smite
v.v. to hit someone or something very hard, often with a weapon. It is an old word that people use today mostly in stories or when talking about God punishing someone.
v. to strike or hit with great force, typically with a weapon or as a divine punishment. Often used in religious or literary contexts to describe a sudden, severe blow.
The hero was ready to smite his enemies.
In many ancient myths, the gods would smite the wicked with lightning to teach them a lesson.
The poet describes the divine wrath as a sudden and devastating smite that silenced the entire valley, leaving only the sound of the wind in its wake.
From Middle English smiten, from Old English smītan (“to daub, smear, smudge; soil, defile, pollute”), from Proto-West Germanic smītan, from Proto-Germanic smītaną (“to sling; throw; smear”), from Proto-Indo-European *smeyd- (“to smear, whisk, strike, rub”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian smiete (“to throw, toss”), West Frisian smite (“to throw”), Dutch smijten (“to fling, hurl, throw”), German Low German smieten (“to throw, chuck, toss”), German schmeißen (“to fling, throw”), Danish smide (“to throw”), Swedish smita (“to run off (to)”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌼𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bismeitan, “to besmear, anoint”).