スマート

1908 is an early printed point for スマート: Seisenban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten cites Nagai Kafu's America Monogatari, glossing 敏捷 with スマート. The English source is smart. English smart has older senses such as sharp pain, quick intelligence, neat dress, and effective action, and dictionaries still list intelligent as a main current sense in American usage. The word is connected with Old English smeart. The borrowing route is Meiji and Taisho modern-life vocabulary, tied to movement, dress, urban behavior, and Westernized social style. Shogakukan cites Terada Torahiko's 1920-21 Tabi Nikki kara for a young スマートな Turkish cigarette seller, and Ando Kosei's 1931 Ginza Saiken for a building becoming スマート. The word later joined スリム for body shape and スマートフォン for technology. Modern Japanese スマート has several active meanings: slim body shape, neat appearance, efficient handling, and high-tech function. English smart more often means intelligent, clever, or electronically connected. In スマートフォン, common after the 2000s, Japanese returns to the technology sense. Because of that difference, スマートな体型 is slim build, not an intelligent body. A short example is 彼はスーツ姿がスマートだ, where appearance is the main point.