Tag: Smith

A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques (though not necessarily the material), whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in any number metal related activities.
The English word smith is cognate with the somewhat archaic word, “smite”, which means “to hit” or “to strike”. Originally, smiths were craftsmen who shaped or formed metal with hammer blows. However, the old etymological guess of “smite” as the source of “smith” is without foundation. The word smith derives from an old Teutonic word, smeithan, to forge. The root is seen in the Greek word σμίλη, a burin.
As an English suffix, -smith connotes a meaning of specialized craftsmen — for example, wordsmith and tunesmith are nouns synonymous with writer or songwriter, respectively.
In pre-industrialized times, smiths held…