different between smitten vs sprung

English

Etymology

From Middle English smiten, from Old English smiten, ?esmiten, from Proto-Germanic *smitanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *sm?tan? (“to hurl; fling”), equivalent to smite +? -en (past participle ending).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sm?t?n/
• Rhymes: -?t?n
• Hyphenation: smit?ten

Adjective

smitten (comparative more smitten, superlative most smitten)

1. Affected by an act of smiting.
   1. Made irrationally enthusiastic.
   2. In love.
      • 1912, Thomas Holmes, “Marriage in the Underworld”, in London's Underworld (The Making of the Modern Law), London: J. M. Dent & Sons; New York, N.Y.: E. P. Dutton, OCLC 60735063; republished as London; New York, N.Y.: Anthem Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84331-219-2, page 118:

        At the end of the long procession came a smitten woman. […] I think of the women who have fastened the tendrils of their heart's affection round unworthy men, and have married them, hoping, trusting and believing that their love and influence would be powerful enough to win the men to sobriety and virtue. Alas! how mistaken they have been!

Translations

See also

• crush
• infatuation
• platonic love

Verb

smitten

1. past participle of smite.

Anagrams

• Mittens, mist net, mistnet, mittens

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

smitten m

1. definite singular of smitte

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

smitten m

1. definite singular of smitte

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sp???/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?sp???/
• Rhymes: -??

Verb

sprung

1. past participle of spring
2. Alternative form of sprang: simple past tense of spring

Adjective

sprung (comparative more sprung, superlative most sprung)

1. (slang, African-American Vernacular) Utterly infatuated with someone; completely taken over by romantic interest.
2. (Australia, slang) Caught doing something illegal or against the rules.
3. (obsolete, nautical, of a spar) cracked or strained.
4. (slang, dated) drunk.
5. Fitted or cushioned with springs.

Usage notes

• The adjective sprung, unlike (say) infatuated, does not normally take a complement; a person may be infatuated with someone, but is simply sprung. As with crazy or gaga, the target of the emotion is normally indicated by surrounding context; this is seen in the 1992 and 2003 quotations above. However, while relatively uncommon, it is possible for sprung to take a complement, construed with a preposition such as over (much like gaga); this is seen in the 2005 quotation above.

Synonyms

• (infatuated): smitten, taken; see also Thesaurus:in love
• (caught doing something illegal): caught with a hand in the cookie jar, red-handed
• (cracked or strained): crazed, splintered; see also Thesaurus:broken
• (drunk): See Thesaurus:drunk

Antonyms

• unsprung

Derived terms

• coil-sprung
• leaf-sprung

References

• (drunk): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary