Where does “strain” come from?
Strain comes from Middle English strenen, from Old French estreindre, from Latin stringere meaning to draw tight or bind, traced through Proto-Indo-European strew-, sterh₃-, ster-, and (s)ter-.
strain (English): Race; lineage, pedigree; A particular variety of...
Definitions
- Race; lineage, pedigree; A particular variety of...
Ancestry of “strain”, step by step
strain traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English straynen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | straynen | — |
| 2 | Old French | estreindre | to strain |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | strinctus | tightened, compressed |
| 4 | Latin | strictus | tightened, compressed, having been tightened;... |
| 5 | Latin | stringere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 6 | Latin | stringo | I press, tighten, compress; I unsheath |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | stringō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | streyg- | to strike; to shear |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ter- | strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to... |
via Middle English strenen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | strenen | to beget, father, procreate |
| 2 | Old English | strēonan | To gain, acquire, beget. See strȳnan |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | streuną | heap; pile; hoard; treasure; acquisition; booty |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | strew- | to spread, to strew |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sterh₃- | to spread, extend, stretch out |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ster- | sterile, infertile |