stria

Forms

stria f (genitive striae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][1] The OLD derives it, with a “perhaps”, from a form ⟨*strig-ia⟩ and refers to stringō.^[2] In Wiktionary's view it is inherited from Proto-Italic *strig-jā, from what looks like a cross of Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to brush, strip, shear”) and *strengʰ- (“to draw, tie”).^[1] Köbler traces it to *streig- (“stroke, to stroke”).^[3]

Wiktionary names as cognates striga¹ and stringō, and, in other languages, English streak, German Striemen (“streak, stripe”), Old High German strimo and Dutch striem.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro uses it in his work on agriculture for the furrow a plough cuts: “where the plough makes a stria with its share, it is called a sulcus”.^[4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Besides a furrow or channel, Pliny the Elder used it for a groove or striation.^[6][7] In architecture Vitruvius used it as a technical term for the flutes of a column,^[4][2][6] and Apuleius for a fold of a garment, a pleat.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a furrow cut by a plough.^[4][3]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it for the flutes of a column.^[4][7][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for a groove or striation.^[5][7][3]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it for a fold of drapery.^[6][7][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A groove, channel, furrow.^[2][4]
2. (architecture) The flute of a column.^[2][4]
3. A fold of drapery, a pleat.^[2][6]

Word family

• striō

Related words

• striātūra

Usage notes

In Medieval Latin stria is also a spelling of striga² “witch”, under which Niermeyer treats it.^[8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill