be the seat of a pungent, local pain, as from some piercing or irritating application. "I have some wounds upon me and they smart." Shakesp.: Coriolanus, i. 9. 2. To feel pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain: to suffer evil consequences; to suffer, to bear a penalty. "Some of us will smart for it." Shakesp.: Much Ado, v. i. B. Trans.: To cause a lively, pungent pain in. smart-en, v . t. [English smart; -en.] To make smart or spruce; to render brisk, lively, smart, or active. (Frequently with up ; as, to smarten one's -self up .)