I. ˈsmət verb
( smut·ted ; smut·ting )
Etymology: probably alteration of earlier smot to stain, from Middle English smotten; akin to Middle High German smutzen to stain
Date: 1587
transitive verb
1. : to stain or taint with smut
2. : to affect (a crop or plant) with smut
intransitive verb
: to become affected by smut
II. noun
Date: 1664
1. : matter that soils or blackens ; specifically : a particle of soot
2. : any of various destructive diseases especially of cereal grasses caused by parasitic basidiomycetous fungi (order Ustilaginales) and marked by transformation of plant parts into dark masses of spores ; also : a fungus causing a smut
3. : obscene language or matter