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Added 9 October 2026

smite

/smaɪt/ verb

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about smite at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon.
Affect suddenly with deep feeling.
He was smitten with love for this young girl
Cause physical pain or suffering in.
afflict with the plague

Origin

From Middle English smiten, from Old English smītan (“to daub, smear, smudge; soil, defile, pollute”), from Proto-West Germanic *smītan, from Proto-Germanic *smītaną (“to sling; throw; smear”), from Proto-Indo-European *smeyd- (“to smear, whisk, strike, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian smiete (“to throw, toss”), West Frisian smite (“to throw”), Dutch smijten (“to fling, hurl, throw”), German Low German smieten (“to throw, chuck, toss”), German schmeißen (“to fling, throw”), Danish smide (“to throw”), Swedish smita (“to run off (to)”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌼𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bismeitan, “to besmear, anoint”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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