strike

strike
\ \ [OE] Strike comes from a prehistoric Germanic base which denoted ‘touch lightly’ – a sense which survived into English (‘That good horse blessed he then, and lovingly struck its mane’, Sir Ferumbras 1380). The more violent modern sense ‘hit hard’ did not begin to encroach until the 13th century. The related stroke retains the original meaning, but another relative, streak, has also lost it. All three go back to West Germanic *strīk-, *straik-, which in turn were descended from the Indo-European base *strig-, *streig-, *stroig-, source of Latin strigilistool for scraping the skin after a bath’ (acquired by English as strigil [16]). The use of strike for ‘withdraw labour’ developed in the mid-18th century (it is first recorded in the Annual Register 1768: ‘This day the hatters struck, and refused to work till their wages are raised’). It probably comes from the notion of ‘downing’ one’s tools, as in strike a saillower a sail’.
\ \ Cf.STREAK, STRIGIL, STROKE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Strike — Strike, v. t. [imp. {Struck}; p. p. {Struck}, {Stricken}({Stroock}, {Strucken}, Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Striking}. Struck is more commonly used in the p. p. than stricken.] [OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS. str[=i]can to go, proceed,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Strike — may refer to:Refusal to work or perform* Strike action, also known as a Walkout, a work stoppage by a corporation or public institution * General strike, a strike action by a critical mass of the labor force in a city, region or country *Church… …   Wikipedia

  • strike — 1 vb struck, struck, also, strick·en, strik·ing vi 1: to remove or delete something 2: to stop work in order to force an employer to comply with demands vt 1: to remove or delete from a legal document a …   Law dictionary

  • strike — [strīk] vt. struck, struck or occas. (but for vt. 11 commonly and for vt. 8 & 15 usually) stricken, striking, [ME striken, to proceed, flow, strike with rod or sword < OE strican, to go, proceed, advance, akin to Ger streichen < IE * streig …   English World dictionary

  • Strike — Strike, v. i. To move; to advance; to proceed; to take a course; as, to strike into the fields. [1913 Webster] A mouse . . . struck forth sternly [bodily]. Piers Plowman. [1913 Webster] 2. To deliver a quick blow or thrust; to give blows. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • strike — ► VERB (past and past part. struck) 1) deliver a blow to. 2) come into forcible contact with. 3) (in sport) hit or kick (a ball) so as to score a run, point, or goal. 4) ignite (a match) by rubbing it briskly against an abrasive surface. 5) (of a …   English terms dictionary

  • strike — {vb 1 Strike, hit, smite, punch, slug, slog, swat, clout, slap, cuff, box are comparable when they mean to come or bring into contact with or as if with a sharp blow. Strike, hit, and smite are the more general terms. Strike, the most general of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Strike — Strike, n. 1. The act of striking. [1913 Webster] 2. An instrument with a straight edge for leveling a measure of grain, salt, and the like, scraping off what is above the level of the top; a strickle. [1913 Webster] 3. A bushel; four pecks.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • strike — [v1] hit hard bang, bash, beat, boff, bonk, box, buffet, bump into, chastise, clash, clobber, clout, collide, conk*, crash, cuff*, drive, force, hammer, impel, knock, percuss, plant*, pop*, pound, pummel, punch, punish, run into, slap, slug,… …   New thesaurus

  • Strike — steht für: einen Begriff aus dem Baseball, siehe Strike (Baseball) ein Wurfereignis beim Bowling, siehe Strike (Bowling) den Basispreis eines Optionsscheines, siehe Ausübungspreis eine Filmkomödie aus dem Jahr 1998, siehe Strike! – Mädchen an die …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Strike — 〈[straık] m. 6; Sp.〉 1. 〈Bowling〉 vollständiges Abräumen mit dem ersten od. zweiten Wurf 2. 〈Baseball〉 verfehlter Schlag 3. 〈umg.〉 Glücksfall, Treffer (meist als Ausruf der Freude) [engl., „Treffer“] * * * Strike [stra̮ik], der; s, s [engl.… …   Universal-Lexikon

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