strict English · revision 6500

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1425|origins=la stringo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stɹɪkt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|strictus|t=drawn together, tight, rigid]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the past participle of [[m|la|stringo|alt=stringere|t=to draw or bind tight]] (see [[strain]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) It is a doublet of [[strait]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of an opening, narrow or drawn in: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie'';^(Barnhart 1988) the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original physical senses, tight, narrow or taut, are obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Stringent and rigorous, of laws, and stern in morality are first recorded in 1578.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Exact and careful in general is by the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and requiring close effort, as a strict examination, is first found in Shakespeare's ''1 Henry IV'' (1596).^(Barnhart 1988) Absolute or complete, as ''strict silence'', is by the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and ''strict tempo'' in dance music by 1936.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1425 – narrow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1578 – rigorous; stern.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – absolute.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1596 – requiring close effort.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1936 – strict tempo.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Requiring that rules be obeyed exactly; [[stern]] or severe: ''a strict teacher''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Closely followed or enforced: ''strict rules''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Exact or precise: ''in the strict sense''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Complete or absolute: ''in strict confidence''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[strictly]]

+ * [[strictness]]

+ * [[overstrict]]

+ * [[superstrict]]

+ * [[unstrict]]

+ * [[strict liability]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stricture]]

+ * [[stringent]]

+ * [[strain]]

+ * [[strait]]

+ * [[restrict]]

+ * [[constrict]]

+ * [[district]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}