What is the difference between spanking and hitting?

Well, technically if you are spanking a child, you are hitting them. But the term hitting just means physically smacking someone with your hand, or something else, in anger and in the spur of the moment. It is done much more coldly than a spanking. A spanking is a discipline, a punishment, and it is done much more lovingly, when the parent is in total control of mind and the intent is not to hurt the child, but to correct them, and teach them a lesson lovingly. Also, hitting can occur at any part of the body, whereas a spanking is directed singularly to the bottom.