smith
/smɪθ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms smiths smithing smithed Smithe Smyth Smythe
- noun A craftsperson who works metal into desired forms using a hammer and other tools, sometimes heating the metal to make it more workable, especially a blacksmith.
- noun (by extension) One who makes anything; wright.
- noun (archaic) An artist.
- verb To forge, to form, usually on an anvil; by heating and pounding.
- proper noun An English surname originating as an occupation (the most common in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).
- proper noun A male given name transferred from the surname.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in LaPorte County, Indiana.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Harlan County, Kentucky.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in York County, South Carolina.
- proper noun A small unincorporated community in Lyon County, Nevada, named for an early settler family.
- proper noun A ghost town in Humboldt County, California.
- proper noun A number of townships in the United States, listed under Smith Township.
Synonyms
metalsmith metalworker Smiths Turnout Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith David Smith David Roland Smith Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith Julia Evelina Smith Bessie Smith Joseph Smith John Smith Captain John Smith Adam Smith
Etymology
From Middle English smeth, smith, smiþ, smið, smyth, smythe, smyþ, smyþe, from Old English smiþ, from Proto-West Germanic *smiþ, from Proto-Germanic *smiþaz (“smith”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to smear, spread”).
Cognate with Alemannic German Schmid, schméd, schmét, schmìd (“smith”), Bavarian schmidt, schmit, sghmiid (“smith”), Cimbrian smit, smitt (“smith”), Dutch smid (“smith”), German Schmied, Schmidt (“smith”), Low German Smidd, Smitt (“smith”), Luxembourgish Schmadd (“smith”), Mòcheno schmi' (“smith”), Vilamovian śmejt (“blacksmith”), Yiddish שמיד (shmid, “blacksmith, smith”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish smed (“smith”), Elfdalian smið (“smith”), Faroese and Icelandic smiður (“smith”), Gothic *𐍃𐌼𐌹𐌸𐌰 (*smiþa, “smith”) (whence 𐌰𐌹𐌶𐌰𐍃𐌼𐌹𐌸𐌰 (aizasmiþa, “coppersmith”)); also Greek σμίλη (smíli, “chisel”).
From Middle English smythen (“to work metal, forge, beat into, torment, refine (of God - to refine his chosen); to create, work as a blacksmith”), from Old English smiþian (“to forge, fabricate”), from Proto-West Germanic *smiþōn, from Proto-Germanic *smiþōną. Compare Dutch smeden, German schmieden.
From smith or Middle English Smith (“a surname”), alternative form of Smyth, itself from smyth (“smith”). Doublet of Schmidt, Smid, and Smit.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who forgess with the hammer; one who works in metals; as, a blacksmith, goldsmith, silversmith, and the like. Piers Plowman.
- noun One who makes or effects anything. [R.] Dryden.
- verb To beat into shape; to fprge. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Etymology [AS. smi; akin to D. smid, G. schmied, OHG. smid, Icel. smi, Dan. & Sw. smed, Goth. smi (in comp.); cf. Gr. 1. One who forgess with the hammer; one who works in metals; as, a blacksmith, goldsmith, silversmith, and the like. Piers Plowman. Nor yet the smith hath learned to form a sword. Tate. 2. One who makes or effects anything. [R.]
Etymology [AS. smi. See Smith, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “smith”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details