quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- strain (n.2)



[strain 词源字典] - "line of descent, lineage, breed, ancestry," c. 1200, from Old English strion, streon "a gain, acquisition, treasure; a begetting, procreation," from Proto-Germanic *streu-nam- "to pile up," from PIE root *stere- "to spread, extend, stretch out" (see structure (n.)). Hence "race, stock, line" (early 14c.). Applied to animal species from c. 1600; usually involving fairly minor variations, but not distinct from breed (n.). Normal sound development would have yielded *streen, but the word was altered in late Middle English, apparently by influence of strain (n.1).[strain etymology, strain origin, 英语词源]
- strain (n.1)




- "injury caused by straining," c. 1400, from strain (v.). The meaning "passage of music" (1570s) probably developed from a verbal sense of "to tighten" the voice, which originally was used in reference to the strings of a musical instrument (late 14c.).
- strainer (n.)




- "utensil which strains," early 14c., agent noun from strain (v.).
- strait (n.)




- mid-14c., "narrow, confined space or place," specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., from Old French estreit, estrait "narrow part, pass, defile, narrow passage of water," noun use of adjective (see strait (adj.)). Sense of "difficulty, plight" (usually straits) first recorded 1540s. Strait and narrow "conventional or wisely limited way of life" is recorded from mid-14c. (compare straight (adj.2)).
- strait (adj.)




- "narrow, strict" (late 13c.), from Old French estreit, estrait "tight, close-fitting, constricted, narrow" (Modern French étroit), from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere (2) "bind or draw tight" (see strain (v.)). More or less confused with unrelated straight (adj.). Related: Straightly.
- strait-jacket (n.)




- also straitjacket, 1795 as a type of restraint for lunatics, from strait (adj.) + jacket (n.); earlier in same sense was strait-waistcoat (1753). As a verb from 1863. Related: Strait-jacketed.
- strait-laced (adj.)




- early 15c., of stays or bodices, "made close and tight;" see strait (adj.) + lace (v.). Figurative sense of "over-precise, prudish, strict in manners or morals" is from 1550s.
- straiten (v.)




- 1520s (transitive) "to restrict, make narrow," from strait (adj.) + -en (1). Related: straitened; straitening. Earlier verb was simply strait "to make narrow" (early 15c.).
- straitened (adj.)




- c. 1600, "too narrow;" 1716, "reduced to hardship;" past participle adjective from strait (v.). Phrase straitened circumstances recorded from 1766.
- strand (n.1)




- "shore, beach," Old English strand "sea-shore," from Proto-Germanic *strandaz (cognates: Danish and Swedish strand "beach, shore, strand," Old Norse strönd "border, edge, shore," Old Frisian strond, Middle Dutch strant, Dutch strand, Middle Low German strant, German Strand "beach"), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from PIE root *ster- "to stretch out." Strictly, the part of a shore that lies between the tide-marks. Formerly also used of river banks, hence the London street name (1246).
- strand (v.)




- 1620s, "to drive aground on a shore," from strand (n.1); figurative sense of "leave helpless," as of a ship left aground by the tide, is first recorded 1837. Related: Stranded; stranding.
- strand (n.2)




- "individual fiber of a rope, string, etc.," late 15c., probably from a continental Germanic source akin to Old High German streno "lock, tress, strand of hair," Middle Dutch strene "a skein, hank of thread," German Strähne "a skein, strand," of unknown connection. Perhaps to English via an Old French form.
- strange (adj.)




- late 13c., "from elsewhere, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar," from Old French estrange "foreign, alien, unusual, unfamiliar, curious; distant; inhospitable; estranged, separated" (Modern French étrange), from Latin extraneus "foreign, external, from without" (source also of Italian strano "strange, foreign," Spanish estraño), from extra "outside of" (see extra). In early use also strounge, straunge. Sense of "queer, surprising" is attested from late 14c. In nuclear physics, from 1956.
- stranger (n.)




- late 14c., "unknown person, foreigner," from strange + -er (1) or else from Old French estrangier "foreigner" (Modern French étranger), from estrange. Latin used the adjective extraneus as a noun to mean "stranger." The English noun never picked up the secondary sense of the adjective. As a form of address to an unknown person, it is recorded from 1817, American English rural colloquial. Meaning "one who has stopped visiting" is recorded from 1520s.
- strangle (v.)




- late 13c., from Old French estrangler "choke, suffocate, throttle" (Modern French étrangler), from Latin strangulare "to choke, stifle, check, constrain," from Greek strangalan "to choke, twist," from strangale "a halter, cord, lace," related to strangos "twisted," from PIE root *strenk- "tight, narrow; pull tight, twist" (see string (n.)). Related: Strangled; strangling.
- strangle-hold (n.)




- also stranglehold, 1893, in wrestling, from strangle (v.) + hold (n.). Figurative use by 1901.
- strangler (n.)




- 1550s, agent noun from strangle (v.).
- strangulation (n.)




- 1540s, from Latin strangulationem (nominative strangulatio) "a choking, a suffocating," noun of action from past participle stem of strangulare (see strangle). The verb strangulate (1660s) probably is a back-formation from this. Related: Strangulated.
- strap (n.)




- 1610s, "band of leather," from Scottish and/or nautical variant of strope "loop or strap on a harness" (mid-14c.), probably from Old French estrop "strap," from Latin stroppus "strap, band," perhaps via Etruscan, ultimately from Greek strophos "twisted band; a cord, rope," from strephein "to turn" (see strophe). Old English stropp, Dutch strop "halter" also are borrowed from Latin, and the Old English word might be the source of the modern one. Slang meaning "credit" is from 1828.
- strap (v.)




- "to fasten or secure with a strap," 1711, from strap (n.). Slang adjective strapped "short of money" is from 1857, from strap (n.) in the old sense of "financial credit" (1828). Meaning "to beat with a strap" is from 1735. Related: Strapped; strapping.