stroke English · revision 6772

+ English has two words spelled stroke, both related to [[strike]]: the noun, a blow, and the verb, to pass the hand gently over.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stɹoʊk/; /stɹəʊk/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|blow; sudden illness}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1297|origins=gem-pro *straikaz}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The blow is Middle English strok, probably from an unrecorded [[inh|ang|*strāc]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[gem-pro|*straikaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[gml|streke|t=blow]] and [[de|Streich]], and related to [[strike]] and [[streak]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A blow with the hand or a weapon: 1297 in the OED,^(OED 1989) probably before 1300, in ''Sir Tristrem'', in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A crash of thunder is a stroke by the mid-14th century, a beat of the heart by the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and the striking of a clock from 1436.^(Barnhart 1988) A mark made by a pen is from 1567.^(Barnhart 1988) The single pull of an oar is from 1583,^(Barnhart 1988) a single movement of machinery, as of a piston, from 1731,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and an arm movement in swimming by 1800.^(Etymonline) The sudden seizure of apoplexy or paralysis is from 1599, originally ''stroke of God's hand'', a divine chastisement.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) A feat or achievement, as in ''a stroke of genius'', is from 1672, and ''a stroke of luck'' from 1853.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to mark with strokes, is from 1597.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – a blow.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1436 – the striking of a clock.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1567 – a pen stroke.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1583 – a pull of an oar.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1599 – an apoplectic seizure.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1672 – a feat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1731 – a stroke of a piston.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sudden blockage or bursting of a blood vessel in the [[brain]], causing loss of function.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A blow or hit; the act of striking a ball in a game.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A single movement repeated in a series, as in rowing or [[swimming]], or a style of swimming.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A mark made by a pen or brush; also, the oblique line /.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The sound of a clock striking.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sudden piece of good fortune or skill: ''a stroke of luck''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The movement of a [[piston]] from one end of its range to the other.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hit a ball with a smooth swing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To set the pace for a rowing crew.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|caress}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899|origins=gem-pro *straik-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The caress is Middle English stroken, [[inh|ang|strācian|t=to pass the hand gently over]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) related to [[m|ang|strīcan|t=to pass over lightly]] (see [[strike]]), from [[gem-pro|*straik-]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[nl|strijken]] and [[de|streichen|t=to stroke]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline takes the root to PIE [[ine-pro|*streyg-|alt=*strig-|t=to stroke, rub, press]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To pass the hand gently over: before 899, in King Alfred's translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, to soothe or flatter, is from the 1510s.^(Etymonline) The noun, a stroking movement of the hand, is from 1631, in Ben Jonson's ''The New Inn''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – to caress.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1510s – to flatter.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1631 – the noun, a caress.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pass the hand gently over, as in [[caress|alt=caressing]] an animal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To flatter or soothe someone.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A gentle movement of the hand over something; a caress.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strike]]

+ * [[streak]]

+ * [[strigil]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}