Strecke German · revision 35433

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=end of the 15th century, mining language}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʃtʁɛkə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Strecke''' ''f'' (genitive Strecke, plural Strecken)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun formed from [[strecken|t=to stretch]].^(Kluge 2011|890)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Middle High German has it only in the compound [[gmh|zilstrecke|t=stretch of way to a goal, racecourse]]; as a free noun it is known from early New High German, above all in mining.^(DWB|19, 1092)^(Pfeifer 1993) It corresponds to [[gml|strecke]], [[dum|strecke]] and [[en|stretch]].^(DWB|19, 1092)

+

+ The verb is [[m|goh|strecken]], recorded in the 9th century, and found only in West Germanic, with [[ang|streccan]] and [[ofs|strekka]].^(Kluge 2011|890)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge and Pfeifer derive it most probably from the adjective [[strack|t=straight, taut]], so that it meant “to make straight and taut”;^(Kluge 2011|890)^(Pfeifer 1993) Kluge also notes its parallel to [[recken]] and allows that it may be a variant of that verb with an initial /s/.^(Kluge 2011|890)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In late 15th-century mining language ''Strecke'' was a horizontal gallery driven from the shaft into the mountain; it could also be a certain length of a water channel.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(FWB)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 17th century it was used of the reach of a ship bridge and, in mathematics, of a straight line; the general sense “stretch of way to a goal” became common only in the 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|19, 1092) In the 19th century it took on the senses “line segment” in geometry and “section of a road or railway”, and in hunting the game killed in a hunt and laid out in rows.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ [[cs|štreka]], [[sl|štreken]] and [[hu|strekk]] were borrowed from German, and [[sv|sträcka]] and [[da|strække]] too.^(LWP)^(Wiktionary)^(DWB|19, 1092)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Middle High German – Recorded in the compound ''zilstrecke''.^(Lexer 1872)^(DWB|19, 1092)

+ * End of the 15th century – ''Strecke'' is a horizontal gallery in mining.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1589 – An early New High German record of ''strecke''.^(DWB|19, 1092)

+ * 17th century – Used in mathematics for a straight line;^(Pfeifer 1993) ''Wegstrecke'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – The general sense “stretch of way” becomes common.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|19, 1092)

+ * 19th century – First records of “line segment”, “section of a traffic route” and the hunting sense.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|stretch]] or [[m|en|distance]] of a way: ''Bis zum Dorf ist es noch eine ganze Strecke.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A section of a railway line; a [[m|en|route]]: ''Die Strecke zwischen Köln und Bonn wird erneuert.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(sports)'' The set distance of a race: ''Er schwimmt die 400-Meter-Strecke.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A [[m|en|line segment]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mining)'' A horizontal [[m|en|gallery]] or roadway.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(FWB)

+ # ''(hunting)'' The game killed in a hunt and laid out after it.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Wegstrecke]]

+ * [[Streckenabschnitt]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strecken]]

+ * [[strack]]

+ * [[recken]]

+ * [[en|stretch]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Auf der Strecke bleiben'' “to fall by the wayside, fail” probably comes from sport, of a runner who does not reach the finish.^(Duden 7 2020|831)^(Duden GWDS 1999) ''Jemanden zur Strecke bringen'' “to hunt someone down, to kill (game)” comes from hunting, where the killed animals are laid out in a row;^(Duden 7 2020|831)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer dates it to the 19th century.^(Duden 7 2020|831)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}