Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Strain

Strain

,
Noun.
[See
Strene
.]
1.
Race; stock; generation; descent; family.
He is of a noble
strain
.
Shakespeare
With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another
strain
, gives vigor and fertility to the offspring.
Darwin.
2.
Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the
strain
of nation.
Tillotson.
3.
Rank; a sort.
“The common strain.”
Dryden.

Strain

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Strained
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Straining
.]
[OF.
estraindre
,
estreindre
, F.
étreindre
, L.
stringere
to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Gr. [GREEK] a halter, [GREEK] that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to E.
strike
. Cf.
Strangle
,
Strike
,
Constrain
,
District
,
Strait
,
Adj.
Stress
,
Strict
,
Stringent
.]
1.
To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch;
as, to
strain
a rope; to
strain
the shrouds of a ship; to
strain
the cords of a musical instrument
.
“To strain his fetters with a stricter care.”
Dryden.
2.
(Mech.)
To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.
3.
To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously.
He sweats,
Strains
his young nerves.
Shakespeare
They
strain
their warbling throats
To welcome in the spring.
Dryden.
4.
To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning;
as, to
strain
the law in order to convict an accused person
.
There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to
strain
it.
Swift.
5.
To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force;
as, the gale
strained
the timbers of the ship
.
6.
To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain;
as, to
strain
a horse by overloading; to
strain
the wrist; to
strain
a muscle
.
Prudes decayed about may track,
Strain
their necks with looking back.
Swift.
7.
To squeeze; to press closely.
Evander with a close embrace
Strained
his departing friend.
Dryden.
8.
To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.
He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth
Is forced and
strained
.
Denham.
The quality of mercy is not
strained
.
Shakespeare
9.
To urge with importunity; to press;
as, to
strain
a petition or invitation
.
Note, if your lady
strain
his entertainment.
Shakespeare
10.
To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter;
as, to
strain
milk through cloth
.
To strain a point
,
to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one’s own feelings.
–
To strain courtesy
,
to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; – often used ironically.
Shak.

Strain

(strān)
,
Verb.
I.
1.
To make violent efforts.
“Straining with too weak a wing.”
Pope.
To build his fortune I will
strain
a little.
Shakespeare
2.
To percolate; to be filtered;
as, water
straining
through a sandy soil
.

Strain

,
Noun.
1.
The act of straining, or the state of being strained.
Specifically: –
(a)
A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles;
as, he lifted the weight with a
strain
; the
strain
upon a ship's rigging in a gale;
also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain.
Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less
strain
and less ostentation.
Landor.
Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a
strain
.
Sir W. Temple.
(b)
(Mech. Physics)
A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress.
Rankine.
2.
(Mus.)
A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement.
Their heavenly harps a lower
strain
began.
Dryden.
3.
Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct;
as, he spoke in a noble
strain
; there was a
strain
of woe in his story; a
strain
of trickery appears in his career
.
“A strain of gallantry.”
Sir W. Scott.
Such take too high a
strain
at first.
Bacon.
The genius and
strain
of the book of Proverbs.
Tillotson.
It [Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains
Nothing but sound and honest gospel
strains
.
Bunyan.
4.
Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st
Strain
.
Because heretics have a
strain
of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements.
Hayward.

Webster 1828 Edition

Strain

STRAIN

,
Verb.
T.
[L. This word retains its original signification, to stretch.]
1.
To stretch; to draw with force; to extend with great effort; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the chords of an instrument.
2.
To cause to draw with force, or with excess of exertion; to injure by pressing with too much effort. He strained this horses or his oxen by overloading them.
3.
To stretch violently or by violent exertion; as, to strain the arm or the muscles.
4.
To put to the utmost strength. Men in desperate cases will strain themselves for relief.
5.
To press or cause to pass through some porous substance; to purify or separate from extraneous matter by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk. Water may be stained through sand.
6.
To sprain; to injure by drawing or stretching.
Prudes decayd about may tack, strain their necks with looking back.
7.
To make tighter; to cause to bind closer.
To strain his fetters with a stricter care.
8.
To force; to constrain; to make uneasy or unnatural.
His mirth is forced and strained.

STRAIN

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To make violent efforts.
To build his fortune I will strain a little.
Straining with too weak a wing.
2.
To be filtered. Water straining through sand becomes pure.

STRAIN

,
Noun.
1.
A violent effort; a stretching or exertion of the limbs or muscles, or of any thing else.
2.
An injury by excessive exertion, drawing or stretching.
3.
Style; continued manner of speaking or writing; as the genius and strain of the book of Proverbs. So we say, poetic strains, lofty strains.
4.
Song; note; sound; or a particular part of a tune.
Their heavenly harps a lower strain began.
5.
Turn; tendency; inborn disposition.
Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements.
6.
Manner of speech or action.
Such take too high a strain at first.
7.
Race; generation; descent.
He is of a noble strain. [Not in use.]
8.
Hereditary disposition.
Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which propagated, spoil the strain of a nation. [Not in use.]
9.
Rank; character. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

strain

strain

See also: străin

English

Noun

strain ‎(plural strains)

  1. (obsolete) Treasure.
  2. (obsolete) The blood-vessel in the yolk of an egg.
  3. (archaic) Race; lineage, pedigree.
    • Shakespeare
      He is of a noble strain.
    • Darwin
      With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigour and fertility to the offspring.
  4. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
    There is a strain of madness in her family.
    • Tillotson
      Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation.
  5. A tendency or disposition.
  6. (literary) Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style
  7. (biology) A particular breed or race of animal, microbe etc.
    They say this year's flu virus is a particularly virulent strain.
  8. (music) A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement.
  9. (rare) A kind or sort (of person etc.).
    • Dryden
      the common strain
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:strain.
Translations
Related terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English strenen ‎(“to beget, father, procreate”), from Old English strēonan ‎(“to beget, generate, gain, acquire”).

Verb

strain ‎(third-person singular simple present strains, present participle straining, simple past and past participle strained)

  1. (obsolete) To beget, generate (of light), engender, copulate (both of animals and humans), lie with, be born, come into the world.
    A man straineth, liveth, then dieth.‎
    Man, look at that cat straining that kitty.‎
    The sun straineth light.‎ (approx.1225, Homily on the Creed in Cambridge)
    A wife he nam; a son on her he strained.‎ (circa 1275, Layamon, The Brut)
    He shall strain on her a swith selely son.‎ (circa 1275, Layamon, The Brut)
    Eadie is his spouse, whose maid-hood is unwemmed (unviolated), when he, on her, straineth.‎ (circa1225, Hali Meidenhad - Holy Maiden-Hood)
    Our Drighten sent his high angel Gabriel to ..Zachariah.. to say that he should strain a holy child and clepe it John.‎ (approx.1225, Homilies in Cambridge)
    Our healand was strained of the heavenly father ere then that heaven or earth shapen (formed) were.‎ (approx.1225, Homilies in Cambridge)
    Naked they gan; nis there none of other agramed; ne for their nakedhood ashamed; without lust of sin they strain.‎
    Thy wife is thine alone, only thou mayest strain on her; no other man may strain on thy wife ne mayest thou strain on a wife of another.‎
    Sir, as I have a soul, she is an angel; our king has all the Indies in his arms, And more, and richer, when he strains that lady. I cannot blame his conscience.‎ (Shakespeare)

References

Etymology 3

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

Verb

strain ‎(third-person singular simple present strains, present participle straining, simple past and past participle strained)

  1. (obsolete) To hold tightly, to clasp.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.ii:
      So hauing said, her twixt her armes twaine / She straightly straynd, and colled tenderly [...].
    • Dryden
      Evander with a close embrace / Strained his departing friend.
  2. To apply a force or forces to by stretching out.
    to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship
    Relations between the United States and Guatemala traditionally have been close, although at times strained by human rights and civil/military issues.
  3. To damage by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force.
    The gale strained the timbers of the ship.
  4. To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as when bending a beam.
  5. To exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch (one's senses, faculties etc.) beyond what is normal or comfortable.
    Sitting in back, I strained to hear the speaker.
    • Shakespeare
      To build his fortune I will strain a little.
    • Shakespeare
      He sweats, / Strains his young nerves.
    • Dryden
      They strain their warbling throats / To welcome in the spring.
    • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
      Thus my plight was evil indeed, for I had nothing now to burn to give me light, and knew that 'twas no use setting to grout till I could see to go about it. Moreover, the darkness was of that black kind that is never found beneath the open sky, no, not even on the darkest night, but lurks in close and covered places and strains the eyes in trying to see into it.
  6. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in terms of intent or meaning.
    to strain the law in order to convict an accused person
    • Jonathan Swift
      There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it.
  7. (transitive) To separate solid from liquid by passing through a strainer or colander
  8. (intransitive) To percolate; to be filtered.
    water straining through a sandy soil
  9. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain.
    • Denham
      He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth / Is forced and strained.
    • Shakespeare
      The quality of mercy is not strained.
  10. To urge with importunity; to press.
    to strain a petition or invitation
    • Shakespeare
      Note, if your lady strain his entertainment.
Translations

Noun

strain ‎(countable and uncountable, plural strains)

  1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained.
    • 2013 September-October, Michael Sivak, “Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply?”, in American Scientist:
      Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent, […] . This trend will put additional strain not only on global energy resources but also on the environmental prospects of a warming planet.
  2. A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles.
    he jumped up with a strain;   the strain upon the sailboat's rigging‎
  3. An injury resulting from violent effort; a sprain.
    • 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3-0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
      Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between Carroll's double as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain that puts a serious question mark over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.
  4. (uncountable, engineering) A dimensionless measure of object deformation either referring to engineering strain or true strain.
  5. (obsolete) The track of a deer.
    • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 145:
      When they have shot a Deere by land, they follow him like bloud-hounds by the bloud, and straine, and oftentimes so take them.
Derived terms

Translations

Related terms

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English streen, strene, streon, istreon ‎(“race, stock, generation”), from Old English strēon, ġestrēon ‎(“gain, wealth”), 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”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stɹeɪ̯n/
  • Rhymes: -eɪn

Similar Results