smectic
adjective, noun
smectic is spelled S-M-E-C-T-I-C: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, smectic means “Cleansing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in smectic?
| Letters | 7: S-M-E-C-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is smectic?
Smectic appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of smectic
- smectics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smectic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
rareCleansing.
- 2
rareAstringent; detergent.
- 3
Whose molecules are aligned in layers, with the molecules lying perpendicular to the plane of the layers.
The smectic phases, which are found at lower temperatures than the nematic, form well-defined layers that can slide over one another in a manner similar to that of soap.[…]There are many different smectic phases, all characterized by differ
noun
- 1
A liquid crystal having the molecules aligned in this way; a phase of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are so aligned.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smectic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of a class of liquid crystals whose molecules are aligned in layers:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does smectic come from?
From Latin smecticus, from Ancient Greek σμηκτικός (smēktikós), from σμήχειν (smḗkhein, “to wipe, to cleanse”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).