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strike (v.)

   Old English strican (past tense strac, past participle stricen) "pass
   lightly over, stroke, smooth, rub," also "go, move, proceed," from
   Proto-Germanic *strikan- (source also of Old Norse strykva "to stroke,"
   Old Frisian strika, Middle Dutch streken, Dutch strijken "to smooth,
   stroke, rub," Old High German strihhan, German streichen), from PIE
   root *strig- "to stroke, rub, press" (see strigil). Related to streak
   and stroke, and perhaps influenced in sense development by cognate Old
   Norse striuka.

   Sense of "to deal a blow" developed by early 14c.; meaning "to collide"
   is from mid-14c.; that of "to hit with a missile" is from late 14c.
   Meaning "to cancel or expunge" (as with the stroke of a pen) is
   attested from late 14c. A Middle English sense is preserved in strike
   for "go toward." Sense of "come upon, find" is from 1835 (especially in
   mining, well-digging, etc., hence strike it rich, 1854). Baseball sense
   is from 1853. To strike a balance is from the sense "balance accounts"
   (1530s).

   Meaning "refuse to work to force an employer to meet demands" is from
   1768, perhaps from notion of striking or "downing" one's tools, or from
   sailors' practice of striking (lowering) a ship's sails as a symbol of
   refusal to go to sea (1768), which preserves the verb's original sense
   of "make level, smooth."

   strike (n.)

   1580s, "act of striking," from strike (v.). Meaning "concentrated
   cessation of work by a body of employees" is from 1810. Baseball sense
   is first recorded 1841, originally meaning any contact with the ball;
   modern sense developed by 1890s, apparently from foul strike, which
   counted against the batter, and as hit came to be used for "contact
   with the ball" this word was left for "a swing and a miss" that counts
   against the batter; figurative sense of have two strikes against (of a
   possible three) is from 1938. Bowling sense attested from 1859. Meaning
   "sudden military attack" is attested from 1942.

Entries linking to strike

   strigil (n.)

   "ancient tool for scraping the skin after a bath," 1580s, from Latin
   strigilis "scraper, horse-comb," from stringere (1) "draw along a
   surface, graze, touch lightly; strip off, pluck off, cut away; clip,
   prune; lay bare, unsheathe," figuratively "waste, consume, reduce;
   touch, move, affect, cause pain," from PIE root *strig- "to stroke,
   rub, press" (source also of Latin striga "stroke, strike, furrow,"
   stria "furrow, channel;" Old Church Slavonic striga "shear;" Old
   English stracian "to stroke;" German streichen "to stroke, rub").

   Etymologists dispute over whether this is connected to Latin stringere
   (2) "to tie, tighten," root of strain (v.). Based on the sense
   differences, de Vaan writes, "It appears that a merger occurred of two
   different PIE verbs, *strig- 'to brush, strip' and *strengh- 'to tie'."
   streak (n.)

   Old English strica "line of motion, stroke of a pen" (related to
   strican "pass over lightly"), from Proto-Germanic *strikon- (source
   also of Middle Dutch streke, Dutch streek, Middle Low German streke "a
   stroke, line," Old High German, German strich, Gothic striks "a stroke,
   line"), from PIE root *strig- "to stroke, rub, press" (see strigil;
   also compare strike (v.), stroke (v.)). Sense of "long, thin mark" is
   first found 1560s. Meaning "a temporary run (of luck)" is from 1843.
     * stroke
     * awestruck
     * dumbstruck
     * lovestruck
     * moonstruck
     * outstrip
     * stage-struck
     * strick
     * stricken
     * striker
     * striking
     * struck
     * trickle
     * See all related words (15) >

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   updated on February 05, 2018
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Dictionary entries near strike

   strider

   stridor

   stridulous

   strife

   strigil

   strike

   striker

   striking

   string

   stringency

   stringent
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