Literary notes about smith (AI summary)
The term "smith" appears in literature with a rich variety of meanings and functions. In many works it serves as an ordinary surname that conveys familiarity or the everyman quality, as seen with characters such as Mr. Smith in societal comedies ([1], [2], [3], [4]) and even in legal or business contexts ([5], [6]). Moreover, the word carries occupational overtones, evoking the image of the craftsman or blacksmith whose skill is revered, as illustrated in folktales and studies of ritualistic crafts ([7], [8], [9]). It is also employed in historical and intellectual contexts, notably in references to Adam Smith and his economic treatises ([10], [11], [12]), thereby linking the name to authority and insight. These multifaceted uses demonstrate how "smith" can denote both a literal profession and a symbolic marker of cultural and social identity in literature.
- Why, where are you going?” “To the Hampstead ball,” answered Mr. Smith.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - Example: Dear Mrs. Smith: Will you and Mr. Smith dine with us on Thursday, the seventh of January, at eight o'clock?
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - Harriet Smith was the natural daughter of somebody.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - “Well, but, Mr. Brown,” said Mr. Smith, “sha’n’t you go and look for the lady again?”
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - 781, 784; Smith v. London & South-Western Ry. Co., L.R. 5 C.P. 98, 102.
— from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes - Business letters begin: Smith, Johnson & Co., 20 Broadway, New York.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - The chief is also a medicine-man and a smith to boot; for the Fans esteem the smith’s craft sacred, and none but chiefs may meddle with it.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - In a smith’s house the knife is wooden.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - At a sign from the smith, one of the sons went out and fetched an armful of swords.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, vol.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - [198] Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (Cannan's edition), I, 342.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Dr. Adam Smith, who was present, observed in his decisive professorial manner, "Very well—Very well."
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell
