strain

strain · noun¹

1. Old English · inherited fromstrȳnd“race; stock”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*strew-“to spread, strew”
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*streuną“heap, treasure, profit, gain”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*streun
5. Old English · inherited fromstrēon
6. Middle English · inherited fromstreen
7. English todaystrain

From Middle English streen, strene, streon, istreon (“race, stock, generation”), from Old English strēon, ġestrēon (“gain, wealth”), from Proto-West Germanic *streun, from Proto-Germanic *streuną (“heap, treasure, profit, gain”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, strew”) (cognate with Old Saxon gistriuni, Old High German gistriuni (“gain, property, wealth, business”), Latin strues (“heap”)). Confused in Middle English with the related noun strend, strynd, strund, from Old English strȳnd (“race; stock”), from strēonan, strȳnan (“to beget; acquire”). Related also to Dutch struinen (“to prowl, root about, rout”).

strain · verb, noun²

1. Latin · derived fromstringō“to draw tight together, to tie”
2. Old French · derived fromestreindre
3. Middle English · inherited fromstraynen
4. English todaystrain

From Middle English straynen, streinen, streynen, from Old French estreindre (whence French étreindre (“to grip”)), from Latin stringō (“to draw tight together, to tie”).

strain · verb³

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*striunijaną“to furnish, decorate, acquire”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*striunijan
3. Old English · inherited fromstrēonan
4. Middle English · inherited fromstrenen“to beget, father, procreate”
5. English todaystrain

From Middle English strenen (“to beget, father, procreate”), from Old English strēonan, strīenan, strȳnan (“to beget, generate, gain, acquire”), from Proto-West Germanic *striunijan, from Proto-Germanic *striunijaną (“to furnish, decorate, acquire”).

Words from the same roots