straight English · revision 2623

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1325|origins=ang streccan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /streɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|streight]], also streyt and streght,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) the old past participle of Middle English strecchen, [[inh|ang|streht]], earlier streaht, the past participle of [[m|ang|streccan|t=to stretch]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) the source of [[stretch]].^(COED 2004)^(Klein 1966)^(Cresswell 2021) It thus originally meant “stretched, extended at full length”.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Klein 1966) The SOED compares [[distraught]].^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the body, “not bent or curved”: the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) probably before 1325.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED records “extended at full length” from about 1400, and “not crooked” from about 1350.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of a line or a street, “direct, undeviating”, it is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and a ''straight line'' from 1398.^(OED 1989) The adverb, “in a straight line”, and also “at once, immediately”, is from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Of a person, “direct, honest”, it is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and of conduct, “free from crookedness”, from the 1520s;^(Etymonline) Hoad says this sense was obsolete in the 17th century and revived in the 19th.^(Hoad 1986) Of hair, “not curly”, it is from 1748.^(OED 1989) “Undiluted”, as of whiskey, is American, from 1874,^(Etymonline) the equivalent of British ''neat''.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Straight and narrow'' (about 1794) rests on a misreading of Matthew 7:14, where the gate is actually ''strait'',^(Etymonline) and probably suggested the sense “conventional”, especially “heterosexual”, from 1941.^(Etymonline) A straight in poker is from 1841, and the straight of a racetrack from 1864.^(Etymonline) ''Go straight'', “to give up crime”, is from 1919.^(Etymonline) The verb ''straighten'' is from 1542,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''straightforward'' from 1806.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – adverb, directly, at once.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – not bent.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – direct.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 15th century – honest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1542 – ''straighten''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1748 – of hair.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1841 – a straight in poker.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – undiluted.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1919 – ''go straight''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1941 – conventional, heterosexual.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Extending in one direction without bending or curving.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Level, upright or properly arranged.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Honest and direct; [[frank]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # In a row; consecutive: ''three straight wins''.^(AHD)

+ # Of a drink, undiluted; [[neat]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' Conventional; [[heterosexual]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In a straight line; directly.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Without delay: ''straight away''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Honestly; frankly.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A straight part, as of a racetrack.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # In [[poker]], a sequence of five cards.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' A heterosexual or conventional person.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[straightly]]

+ * [[straightness]]

+ * [[straightish]]

+ * [[straightbred]]

+ * [[unstraight]]

+ * [[straight-arm]]

+ * [[straightaway]]

+ * [[straightedge]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stretch]]

+ * [[strait]]

+ * [[straighten]]

+ * [[straightforward]]

+ * [[distraught]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}