streak

Streak, a line, is from Old English strica; streak, to rush, is a respelling of streek, a northern variant of stretch.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /stɹiːk/^[3]

streak¹ line

Etymology

It is Middle English strike, streke, inherited from Old English strica (“line of motion, stroke of a pen, mark”),^[1][2][4] related to strīcan, to pass over lightly (see strike),^[1][2] from Proto-Germanic *strikōn,^[1][2] source also of Dutch streek, German Strich and Gothic striks, a stroke, line,^[2][1][4] said to be from Proto-Indo-European *strig-, to stroke, rub, press.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A line, mark or stroke, especially in writing or for measurement: about 1000, in Ælfric.^[1][5]

Semantic evolution

A thin line of a different colour or substance is from 1567–85,^[5][1] a stratum of coal or ore from the 17th century, and a strip of land or water from the 18th.^[4] The line of powder made by scratching a mineral is from 1794.^[5] A trace of some quality, as a mean streak, and a run of luck or wins are later senses.^[6][7] The verb, to cancel by drawing lines across, is from 1440,^[1] and to mark with streaks from 1595 (the 1590s).^[1][2] The intransitive sense, to become streaked, is from 1870.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – a line, mark.^[1]
• 1440 – to strike out (verb).^[1]
• 1567 – a line of colour.^[5]
• 1595 – to mark with streaks.^[1]
• 1794 – a mineral's streak.^[5]
• 1870 – to become streaked.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A long thin mark or band of a different colour or texture from its surroundings.
2. A slight contrasting element or trace: a stubborn streak.
3. A short run, as of luck, or an unbroken series of wins or losses.
4. The colour of the powder a mineral leaves when rubbed on a hard surface.

Verb

1. To mark with streaks.
2. To lighten strands of hair chemically.

Word family

• streaked
• streaky

streak² rush

Etymology

It is a respelling, probably by association with the noun, of streek, to go quickly (early 14th century),^[2] which first meant to stretch oneself (mid-13th century) and is a northern Middle English variant of stretch.^[2] Streek itself was probably confused with strike.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To go quickly, rush, run at full speed: 1768.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The connection of sense may be through extending oneself in a direction.^[2] In the United States the verb tends to be associated with the noun.^[2] The sense to run naked through a public place was originally American slang.^[8]

Timeline

• mid-13th century – streek, to stretch oneself.^[2]
• early 14th century – streek, to go quickly.^[2]
• 1768 – streak, to rush.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To move at high speed; to rush.
2. (informal) To run naked through a public place.

Word family

• streaker
• streaking

Related words

• strike
• stroke
• stretch
• strigil

Usage notes

A separate verb streak, to stroke or rub, perhaps from Old Norse strjúka, survives only in dialect.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press