smite
/smaɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To strike down or kill with godly force.
verb
To strike with love or infatuation.
Example Sentences
- "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
- "That elf-maiden smote with her hand so white, “Sorrow and sickness on thee alight” That elf-maiden smote with her cap so small, “No more shall priest's benison on thee fall!”"
- "A harp can give out but a certain quantity of sound, however heavily it is smitten."
- "It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.[…]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts."
- ""Right you are!" I cried. "We must believe the other until we prove it false. We can't afford to give up heart now, when we need heart most. The branch was carried down by a river, and we are going to find that river." I smote my open palm with a clenched fist, to emphasize a determination unsupported by hope."
- "Tony Stark makes you feel He’s a cool exec with a heart of steel. As Iron Man, all jets ablaze, He’s fighting and smiting with repulsor rays! Amazing armor! That’s Iron Man! A blazing power! That’s Iron Man!"
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: smiten, smītan, *smītan, *smītaną, *smeyd-