English
Smith
Smith comes from Middle English Smith ‘a surname’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *smiþaz ‘craftsman, smith’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smiþaz‘craftsman, smith’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smiþ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smyth
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500Smith‘a surname’
- Englishearliest quotation 1559same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*smiþaz‘craftsman, smith’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150smiþ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500smyth
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500Smith‘a surname’
- Englishearliest quotation 1559same form
Earliest quotation: 1559, Thomas Lanquet, Thomas Cooper: “Patingham selmonger, who, as it was reported, reneuced the…”
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *smiþaz
Today it means
name An English surname originating as an occupation (the most common in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *smiþaz / Smith