| 1 | Middle English | strecchen | To stretch out, spread, extend; To stretch,... |
| 2 | Old English | streċċan | to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out,... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | strakkjan | to stretch, to make straight |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)treg- | rigid, stiff; to be stiff, rigid, strong |