Smeerde

Smeerde is the simple past tense form of the Dutch verb smeren, meaning to spread a substance thickly over a surface or to lubricate it. The corresponding infinitive is smeren, and the past participle is gesmeerd. In everyday Dutch, smeerde is used in narrative or past contexts to describe actions such as applying butter, oil, paint, or cosmetics.

Conjugation and usage: in present tense the forms are ik smeer, jij smeert, hij smeert, wij smeren, jullie smeren, zij smeren. In the past tense, the forms are ik smeerde, jij smeerde, hij smeerde, wij smeerden, jullie smeerden, zij smeerden, with gesmeerd as the past participle. An example sentence: Hij smeerde jam op het brood.

Context and meaning: smeren covers a range of activities from practical tasks (butter on bread, oil on a surface, glue on a material) to cosmetic applications (smeren van gezicht of haar) and even figurative uses, such as applying a layer of varnish or lubricating a machine part. The term is common across Dutch-speaking regions and appears in cooking, construction, manufacturing, and daily life.

Etymology and relations: smeerde comes from the Dutch verb smeren, which is cognate with German schmieren and English smear, reflecting its Germanic linguistic roots. The word remains active in contemporary Dutch, with the past tense form smeerde still widely understood in written and spoken language.

See also: smeren; gesmeerd; schmieren; smear.