smitten

[harmonicon]

smitten |ˈsmitn|
past participle of smite .
smite |smīt|
verb ( past smote |smōt|; past part. smitten |ˈsmitn|) poetic/literary
strike with a firm blow : he smites the water with his sword.
• archaic defeat or conquer (a people or land) : he may smite our enemies.
• (usu. be smitten) figurative (esp. of disease) attack or affect severely : various people had been smitten with untimely summer flu.
• ( be smitten) be strongly attracted to someone or something : she was so smitten with the boy.
noun archaic
a heavy blow or stroke with a weapon or the hand.
DERIVATIVES
smiter noun
ORIGIN Old English smītan of Germanic origin; related to Dutch smijten and German schmeissen ‘to fling.’