smithereens

Meaning

Fragments or splintered pieces; numerous tiny disconnected items.

Synonyms

pieces

fragment

piece

shard

shive

shivers

shrapnel

splinters

wisp

broken into small fragments

smashed to atoms

fragments and splinters

rasura

chip

fragmentary grain

Translations

miettes

Splitter

Fetzen

brandelli

tausend Stücke

θρύμματα

θρύψαλα

lambeau

morceaux

smithereens

brandello

pezzetto

gruzelementen

diggelen

pedacinhos

Pronounced as (IPA)

/smɪðəˈɹiːnz/

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