The word 'smithereens' is a loan word from Gaelic 'smidirín'

'Smithereens' is a word borrowed from Gaelic 'smidirín'. The word entered the English language some time around 1829.

smithereens [noun plural] [1829]

• fragments

See 'smithereens' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Gaelic.

Etymology: Perhaps from Irish 'smidiríní'

See more loan words from 1800s.