smite (smitten) 復習

　みなさん根付鑑賞してみてはいかがでしょうか。

No pockets? No problem. See how Japanese men carried personal items on their kimonos.

In the 1970s, American orthopedic surgeon Jay Hopkins was posted to Japan by the U.S. Air Force. He became smitten with Japanese art, especially netsuke, charmed by their whimsy and irreverence. “Netsuke artists just had fun,” he says.

Hopkins, who now lives in Virginia with his wife, Beverly, amassed a significant netsuke collection and became an expert on the form, at one point serving as president of the International Netsuke Society. Historical factors, Hopkins says, influenced the playfulness of netsuke: At times when Japanese authorities strictly regulated personal dress, netsuke were seen as too insignificant to bother with, so the little toggles became a vibrant avenue for self-expression.

（一部抜粋）

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/no-pockets-no-problem-see-how-japanese-men-carried-personal-items-on-their-kimonos/2017/03/10/666506ca-0296-11e7-b9fa-ed727b644a0b_story.html?utm_term=.433b45392d14

　今回はsmite (smitten)という単語に着目いたしました。『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版，大修館）で調べたところ、「…を強打する，殺す，…を襲う」などと書かれておりました。しかしsmiteの過去形smittenになると違う意味合いを持つようで、「…にぞっこんにほれ込んで（by, with）」という使い方ができます。　“in love”のおどけた表現方法とのことです。
　Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、 “be smitten”で “be strongly attracted to someone or something”と定義されております。
　以上からJay Hopkins氏が日本文化または根付に対してどれほど熱を持っているのかが分かります。ただのattractedではなくその上のレベルのようです。（Gomez）

smitten（回答） - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心：言葉の森から