Meaning: smooth

Illustrative Context

He picked a smooth stone from the river.

Target Sense

• The most generic adjective for smooth in the sense of the quality of a surface as particularly even, without even small protuberances, such that the hand can glide over it easily (often, even pleasantly). The default antonym of rough, in the same context.
• Many languages distinguish various basic lexemes depending on the nature of the surface in question. In such cases, enter the lexeme that would be most normal in the prototypical case of a stone, as in the illustrative context. Do not enter additional, narrower lexemes specific to other contexts, e.g. for a person’s skin.
• Do not confuse with the meaning ‘flat’ or ‘level’. The target sense is not about a horizontal plane, indeed a smooth stone in a river, as in the illustrative context, is typically roundish in shape. A stone certainly does not have to be flat in order to be smooth.
• Do not confuse with the different meaning ‘soft’, i.e. not resistant to the touch, and which can be compressed. The action to determine smoothness is that of moving the hand to run it over a surface, not poking or pressing to try to indent that surface. The lexeme entered must be the basic term applied also to hard, firm surfaces such as a stone, as in the illustrative context.
• Do not confuse with the different meaning ‘slippy’. The target sense here for ‘smooth’ is just that of evenness and lack of obstacles, usually seen as a pleasant perception and a desirable quality. The target is not the sense of (in)ability to keep a grip on a surface, i.e. slippy, often perceived as an unpleasant sensation or undesirable quality. Note the distinction that a smooth stone is by no means necessarily slippy, and may become so only because of water or oil top of its surface, rather than the smoothness of that surface itself.
• In many languages ‘smooth’ is most often seen as something positive and pleasant, and the basic lexeme can have this sense in appropriate contexts (the majority). Do not, however, enter additional lexemes that inherently and inescapably bear clear value judgements. The term entered should be applicable also in contexts where smoothness is not actually desired, e.g. it’s too smooth, we need something rougher.
• The target sense is the literal one, prototypically of a stone in the hand. Many languages extend the same lexeme to figurative uses, but do not enter additional lexemes limited to figurative senses in movement, appearance, perceived sophistication, and so on: e.g. slick, shiny, glossy, sleek, etc..