strijken

Forms

strijken (past tense streek, past participle gestreken)^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch striken, inherited from Old Dutch *strīcan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *strīkan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *strīkaną, from older *streikan-.^[4][1] The same word is Middle Low German strīken, Old High German strīhhan (modern German streichen), Old Frisian strīka and Old English strīcan, whence English strike.^[4][5] A form with /u/ in the stem, *streukan-, is Old Norse strjúka, beside the weak strýkja.^[4][6] Related nouns are Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃 (striks, “stroke, line”) and Dutch streek.^[5][7]

Outside Germanic it is related to Latin stringō (“to touch lightly, graze”), strigilis (“strigil, scraper”) and striga (“strip, row”), and to Old Prussian strigli (“thistle”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to stroke”).^[4][5][6] The root *streuk- of the Old Norse verb gave by ablaut stroken “to agree with”.^[4] Its basic sense was “to stretch along something”, from which the Germanic languages developed meanings such as “go over, smooth”, “smear, rub”, “strike” and “move in a direction”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch striken is first recorded in 1250, in a Lower Rhine medical text: stric anedín worehowet “rub it on your forehead”.^[4][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century the verb is used of drawing a bow over strings (1285), of going in a direction, as in Doe streec hi in eene wostine “then he went into a wilderness” (1285), and of stroking a child's head (1290).^[4][8] Bruges cloth regulations of 1284 use it for smoothing cloth.^[8] Early Modern Dutch added “to carry off”, in die gaet strijcken met de winst “he goes off with the profit” (1632), “to lower” sails (1642) and “to rake in” money (1671).^[4] Ironing with a hot iron is first recorded in 1708.^[4] The old sense of moving in a direction survives in neerstrijken “to settle”, and raking in money in opstrijken.^[4]

De vlag strijken, “to lower the flag”, was done at sea in salute or in surrender, and came to mean “to give in”, and also “to die”.^[9] Iemand tegen de haren in strijken is to rub someone the wrong way.^[10]

Old French estrichier (“to strike sails”) (from the 12th century) and French striquer “to finish cloth” are borrowings from Middle Dutch.^[6][11] The ironing sense was borrowed into Indonesian setrika and Papiamentu strika, and into Sranan Tongo as triki.^[11][1] Back in Dutch, Surinamese and Antillean speakers use strijken for straightening frizzy hair, after Sranan Tongo and Papiamentu usage.^[3][12]

Timeline

• 1250 – Middle Dutch striken “to rub on” is first recorded.^[4][8][13]
• 1284 – Bruges cloth regulations use it for smoothing cloth.^[8]
• 1285 – The senses “to bow strings” and “to go in a direction” are recorded.^[4]
• 1290 – Striken “to stroke” a child's head is recorded.^[4][8]
• 1642 – Warships streeken zeil “lowered sail”.^[4]
• 1671 – Stryken “to rake in” profit is recorded.^[4]
• 1708 – Gestreeken “ironed” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To pass lightly over a surface, to skim.^[10]
2. (transitive) To stroke, to move the hand or an object along or over a surface.^[10][1]
3. (transitive) To iron (clothes, textiles).^[10][1][14]
4. (transitive) To lower (a flag or sail).^[10][1]
5. (intransitive) To play a string instrument with a bow.^[1]

Word family

• strijkijzer
• strijkplank
• strijkstok
• strijker
• strijkje
• strijkster
• strijkkwartet
• strijkorkest
• strijkinstrument
• strijkage
• pluimstrijken
• aanstrijken
• afstrijken
• bestrijken
• gladstrijken
• neerstrijken
• opstrijken
• verstrijken

Related words

• streek
• stroken
• English strike
• German streichen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ a b Donselaar, J. van (1989), Woordenboek van het Surinaams-Nederlands, Muiderberg: Coutinho
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
5. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
8. ^ a b c d e f Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
10. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ Joubert, Sidney; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2020), Antilliaans-Nederlandse woorden en hun herkomst, in: Trefwoord, November 2020
13. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
14. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org