strap English · revision 39620

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1584, R. Greene, Gwydonius|origins=la stroppus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /stɹæp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It began as a dialect form of [[strop]]; the early examples are Scots or nautical, and in Scots the vowel ''a'' for ''o'' is regular, as in the Scots forms of top and drop.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) The older word is [[inh|enm|strope|t=loop or strap on a harness]], recorded from the mid-14th century^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and probably [[bor|fro|estrop|t=strap]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la|stroppus|t=strap, band]] (also [[m|la|struppus]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911) which goes back, perhaps through Etruscan, to [[grc|στρόφος|tr=stróphos|t=twisted band, cord]], from [[m|grc|στρέφω|tr=stréphō|t=to turn]], the verb behind [[strophe]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Old English had a form [[m|ang|stropp|t=thong for an oar]], also from the Latin word,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Holthausen 1934) and Merriam-Webster and the OED trace the English word to it, as a West Germanic borrowing shared with [[dum|strop]] and [[gml|strop]];^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) Barnhart thinks the Old English word, recorded once about 1050, is probably not continuous with the Middle English one.^(Barnhart 1988) Johnson (1755) derived it from Dutch and Italian.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A snare for birds, also used figuratively: 1584, in Robert Greene's ''Gwydonius'', a sense obsolete by the early 17th century.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)^(SOED 2002) The Oxford Dictionary of English also dates to the late 16th century a sense "piece of timber fastening two objects together".^(ODE 2010)^(HTOED) Merriam-Webster's first date for a band of metal is 1602,^(MWU 2024) Dictionary.com dates the word to 1565–75^(Dictionary.com 2016) and Etymonline to the 1610s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word took over the senses of ''strop'' and then gave most of them up again to it: by the 18th century ''strap'' was the usual word for a flat band of leather, while ''strop'' kept the nautical and razor senses.^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 2026) Shakespeare's Sir Toby already speaks of boots hanging themselves "in their own straps", the loops for pulling a boot on (''Twelfth Night'').^(OED 2026)^(Johnson 1755) A band of iron or other metal for fastening is recorded from 1620,^(HTOED)^(Barnhart 1988) the leather band or thong from 1685, and a strip with a buckle from 1688.^(OED 2026) From about 1710 the strap was also the instrument of punishment, and ''the strap'' meant a beating with it;^(OED 2026) the verb "to beat with a strap" followed in 1735.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) defined it as a narrow long slip of cloth or leather.^(Johnson 1755) In mechanics a strap was a driving belt from 1790,^(OED 2026) and in 1842 the loop that a passenger holds in a moving vehicle,^(OED 2026) which gave ''strap-hanger''.^(Weekley 1921) A slang sense "credit", as in ''on strap'', is found from the 1830s;^(GDoS)^(Etymonline) from it Etymonline derives ''strapped'', short of money (1857).^(Etymonline) In slang ''to strap'' also meant to work hard (1811),^(GDoS)^(OED 2026) and in Leeds and other dialects to give goods on credit.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-14th century – ''strope'', a loop or strap on a harness.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1584 – a snare for birds (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * a1616 – a loop for pulling on a boot, in Shakespeare's ''Twelfth Night''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1620 – a narrow band of metal for fastening.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED)

+ * a1625 – (nautical) a strop.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1685 – a band or thong of leather.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1688 – a strip of leather or cloth with a buckle.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1711 – verb, to fasten with a strap.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1735 – verb, to beat with a strap.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1790 – (mechanics) a driving belt.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1811 – (slang) verb, to work hard.^(GDoS)

+ * 1842 – a loop to hold on to in a moving vehicle.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1857 – ''strapped'', short of money.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1913 – ''strap in'', to fasten one's safety belt in an aircraft.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A narrow strip of [[leather]], cloth or other flexible material, often with a [[buckle]], used to fasten, hold together or carry something: ''She slung the camera over her shoulder by its strap.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A band or plate of [[metal]] used to fasten or reinforce parts.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ # A loop hanging from the roof of a bus or train for standing passengers to hold.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''the strap'': punishment by beating with a leather strap.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A razor [[strop]].^(Collins 2023)^(HTOED)

+ # (nautical) A strop used on a ship's rigging.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fasten, bind or secure with a strap, often with ''in'', ''on'' or ''up'': ''Strap the child into the car seat.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # To bind a sprained joint or a wound with adhesive [[bandage|alt=bandages]] or plaster, usually ''strap up''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To beat with a strap.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To sharpen a razor on a strap (now rare).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[strappy]]

+ * [[strappable]]

+ * [[straplike]]

+ * [[blackstrap]]

+ * [[restrap]]

+ * [[straphanger]]

+ * [[strapper]]

+ * [[understrap]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strop]]

+ * [[strophe]]

+ * [[catastrophe]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and in northern and midland English dialect ''strap-oil'' was a jocular name for a beating with a strap, and a child might be sent to fetch some as a prank.^(Wright 1898) In Irish English ''strap'' was a term of abuse for a bold girl or woman,^(Wright 1898)^(GDoS) which Green's Dictionary of Slang derives from Irish ''straip'', a whore.^(GDoS) In Leicestershire and Northamptonshire ''to strap'' a cow was to draw off the last of its milk.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}