smithy

IPA/ˈsmɪði/
IPA/ˈsmɪθi/

smithy — noun

  • smithysingular
  • smithiesplural

1. a workshop where a smith heats and hammers metal to make or repair things

1.nounC1
Definition

a workshop where a smith heats and hammers metal to make or repair things

Example

Kwame carried the bent gate hinge to the smithy after breakfast.

carry [metal object] to the smithy for repair

Inside the old smithy, Maeve heard hammers ringing against hot iron.

inside the smithy

Common collocations
  • old smithy
  • village smithy
  • museum smithy
  • work in the smithy
  • outside the smithy
Synonyms
  • forge

    often highlights the fire and metal-shaping process, while smithy names the workshop as a whole

  • workshop

    a broader word for any place where things are made or repaired, not specifically metalwork

  • blacksmith's shop

    a plain descriptive phrase that names the same kind of place in more everyday wording

Usage Note

Smithy usually refers to the place where a smith or blacksmith works, often in historical, rural, or heritage contexts. In modern everyday English, workshop is broader and much more common.

Common Mistakes

The village smithy repaired my watch.
The village smith repaired my watch.
smithy names the workshop, not the person who does the work.
They made the horseshoes in the smith.
They made the horseshoes in the smithy.
use smithy for the workplace where the metalwork is done.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words can all point to a place where metal work happens, but they are not exact matches. Smithy is the most traditional word and often suggests a village, farm, museum, or older craft setting. Forge can refer to the same place, but it often puts more focus on the fire, furnace, and the act of shaping heated metal. Workshop is much broader: a workshop could be for wood, bikes, electronics, or metal, so it does not specifically imply blacksmith work. Blacksmith's shop is the plain descriptive choice when you want to be fully clear. You might say, 'The guide opened the door to the old smithy,' but 'The metal artist rents a workshop downtown.'

forge ↗workshop ↗blacksmith's shop

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • old smithy
  • village smithy
  • museum smithy

Prepositions

  • in the smithy
  • at the smithy

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Smithy was formed from smith with the noun-forming ending -y and originally meant the place belonging to or used by a smith. The base word smith comes from Old English smiþ, meaning a metalworker. As smith came to refer more specifically to blacksmith work, smithy settled into the meaning of the workshop where that work is done.

First known use

13th century

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1