stroke
English has two words spelled stroke, both related to strike: the noun, a blow, and the verb, to pass the hand gently over.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
- IPA: /stɹoʊk/; /stɹəʊk/ (UK)[4]
stroke1 blow; sudden illness
Etymology
The blow is Middle English strok, probably from an unrecorded inherited from Old English *strāc,[1][3][5] from Proto-Germanic *straikaz,[1][2] cognate with Middle Low German streke (“blow”) and German Streich, and related to strike and streak.[1][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
A blow with the hand or a weapon: 1297 in the OED,[7] probably before 1300, in Sir Tristrem, in Barnhart.[1]
Semantic evolution
A crash of thunder is a stroke by the mid-14th century, a beat of the heart by the early 15th century,[3] and the striking of a clock from 1436.[1] A mark made by a pen is from 1567.[1] The single pull of an oar is from 1583,[1] a single movement of machinery, as of a piston, from 1731,[1][3] and an arm movement in swimming by 1800.[3] The sudden seizure of apoplexy or paralysis is from 1599, originally stroke of God's hand, a divine chastisement.[1][3][2] A feat or achievement, as in a stroke of genius, is from 1672, and a stroke of luck from 1853.[1] The verb, to mark with strokes, is from 1597.[1][6]
Timeline
- 1297 – a blow.[7]
- 1436 – the striking of a clock.[1]
- 1567 – a pen stroke.[1]
- 1583 – a pull of an oar.[1]
- 1599 – an apoplectic seizure.[1]
- 1672 – a feat.[1]
- 1731 – a stroke of a piston.[1]
Modern meaning
Noun
- A sudden blockage or bursting of a blood vessel in the brain, causing loss of function.
- A blow or hit; the act of striking a ball in a game.
- A single movement repeated in a series, as in rowing or swimming, or a style of swimming.
- A mark made by a pen or brush; also, the oblique line /.
- The sound of a clock striking.
- A sudden piece of good fortune or skill: a stroke of luck.
- The movement of a piston from one end of its range to the other.
Verb
- To hit a ball with a smooth swing.
- To set the pace for a rowing crew.
stroke2 caress
Etymology
The caress is Middle English stroken, inherited from Old English strācian (“to pass the hand gently over”),[1][2][3][6] related to strīcan (“to pass over lightly”) (see strike), from Proto-Germanic *straik-,[3][2] cognate with Dutch strijken and German streichen (“to stroke”).[3][6] Etymonline takes the root to PIE Proto-Indo-European *strig- (“to stroke, rub, press”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
To pass the hand gently over: before 899, in King Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care.[1]
Semantic evolution
The figurative sense, to soothe or flatter, is from the 1510s.[3] The noun, a stroking movement of the hand, is from 1631, in Ben Jonson's The New Inn.[1][3]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Verb
- To pass the hand gently over, as in caressing an animal.
- (informal) To flatter or soothe someone.
Noun
- A gentle movement of the hand over something; a caress.
Related words
- strike
- streak
- strigil
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press