Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To inflict a heavy blow on, with or as if with the hand, a tool, or a weapon.
  • intransitive verb To drive or strike (a weapon, for example) forcefully onto or into something else.
  • intransitive verb To attack, damage, or destroy by or as if by blows.
  • intransitive verb To afflict.
  • intransitive verb To afflict retributively; chasten or chastise.
  • intransitive verb To affect sharply with great feeling.
  • intransitive verb To deal a blow with or as if with the hand or a handheld weapon.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A blow.
  • noun A small portion.
  • To strike; give a hard blow, as with the hand or something held in the hand, or, archaically, with something thrown; it heavily.
  • To destroy the life of by beating or by weapons of any kind; slay; kill.
  • To visit disastrously; seize suddenly or severely; attack in a way that threatens or destroys life or vigor: as, a person or a city smitten with pestilence.
  • To afflict; chasten; punish.
  • To strike or affect with emotion or passion, especially love; catch the affection or fancy of.
  • To trouble, as by reproaches; distress.
  • To cast; bend.
  • To come upon; affect suddenly as if with a blow; strike.
  • To strike; collide; knock.
  • To produce an effect as by a stroke; come, enter, or penetrate with quickness and force.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of smiting; a blow.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To strike; to collide; to beat.
  • transitive verb To strike; to inflict a blow upon with the hand, or with any instrument held in the hand, or with a missile thrown by the hand.
  • transitive verb To cause to strike; to use as an instrument in striking or hurling.
  • transitive verb To destroy the life of by beating, or by weapons of any kind; to slay by a blow; to kill.
  • transitive verb To put to rout in battle; to overthrow by war.
  • transitive verb To blast; to destroy the life or vigor of, as by a stroke or by some visitation.
  • transitive verb To afflict; to chasten; to punish.
  • transitive verb To strike or affect with passion, as love or fear.
  • transitive verb to cut off.
  • transitive verb to knock out, as a tooth.
  • transitive verb [Obs.] to reproach or upbraid; to revile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb archaic To hit.
  • verb To strike down or kill with godly force.
  • verb To injure with divine power.
  • verb figuratively To strike with love or infatuation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb affect suddenly with deep feeling
  • verb cause physical pain or suffering in
  • verb inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English smiten, from Old English smītan, to smear.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English smiten, from Old English smītan ("to daub, smear, smudge; soil, defile, pollute"), from Proto-Germanic *smītanan (“to throw”), from Proto-Indo-European *smeyd- (“to smear, whisk, strike, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian smieta ("to throw, toss"), West Frisian smite ("to throw"), Dutch smijten ("to fling, hurl, throw"), Middle Low German besmitten ("to soil, sully"), German schmeißen ("to fling, throw"), Danish smide ("to throw"), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌼𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bismeitan).

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Examples

  • Ay! as long as the prophet was ordered to stamp with his foot, I will stamp with my foot; -- (here he stamped till the platform trembled for its safety) -- and to smite with his hand, I will _smite_ with my hand -- (slapping alternate hands on alternate thighs.) -- Yes! and

    The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VII. (of X.) Various 1887

  • Some opined it was the work of an alien race, some blamed cosmic radiation and some called it a smite from a god who†™ d grown jealous of mankind†™ s omniscience over these machines, punishing his own creation for aspiring to become too godlike in its own way.

    365 tomorrows » 2007 » November : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2007

  • Some opined it was the work of an alien race, some blamed cosmic radiation and some called it a smite from a god who†™ d grown jealous of mankind†™ s omniscience over these machines, punishing his own creation for aspiring to become too godlike in its own way.

    365 tomorrows » Downtime : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2007

  • Big Bird will once again smite the politicians - as long as he isn't caught consorting with lesbians.

    a chorus of deep throats 2005

  • Call me anti semite because I usually use toilet paper with the word smite and jew on it.

    Iraq Turning into Israel? | Jewschool 2004

  • The part I find most amusing after the whole "smite"-ing thing is that the application of old testament rules to modern lifestyle should shout out to ANYONE, that preaching the passages as the only way to live is not possible.

    Archive 2006-05-01 Charles Statman 2006

  • The part I find most amusing after the whole "smite"-ing thing is that the application of old testament rules to modern lifestyle should shout out to ANYONE, that preaching the passages as the only way to live is not possible.

    charles statman Charles Statman 2006

  • Then came Sir Breunor, the lord of that castle, with his lady in his hand, muffled, and asked Sir Tristram where was his lady: For an thy lady be fairer than mine, with thy sword smite off my lady's head; and if my lady be fairer than thine, with my sword I must strike off her head.

    Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table, Volume 1 1903

  • Bow down before the sceptre, lest the sword smite you.

    Master Olof : a Drama in Five Acts August Strindberg 1880

  • Let all creation become his enemy, that the whirlwind crush him and the sword smite him.

    An Obscure Apostle A Dramatic Story Eliza Orzeszkowa 1876

Comments

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  • I can't believe no one has commented on this word. It invites all sorts of wit.

    February 28, 2008

  • Go on then!

    February 28, 2008

  • Maybe they already smote.

    February 28, 2008

  • If you smite someone, they have been smitten?

    February 29, 2008

  • Yes.

    March 1, 2008

  • On this whole page the word 'cut' is not used with smite-off yet in Mat 26:51 in the KJV " And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear", the translator translated the word ἀφαιρέω "aphaireō" (meaning 'to separate' or 'cut') by using 'smote off'?

    April 10, 2012