strain English · revision 7449

+ English has two words spelled strain: to stretch or press, from Latin stringere, and a line of descent or breed, from Old English strēon.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stɹeɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|stretch; filter; effort}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la stringo}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English streinen, [[bor|fro|estreindre|t=to bind tightly, clasp, squeeze]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|stringo|alt=stringere|t=to draw tight, bind]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from PIE [[ine-pro|*streyg-|alt=*streig-|t=to stroke, rub, press]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To tie, bind, draw tight, stretch: about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To confine or restrain is an obsolete early 14th-century sense.^(Etymonline) To stretch to the utmost, to exert oneself, and to injure by overstretching are from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) To press through a filter is from before 1325.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) To make a forced interpretation is from 1449.^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, a filter, is from 1432; an injury to a muscle from the 1550s; and a deforming force from the 1580s.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A passage of music (1570s) probably came from the tightening of the voice in singing, hence a tone or style (1620s).^(Etymonline) Strain and [[stress]] are paired by 1842 and come from the same Latin verb.^(Etymonline) ''Strain at a gnat'' echoes Matthew 23:24.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – to bind tight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – to filter.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – to exert oneself.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – a muscle strain.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – a passage of music.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a great effort; to exert to the utmost.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To injure a muscle or limb by overexertion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To stretch tightly or put under pressure.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pour through a sieve or filter.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A force that stretches or puts pressure on something; [[tension]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Mental or emotional pressure; [[stress]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An injury caused by overstretching a muscle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(often strains)'' A passage of music or poetry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[strainer]]

+ * [[strained]]

+ * [[restrain]]

+ * [[constrain]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|breed, line of descent}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 950|origins=ang strēon}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English strene, from Old English [[m|ang|strēon|t=gain, treasure; begetting]], strīon, a shortening of ġestrēon,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *streunam, to pile up,^(Etymonline) cognate with Old High German striunan, to gain, and Latin [[m|la|struo|alt=struere|t=to pile, build]],^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*strew-|alt=*streu-|t=to spread, pile up]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The modern spelling, influenced by strain, to stretch, appears in the late 16th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gain or treasure: about 950 in the OED;^(OED 1989) offspring, line of descent, probably before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A race, stock or line is from the 14th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) Of animal varieties it is from about 1600 (1607), usually of minor variations not distinct from a breed,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and of microbes by 1897.^(Etymonline) A sort or kind, as an inherited character or tendency, is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – gain, treasure.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – offspring.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1330 – a race, stock.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1607 – an animal breed.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1897 – a strain of microbes.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A variety of an animal, plant or microorganism within a species: ''a new strain of flu''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An inherited tendency or quality: ''a strain of madness''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(literary)'' A line of descent; ancestry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[strew]]

+ * [[stress]]

+ * [[strict]]

+ * [[stringent]]

+ * [[constrict]]

+ * [[structure]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}