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smith

(smĭth)

1. A metalworker, especially one who works metal when it is hot and malleable. Often used in combination: a silversmith; a goldsmith.

2. A blacksmith.

3. One who makes or works at something specified. Often used in combination: a locksmith; a wordsmith.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

Smith, Bessie 1894?-1937.

American singer and songwriter who became a leading blues performer in the 1920s and made nearly 200 recordings, often with musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.

(click for a larger image)

Bessie Smith

photographed c. 1925

Smith, William 1769-1839.

British geologist whose observation that fossil-containing strata appear in the same sequence in different geographical locations is a foundation of modern geology. He also created an important geological map of most of Great Britain (1815).

Smith, Michael 1932-2000.

British-born Canadian biochemist who shared a 1993 Nobel Prize for developing a method for making a specific genetic mutation at any spot on a DNA molecule.

Smith

(smĭth), Adam 1723-1790.

Scottish political economist and philosopher. His Wealth of Nations (1776) laid the foundations of classical free-market economic theory.

Smith, Margaret Chase 1897-1995.

American politician who served as US representative (1940-1949) and senator (1949-1973) from Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

Smith, Kathryn Elizabeth Known as "Kate." 1909?-1986.

American singer noted especially for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America," first performed in 1938.

Smith, John 1580?-1631.

English colonist, explorer, and writer who helped establish the colony at Jamestown (1607). His maps and accounts of his explorations in Virginia and New England were invaluable to later explorers and colonists.

Smith, Julia Evelina 1792-1886.

American suffragist. With her sister Abby Hadassah Smith (1797-1878) she became famous for refusing to pay taxes until she could vote.

Smith, Jedediah Strong 1799-1831.

American trader and explorer who opened a number of trade routes throughout the West.

Smith, Joseph1805-1844.

American religious leader. He founded (1830) the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and led his congregation westward from New York State to western Illinois, where he was murdered by an anti-Mormon mob.

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Joseph Smith

Smith, Ian Douglas 1919-2007.

Zimbabwean politician who became prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1964 and unilaterally declared independence from Great Britain in 1965, at which time the country was renamed Rhodesia. He remained prime minister until 1979.

Smith, Hannah Whitall 1832-1911.

American evangelist, writer, and reformer who was a founder of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1874).

Smith, Hamilton Othanel Born 1931.

American microbiologist. He shared a 1978 Nobel Prize for isolating restriction enzymes and demonstrating how they cleave DNA.

Smith, David 1906-1965.

American sculptor best known for his use of scrap and welded metal and for his Medals for Dishonor (1940), a series of bronze relief plaques depicting his opposition to violence and greed.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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