smith
pronunciation
How to pronounce smith in British English:
UK [smɪθ]
How to pronounce smith in American English:
US [smɪθ]
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- Noun:
- someone who works at something specified
- someone who works metal (especially by hammering it when it is hot and malleable)
Word Origin
- smith
- smith: [OE] Smith is a general Germanic word, with relatives in German schmied, Dutch smid, and Swedish and Danish smed. These point back to a prehistoric Germanic ancestor *smithaz. This appears to have meant simply ‘worker, craftsman’, a sense which survived into Old Norse smithr. The specialization to ‘metalworker’ is a secondary development.
- smith (n.)
- Old English smið "blacksmith, armorer, one who works in metal" (jewelers as well as blacksmiths), more broadly, "handicraftsman, practitioner of skilled manual arts" (also including carpenters), from Proto-Germanic *smithaz "skilled worker" (cognates: Old Saxon smith, Old Norse smiðr, Danish smed, Old Frisian smith, Old High German smid, German Schmied, Gothic -smiþa, in aiza-smiþa "coppersmith"), from PIE root *smi- "to cut, work with a sharp instrument" (cognates: Greek smile "knife, chisel"). Attested as a surname since at least c.975.
- smith (v.)
- Old English smiðian "to forge, fabricate, design," from the source of smith (n.). Related: Smithed; smithing.
Example
- 1. Mr smith takes care of marketing and publicity .
- 2. Asked mr. smith very politely .
- 3. Smith won for good reasons .
- 4. Mr. smith resigned last month .
- 5. Smith had at least 28 wives .