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Webster 1913 Edition

Strength

Strength

,
Noun.
[OE.
strengthe
, AS.
strengðu
, fr.
strang
strong. See
Strong
.]
1.
The quality or state of being strong; ability to do or to bear; capacity for exertion or endurance, whether physical, intellectual, or moral; force; vigor; power;
as,
strength
of body or of the arm;
strength
of mind, of memory, or of judgment
.
All his [Samson’s]
strength
in his hairs were.
Chaucer.
Thou must outlive
Thy youth, thy
strength
, thy beauty.
Milton.
2.
Power to resist force; solidity or toughness; the quality of bodies by which they endure the application of force without breaking or yielding; – in this sense opposed to
frangibility
;
as, the
strength
of a bone, of a beam, of a wall, a rope, and the like
.
“The brittle strength of bones.”
Milton.
3.
Power of resisting attacks; impregnability.
“Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn.”
Shak.
4.
That quality which tends to secure results; effective power in an institution or enactment; security; validity; legal or moral force; logical conclusiveness;
as, the
strength
of social or legal obligations; the
strength
of law; the
strength
of public opinion;
strength
of evidence;
strength
of argument
.
5.
One who, or that which, is regarded as embodying or affording force, strength, or firmness; that on which confidence or reliance is based; support; security.
God is our refuge and
strength
.
Ps. xlvi. 1.
What they boded would be a mischief to us, you are providing shall be one of our principal
strengths
.
Sprat.
Certainly there is not a greater
strength
against temptation.
Jer. Taylor.
6.
Force as measured; amount, numbers, or power of any body, as of an army, a navy, and the like; as, what is the strength of the enemy by land, or by sea?
7.
Vigor or style; force of expression; nervous diction; – said of literary work.
And praise the easy vigor of a life
Where Denham's
strength
and Waller's sweetness join.
Pope.
8.
Intensity; – said of light or color.
Bright Phoebus in his
strength
.
Shakespeare
9.
Intensity or degree of the distinguishing and essential element; spirit; virtue; excellence; – said of liquors, solutions, etc.;
as, the
strength
of wine or of acids
.
10.
A strong place; a stronghold.
[Obs.]
Shak.
On the strength of
, or
Upon the strength of
,
in reliance upon.
“The allies, after a successful summer, are too apt, upon the strength of it, to neglect their preparations for the ensuing campaign.”
Addison.
Syn. – Force; robustness; toughness; hardness; stoutness; brawniness; lustiness; firmness; puissance; support; spirit; validity; authority. See
Force
.

Strength

,
Verb.
T.
To strengthen.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Strength

STRENGTH

,
Noun.
[See Strong.]
1.
That property or quality of an animal body by which it is enabled to move itself or other bodies. We say, a sick man has not strength to walk, or to raise his head or his arm. We say, a man has strength to lift a weight, or to draw it. This quality is called also power and force. But force is also used to denote the effect of strength exerted, or the quantity of motion. Strength in this sense, is positive, or the power of producing positive motion or action, and is opposed to weakness.
2.
Firmness; solidity or toughness; the quality of bodies by which they sustain the application of force without breaking or yielding. Thus we speak of the strength of a bone, the strength of a beam, the strength of a wall, the strength of a rope. In this sense, strength is a passive quality, and is opposed to weakness or frangibility.
3.
Power or vigor of any kind.
This act shall crush the strength of Satan.
Strength there must be either of love or war.
4.
Power of resisting attacks; fastness; as the strength of a castle or fort.
5.
Support; that which supports; that which supplies strength; security.
God is our refuge and strength. Psalm 46.
6.
Power of mind; intellectual force; the power of any faculty; as strength of memory; strength of reason; strength of judgment.
7.
Spirit; animation.
Me thinks I feel new strength within me rise.
8.
Force of writing; vigor; nervous diction. The strength of words, of style, of expression and the like, consists in the full and forcible exhibition of ideas, by which a sensible or deep impression is made on the mind of a hearer or reader. It is distinguished from softness or sweetness. Strength of language enforces an argument, produces conviction, or excites wonder or other strong emotion; softness and sweetness give pleasure.
And praise the easy vigor of a line, where Denhams strength and Wellers sweetness join.
9.
Vividness; as strength of colors or coloring.
10.
Spirit; the quality of any liquor which has the power of affecting the taste, or of producing sensible effects on other bodies; as the strength of wine or spirit; the strength of an acid.
11.
The virtue or spirit of any vegetable, or of its juices or qualities.
12.
Legal or moral force; validity; the quality of binding, uniting or securing; as the strength of social or legal obligations; the strength of law; the strength of public opinion or custom.
13.
Vigor; natural force; as the strength of natural affection.
14.
That which supports; confidence.
The allies, after a successful summer, are too apt upon the strength of it to neglect preparation for the ensuing campaign.
15.
Amount of force, military or naval; an army or navy; number of troops or ships well appointed. What is the strength of the enemy by land, or by sea?
16.
Soundness; force; the quality that convinces, persuades or commands assent; as the strength of an argument or of reasoning; the strength of evidence.
17.
Vehemence; force proceeding from motion and proportioned to it; as the strength of wind or a current of water.
18.
Degree of brightness or vividness; as the strength of light.
19.
Fortification; fortress; as an inaccessible strength. [Not in use.]
20.
Support; maintenance of power.
What they boded would be a mischief to us, you are providing shall be one of our principal strengths. [Not used.]

STRENGTH

, v.t To strengthen. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

strength

strength

English

Noun

strength ‎(countable and uncountable, plural strengths)

  1. The quality or degree of being strong.
    It requires great strength to lift heavy objects.‎
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.
  2. The intensity of a force or power; potency.
    He had the strength of ten men.‎
  3. The strongest part of something; that on which confidence or reliance is based.
  4. A positive attribute.
    We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.‎
  5. (obsolete) A strong place; a stronghold.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
    • Milton
      He thought
      This inaccessible high strength to have seiz'd.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

strength ‎(third-person singular simple present strengths, present participle strengthing, simple past and past participle strengthed)

  1. (obsolete) To give strength to; to strengthen. [12th-17th c.]
    • 1395, John Wycliffe, Bible, Job IV:
      Lo! thou hast tauȝt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: hardly · wind · drew · #595: strength · opinion · according · walked

Etymology

From Middle English strengthe, from Old English strengþu ‎(“strength”), from Proto-Germanic *strangiþō ‎(“strongness; strength”), equivalent to strong +‎ -th. Cognate with Dutch strengte ‎(“strength”), German Low German Strengde, Strengte ‎(“harshness; rigidity; strictness; severity”). Written strenght in the 1534 Tyndale English translation of the Bible.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stɹɛŋ(k)θ/, /stɹɛnθ/
  • (US) IPA(key): /stɹɛŋ(k)θ/, /stɹɛnθ/, /stɹeɪŋ(k)θ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛŋθ, -ɛnθ

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