stroke
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stroke¹
- /stɹəʊk/ UK
- /stɹoʊk/ US
- /stɹʌok/
- /stɾʌok/
Rhymes with -əʊk
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English strok, stroke (“blow from a weapon, cut”), from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz (“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”).
Sense 3.5.2.2 (“the oblique, slash, or virgule (‘/’)”) is a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique which was originally used in telegraphy.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* German Streich (“stroke”)
* Middle Low German strēk (“stroke, trick, prank”)
* Scots strak, strake, straik (“blow, stroke”)
noun strokes · stroak
- An act of hitting; a blow, a hit. a stroke on the chin
- An act of striking with a weapon; a blow. Singapore plans to cane scammers and scam mules, with mandatory caning of at least six strokes for scammers and discretionary caning for mules.
- A single movement with a tool; also, an impact of a tool on an object. [W]hen a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor, to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a ſtroke with the axe to cut downe the tree, and the head ſlippeth from the helue, and lighteth vpon his neighbour that he die, he ſhall flee vnto one of thoſe cities, and liue: […]
- The hitting of a bell or similar by the clapper or hammer of a clock; the sound thereof; the time when this occurs. on the stroke of midnight
- The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.
- A single act of striking at the ball with a club; also, at matchplay, a shot deducted from a player's score at a hole as a result of a handicapping system.
- A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.
- The hitting of a ball with a racket; also, the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.
- One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished. the stroke of a bird’s wing in flying
- The movement of an oar or paddle through water: either the cycle of movement as a whole, or the propelling phase (as opposed to the return); the manner in which such movements are made; a rowing style.
- The rower nearest the stern of the boat, the movement of whose oar sets the rhythm for the other rowers; the position in the boat occupied by this rower.
- A movement of the arms and legs which propels a swimmer through the water; a specific combination of such movements, constituting a swimming style. butterfly stroke
- A beat or throb, as of the heart or pulse. [I]n true marriage lies / Nor equal, nor unequal: each fulfils / Defect in each, and always thought in thought, / Purpose in purpose, will in will, they grow, / The single pure and perfect animal, / The two-cell'd heart beating, with one full stroke / Life.
- A single movement or thrust of a reciprocating device (such as a piston or connecting rod). For the pistons of a four-stroke engine, the exhaust stroke follows the power stroke.
- The length of this movement. The bore times the stroke times the number of cylinders equals displacement.
- A thrust of the penis during sexual intercourse.
- An act causing hurt or death, especially when seen as divine punishment. the stroke of death
- A damaging occurrence, especially if sudden; a blow, a calamity. The Abp. [Archbishop] of York [John Dolben] now died of yᵉ small pox, aged 62, a corpulent man. […] I looke on this as a greate stroke to yᵉ poore Church of England, now in this defecting period.
- An amount of work; specifically, a large amount of business or work. a stroke of business
- A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done or produced; also, something accomplished by such an effort; an achievement, a feat. a stroke of genius
- A single movement of a paintbrush, chisel, pen, pencil, or similar implement; a line or mark made by such an implement. Among other branches of ſcience, if one can call it ſo, Mr. [John] Evelyn ſtudied Phyſiognomy, and found diſſimulation, boldneſs, cruelty and ambition in every touch and ſtroke of [Isaac] Fuller's picture of Oliver Cromvvell's face, vvhich he ſays, vvas the moſt reſembling portrait of the Protector.
- A line making up a written character.
- In Unicode: the formal name of the individual horizontal strikethroughs (as in "A̶").
- The oblique, slash, or virgule ("/"). Subject: Fire. Dear Sir-stroke-Madam: I am writing to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premises of … No. That's too formal.
- A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch. to give some finishing strokes to an essay
- Influence; power. [W]here ſoeuer poſſeſſyons be pryuate, where moneye beareth all the ſtroke, it is hard and almoſte impoſſyble that there the weale publyque maye iuſtelye be gouerned and proſperouſlye floryſhe: […]
- Backstage influence.
- A masterful or effective action. To enable any other piece to effect the decisive stroke, a greater number of facilities, arising either from the coöperation of partisans, or the obstruction of the adverse king by his own pieces, must conspire in proportion to the assailant's class.
- A sudden interruption of blood supply to the brain, causing minor to major brain damage and possible death; it may be either hemorrhagic or thrombotic. suffer a stroke
- An individual discharge of lightning, particularly if causing damage. A flash of lightning may be made up of several strokes. If they are separated by enough time for the eye to distinguish them, the lightning will appear to flicker.
- An individual social interaction whereby one gives another attention or recognition. Being gay and in prison is a very lonely experience. I would like to get some gay contacts on the outside that could give me some positive strokes.
- The effect or result of a striking; affliction or injury; a bruise or wound; soreness. Moreover the light of the Moone ſhalbe as the light of the Sunne, and the light of the Sunne ſhall be ſeuenfold, as the light of ſeuen dayes, in the day that the Lord bindeth vp the breach of his people, and healeth the ſtroke of their wound.
- Chiefly in to have a good stroke: appetite. [N]either can any man be entertain'd as a Soldier, that has not a greater ſtroke than ordinary at eating: for by this they judge of his ſtrength and conſtitution.
- A sudden attack of any illness, especially if causing loss of consciousness or movement, or when fatal. a stroke of apoplexy
- A bow or pluck of a string or strings of a stringed instrument; also, the manner in which a musical instrument is played; hence, a melody, a tune. Or can he desire a nobler or a fuller Argument either for the softest Aires or the loudest Echoes, for the smoothest or briskest strokes of his Pindaric Lyre?
verb strokes · stroking · stroked
- To draw the horizontal line across the upright part (of the letter t).
- Followed by out or through: to draw a line or lines through (text) to indicate that it is deleted; to cancel, to strike or strike out.
- Of a bell or clock: to chime or sound to indicate (the hour, the time, etc.).
- To mark (something) with lines or stripes; to stripe.
- To hit or kick (the ball) with a flowing or smooth motion; also, to score (a goal, a point, etc.) by doing so.
- Of a rower or a crew: to row at (a rate of a certain number of strokes (“movements of the oar through water”) per minute).
- To act as the stroke (“rower who is nearest the stern of the boat, the movement of whose oar sets the rowing rhythm for the other rowers”) of (a boat or its crew). to stroke a boat
- To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.
- To lengthen the stroke of (an engine) by installing a crankshaft with longer throws. Yes, it's 'only' a small block, but it’s got some tricks up its sleeve — it's been bored, stroked, ported, polished, and fuel-injected.
- To depict (something) with a paintbrush.
- Chiefly followed by out: to suffer loss of brain function when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted; to have a stroke (noun sense 4).
- To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.
stroke²
- /stɹəʊk/ UK
- /stɹoʊk/ US
- /stɹʌok/
- /stɾʌok/
Rhymes with -əʊk
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English stroken, straken (“to caress, fondle, pat, rub, smooth, stroke; to pass something over (someone or something); to brush or rub against;”) [and other forms], from Old English strācian (“to stroke”), from Proto-West Germanic *straikōn (“to caress, stroke”), from *straik (“a line, stroke; a dash”) (see further at etymology 1) + *-ōn (suffix forming verbs from nouns).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* German streicheln (“to stroke, fondle”)
* German Low German straken, strieken, strakeln, striekeln (“to stroke; caress; fondle”)
* Middle Low German strēken, Middle Dutch strēken (modern Dutch streeken)
* Old High German strīhhan, streihhōn, Middle High German strīchen (modern German streichen (“to stroke; to rub; to spread; to apply; to paint; to cancel; to cross out, strike out; to delete; to discard”))
* Saterland Frisian strookje (“to stroke; caress”)
* West Frisian streakje (“to stroke; caress”)
verb strokes · stroking · stroked · stroke
- To move one's hand or an object (such as a broom or brush) along (a surface) in one direction, touching it lightly; to caress. His Majestie began first to touch for yᵉ evil, according to custome, thus: his Maᵗⁱᵉ sitting under his State in yᵉ Banquetting House, the Chirurgeons cause the sick to be brought or led up to the throne, where they kneeling, yᵉ King strokes their faces or cheekes with both his hands at once, at whic
- To masturbate.
- To bring (something) to a certain condition by stroking (sense 1).
- To give assurance to (someone) through encouragement. [W]hen thou cam'ſt firſt / Thou ſtroakſt me, & made much of me: […]
- To influence (someone) by convincing or flattering them.
- To milk (a cow or other animal); especially, to squeeze the teat of (a cow, etc.) to extract the last bit of milk from the udder; to strap (dialectal), to strip.
- To give a finely fluted surface to (stone) by carving it with a tool.
- To sharpen (a knife or other cutting instrument) by honing or rubbing it against a surface.
- To soothe (someone); also, to flatter or indulge (someone).
noun strokes
- An act of moving one's hand or an object along a surface in one direction, touching it lightly; a caress. She gave the cat a stroke.
- A gesture of assurance given as encouragement; specifically (psychoanalysis) in transactional analysis: a (generally positive) reaction expressed to a person which fulfils their desires or needs. Not providing a stroke to a client can sometimes facilitate the client in becoming aware of their neediness or desire for approval. By not giving a stroke, the client's need is brought to the surface, where it is amenable to change, […]
- A flattering or friendly act, comment, etc., done or made to a person to influence them.
