- smother (v.)
- c.1200, "to suffocate with smoke," from smorthre (n.) "dense, suffocating smoke" (late 12c.), from stem of Old English smorian "to suffocate, choke," possibly connected to smolder. Meaning "to kill by suffocation" is from 1540s; sense of "to extinguish a fire" is from 1590s. Sense of "stifle, repress" is first recorded 1570s; meaning "to cover thickly (with some substance)" is from 1590s. Related: Smothered; smothering.