straw English · revision 10626

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=ang strēaw}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /strɔː/, US /strɑː/, /strɔː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|strēaw]] (about 950),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|gem-pro|*strāwą]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old Saxon and Old High German strō (German Stroh), Dutch stroo and Old Norse strá.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) It is related to Old English strēowian, to [[strew]], so that straw is apparently “what is scattered”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps from dried stalks strewn on a floor as bedding.^(Etymonline) The root is shared with Latin sternere, to lay flat.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The dry stalks of grain after threshing: about 950 in Barnhart, about 1000 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A single stalk is from about 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a type of something worthless, straw is attested from the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adjective, made of straw, is from 1442,^(Barnhart 1988) which led to the sense false or sham (''a straw bid'', by 1889).^(Etymonline) A ''straw man'' was a scarecrow in 1594 and a person of little substance from 1896.^(Barnhart 1988) ''To make bricks without straw'' alludes to Exodus.^(OED 1989) A tube for sucking up a drink is from 1851.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Clutch at straws'' (1748) is what a drowning man proverbially does,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) ''the last straw'' is from 1836,^(Etymonline) and a ''straw vote'' from 1866 in American English, with ''straw poll'' from 1932.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – strēaw.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 13th century – a worthless thing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1442 – made of straw (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1594 – straw man, a scarecrow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1851 – a drinking straw.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – straw vote.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The dry stalks of threshed [[grain]], used for bedding, [[fodder]], [[thatch]] and weaving.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A single stalk of straw.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A thin tube of paper or plastic for drinking through.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # A thing of little value.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of straw: ''a straw hat''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Pale yellow, like straw.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[strawy]]

+ * [[strawless]]

+ * [[strawlike]]

+ * [[bedstraw]]

+ * [[strawberry]]

+ * [[straw-hat]]

+ * [[jackstraw]]

+ * [[strawboard]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strew]]

+ * [[stratum]]

+ * [[street]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}