Meaning

verb inflict a heavy blow on, with the hand, a tool, or a weapon

verb affect suddenly with deep feeling

verb cause physical pain or suffering in

originFrom Middle English smiten, from Old English smiten, ġesmiten, from Proto-Germanic *smitanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *smītaną (“to hurl; fling”), equivalent to smite + -en (past participle ending).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0