Smith and Smithy (unsolicited English lesson)
Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:34 pm
Just saw another post using "smithy" as a familiar/diminutive term for a gunsmith. This hurts my brain because the word actually means something different - a place, not a person. (Not as bad as toddler nicknames like "Winnie" and "Remmie", but still dismaying. Thank Odin we've not seen "Kraggie" here!) 
smith noun
A metalworker, especially one who works metal when it is hot and malleable. Often used in combination: a silversmith; a goldsmith.
smithy noun
A blacksmith's shop; a forge. [Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]
I sometimes wonder if the confusion comes from those who know only the first two lines of Longfellow's poem - forgetting the next lines.
Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands; . . .
smith noun
A metalworker, especially one who works metal when it is hot and malleable. Often used in combination: a silversmith; a goldsmith.
smithy noun
A blacksmith's shop; a forge. [Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]
I sometimes wonder if the confusion comes from those who know only the first two lines of Longfellow's poem - forgetting the next lines.
Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands; . . .
