Etymology

stroke

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Today it means: An act of hitting; a blow, a hit. Full definition →

First used 17th c.Middle English strok ← Old English strāc ← Proto-West Germanic *straik
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stroke · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*streyg-“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*straikaz“stroke”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*straik
  4. Old English · inherited fromstrāc
  5. Middle English · inherited fromstrok
  6. English todaystroke

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”)

stroke · verb, noun2

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*straikōn“to caress, stroke”
  2. Old English · derived fromstrācian“to stroke”
  3. Middle English · derived fromstroken
  4. English todaystroke

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”)

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*streyg- all →

strikestreakstringentconstrain

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. A distinctive expression in a written composition; a touch.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.