A Smear Test Is Named After the Technique
To smear is to spread a substance messily. In medicine a smear is a diagnostic sample spread thin on a slide.
To smear is to spread a greasy or sticky substance over a surface, and figuratively to damage someone's reputation with accusations. Medicine uses the word literally: a *smear test* takes cells and spreads them thinly across a glass slide for examination under a microscope. George Papanicolaou developed the cervical version in the 1920s, which is why it is also the *Pap smear*. The Old English *smeoru* meant fat or grease.
- To spread messily. *Smear the paint.*
- To defame. *A smear campaign.*
- A diagnostic sample. *A smear test.*
- Pap smear — the cervical test. *Pap smear.*
- Old English — *smeoru*, grease. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | smear | Smear it. |
| Past | smeared | Smeared. |
| Noun | smear | A smear. |
| Compound | smear campaign | A smear campaign. |
| Old English | smeoru | Grease. |
- He smeared butter on the bread.Spread.
- The article was a smear.Defamation.
- She booked a smear test.Medicine.
Why the test is called a smear
- Cells are collected from the cervix with a small brush
- They are spread thinly across a glass slide, literally smeared
- A stain is applied so abnormal cells show clearly
- Papanicolaou developed the method in the 1920s
- Liquid-based cytology has largely replaced the slide, but the name stuck
Old English *smeoru*, fat or grease, and *smierwan*, to anoint, of Germanic origin.
Why is it called a smear test?
Because the collected cells were literally smeared thinly across a glass slide for microscopic examination.
Who was Pap in Pap smear?
George Papanicolaou, the Greek-American doctor who developed the cervical screening method in the 1920s.