smite

[ smahyt ]

/ smaɪt /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smite ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), smote or (Obsolete) smit; smit·ten or smit; smit·ing.

to strike or hit hard, with or as with the hand, a stick, or other weapon: She smote him on the back with her umbrella.

to deliver or deal (a blow, hit, etc.) by striking hard.

to strike down, injure, or slay: His sword had smitten thousands.

to afflict or attack with deadly or disastrous effect: smitten by polio.

to affect mentally or morally with a sudden pang: His conscience smote him.

to affect suddenly and strongly with a specified feeling: They were smitten with terror.

to impress favorably; charm; enamor: He was smitten by her charms.

verb (used without object), smote or (Obsolete) smit; smit·ten or smit; smit·ing.

to strike; deal a blow.

Nearby words

Idioms

smite hip and thigh. hip¹(def 9).

Origin of smite

before 900; Middle English smiten, Old English smītan; cognate with German schmeissen to throw, Dutch smijten

SYNONYMS FOR smite

1 knock, cuff, buffet, slap.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smite ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssmit·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for smite

Had the Egyptians sallied forth to smite, scarce a sword would have flashed, so dear seemed martyrdom.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
Here is a knave of a friar calleth me a mad priest, and yet I smite him not.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood|Howard Pyle
He was equally ready to do a kindly action, or smite the man hip and thigh who chanced to run foul of him.
The Night Riders|Ridgwell Cullum
It was as if all the thunders of heaven had gathered in one place to smite the earth.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

The three men of the Campeador were all of one intent, That mightily his foeman to smite each one should ride.
The Lay of the Cid|R. Selden Rose

British Dictionary definitions for smite

smite

/ (smaɪt) /

verb smites, smiting, smote, smitten or smit (mainly tr) mainly archaic

to strike with a heavy blow or blows

to damage with or as if with blows

to afflict or affect severelysmitten with flu

to afflict in order to punish

(intr foll by on) to strike forcibly or abruptlythe sun smote down on him

Derived Formssmiter, noun

Word Origin for smite

Old English smītan; related to Old High German smīzan to smear, Gothic bismeitan, Old Swedish smēta to daub

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for smite

smite

"to hit, strike, beat," mid-12c., from Old English smitan, which however is attested only as "to daub, smear on; soil, pollute, blemish, defile" (strong verb, past tense smat, past participle smiten), from Proto-Germanic *smitan (cf. Swedish smita, Danish smide "to smear, fling," Old Frisian smita, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch smiten "to cast, fling," Dutch smijten "to throw," Old High German smizan "to rub, strike," German schmeißen "to cast, fling," Gothic bismeitan "to spread, smear"). "The development of the various senses is not quite clear, but that of throwing is perh. the original one" [OED]. Watkins suggests "the semantic channel may have been slapping mud on walls in wattle and daub construction" and connects it with PIE *sme- "to smear;" Klein's sources also say this.

Sense of "slay in combat" (c.1300) is from Biblical expression smite to death, first attested c.1200. Meaning "visit disastrously" is mid-12c., also Biblical. Meaning "strike with passion or emotion" is from c.1300.