ῥαπίζει [1 verse](3rd sg pres ind act) "Smite" is rhapizo, which means "hit with a stick", "cudgel", "thrash", "to slap a face," generally, "to strike" or "to beat." -- The Greek word translated as "smite" primary meaning is much more violent. It means "to beat with a stick", "to cudgel," and "to thrash." When referring to striking a "cheek," or more accurately, a "jaw," "sock" would be the word we typically use in English. The KJV is closer to the sense of this word than other versions which translate it as the milder "slap."