Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Stroke

Stroke

,
obs.
imp.
of
Strike
.
Struck.

Stroke

,
Noun.
[OE.
strok
,
strook
,
strak
, fr.
striken
. See
Strike
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
The act of striking; a blow; a hit; a knock; esp., a violent or hostile attack made with the arm or hand, or with an instrument or weapon.
His hand fetcheth a
stroke
with the ax to cut down the tree.
Deut. xix. 5.
A fool’s lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for
strokes
.
Prov. xviii. 6.
He entered and won the whole kingdom of Naples without striking a
stroke
.
Bacon.
2.
The result of effect of a striking; injury or affliction; soreness.
In the day that Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the
stroke
of their wound.
Isa. xxx. 26.
3.
The striking of the clock to tell the hour.
Well, but what's o'clock?
- Upon the
stroke
of ten. – Well, let is strike.
Shakespeare
4.
A gentle, caressing touch or movement upon something; a stroking.
Dryden.
5.
A mark or dash in writing or printing; a line; the touch of a pen or pencil;
as, an up
stroke
; a firm
stroke
.
O, lasting as those colors may they shine,
Free as thy
stroke
, yet faultless as thy line.
Pope.
6.
Hence, by extension, an addition or amandment to a written composition; a touch;
as, to give some finishing
strokes
to an essay
.
Addison.
7.
A sudden attack of disease; especially, a fatal attack; a severe disaster; any affliction or calamity, especially a sudden one;
as, a
stroke
of apoplexy; the
stroke
of death
.
At this one
stroke
the man looked dead in law.
Harte.
8.
A throb or beat, as of the heart.
Tennyson.
9.
One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished;
as, the
stroke
of a bird's wing in flying, or an oar in rowing, of a skater, swimmer, etc.
; also:
(Rowing)
(a)
The rate of succession of stroke;
as, a quick
stroke
.
(b)
The oar nearest the stern of a boat, by which the other oars are guided; – called also
stroke oar
.
(c)
The rower who pulls the stroke oar; the strokesman.
10.
A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done, produced, or accomplished; also, something done or accomplished by such an effort;
as, a
stroke
of genius; a
stroke
of business; a master
stroke
of policy.
11.
(Mach.)
The movement, in either direction, of the piston plunger, piston rod, crosshead, etc., as of a steam engine or a pump, in which these parts have a reciprocating motion;
as, the forward
stroke
of a piston
; also, the entire distance passed through, as by a piston, in such a movement;
as, the piston is at half
stroke
.
☞ The respective strokes are distinguished as up and down strokes, outward and inward strokes, forward and back strokes, the forward stroke in stationary steam engines being toward the crosshead, but in locomotives toward the front of the vehicle.
12.
Power; influence.
[Obs.]
“Where money beareth [hath] all the stroke.”
Robynson (More's Utopia).
He has a great
stroke
with the reader.
Dryden.
13.
Appetite.
[Obs.]
Swift.
To keep stroke
,
to make strokes in unison.
The oars where silver,
Which to the tune of flutes
kept stroke
.
Shakespeare

Stroke

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Strokeed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Strokeing
.]
[OE.
stroken
,
straken
, AS.
strācian
, fr.
strīcan
to go over, pass. See
Strike
,
Verb.
T.
, and cf.
Straggle
.]
1.
To strike.
[Obs.]
Ye mote with the plat sword again
Stroken
him in the wound, and it will close.
Chaucer.
2.
To rib gently in one direction; especially, to pass the hand gently over by way of expressing kindness or tenderness; to caress; to soothe.
He dried the falling drops, and, yet more kind,
He
stroked
her cheeks.
Dryden.
3.
To make smooth by rubbing.
Longfellow.
4.
(Masonry)
To give a finely fluted surface to.
5.
To row the stroke oar of;
as, to
stroke
a boat
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stroke

STROKE

, STROOK, for struck.

Definition 2024

stroke

stroke

English

Alternative forms

  • stroak (obsolete)

Noun

stroke ‎(plural strokes)

  1. An act of stroking (moving one's hand over a surface).
    She gave the cat a stroke.‎
  2. A blow or hit.
    a stroke on the chin‎
    • Bible, Deuteronomy xix. 5
      His hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree.
    • Francis Bacon
      He entered and won the whole kingdom of Naples without striking a stroke.
  3. A single movement with a tool.
    1. (golf) A single act of striking at the ball with a club.
    2. (tennis) The hitting of a ball with a racket, or the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.
    3. (rowing) The movement of an oar or paddle through water, either the pull which actually propels the vessel or a single entire cycle of movement including the pull.
    4. (cricket) The action of hitting the ball with the bat; a shot.
    5. A thrust of a piston.
  4. One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.
    the stroke of a bird's wing in flying, or of an oar in rowing
    the stroke of a skater, swimmer, etc.
  5. A powerful or sudden effort by which something is done, produced, or accomplished; also, something done or accomplished by such an effort.
    a stroke of genius; a stroke of business; a master stroke of policy
  6. A line drawn with a pen or other writing implement, particularly:
    1. (chiefly Britain) (Britain, typography) The slash, /.
    2. (Unicode, typography) The formal name of the individual horizontal strikethroughs (as in A̶ and A̵).
    3. (linguistics) A line of a Chinese, Japanese or Korean character.
  7. The time when a clock strikes.
    on the stroke of midnight‎
    • 2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in the Telegraph:
      Already guarding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Blackpool inched further ahead when Stephen Dobbie scored from an acute angle on the stroke of half-time. The game appeared to be completely beyond Birmingham’s reach three minutes into the second period when Matt Phillips reacted quickly to bundle the ball past Colin Doyle and off a post.
  8. (swimming) A style, a single movement within a style.
    butterfly stroke‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.
  9. (medicine) The loss of brain function arising when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted.
  10. (obsolete) A sudden attack of any disease, especially when fatal; any sudden, severe affliction or calamity.
    a stroke of apoplexy; the stroke of death
    • Harte
      At this one stroke the man looked dead in law.
  11. (rowing) The rower who is nearest the stern of the boat.
  12. (rowing) The oar nearest the stern of a boat, by which the other oars are guided.
  13. (professional wrestling) Backstage influence.
  14. (squash (sport)) A point awarded to a player in case of interference or obstruction by the opponent.
  15. (sciences) An individual discharge of lightning.
    A flash of lightning may be made up of several strokes. If they are separated by enough time for the eye to distinguish them, the lightning will appear to flicker.
  16. (obsolete) The result or effect of a striking; injury or affliction; soreness.
    • Bible, Isa. xxx. 26
      in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound
  17. An addition or amendment to a written composition; a touch.
    to give some finishing strokes to an essay
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)
  18. A throb or beat, as of the heart.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Tennyson to this entry?)
  19. (obsolete) Power; influence.
    • Robynson (More's Utopia)
      where money beareth all the stroke
    • Dryden
      He has a great stroke with the reader.
  20. (obsolete) appetite
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English stroken, straken, from Old English strācian ‎(“to stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *straikōną ‎(“to stroke, caress”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian strookje ‎(“to stroke; caress”), West Frisian streakje ‎(“to stroke; caress”), German Low German straken, strieken, strakeln, striekeln ‎(“to stroke; caress; fondle”), German streicheln ‎(“to stroke, fondle”).

Verb

stroke ‎(third-person singular simple present strokes, present participle stroking, simple past and past participle stroked)

  1. (transitive) To move one's hand or an object (such as a broom) along (a surface) in one direction.
    • Dryden
      He dried the falling drops, and, yet more kind, / He stroked her cheeks.
  2. (transitive, cricket) To hit the ball with the bat in a flowing motion.
  3. (masonry) To give a finely fluted surface to.
  4. (transitive) To row the stroke oar of.
    to stroke a boat
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowing from English stroke.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈstroːk]
  • Hyphenation: stroke

Noun

stroke ‎(uncountable)

  1. (medicine) stroke (loss of brain function arising when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly interrupted)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative stroke stroke-ok
accusative stroke-ot stroke-okat
dative stroke-nak stroke-oknak
instrumental stroke-kal stroke-okkal
causal-final stroke-ért stroke-okért
translative stroke-ká stroke-okká
terminative stroke-ig stroke-okig
essive-formal stroke-ként stroke-okként
essive-modal — —
inessive stroke-ban stroke-okban
superessive stroke-on stroke-okon
adessive stroke-nál stroke-oknál
illative stroke-ba stroke-okba
sublative stroke-ra stroke-okra
allative stroke-hoz stroke-okhoz
elative stroke-ból stroke-okból
delative stroke-ról stroke-okról
ablative stroke-tól stroke-októl
Possessive forms of stroke
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. stroke-om stroke-jaim
2nd person sing. stroke-od stroke-jaid
3rd person sing. stroke-ja stroke-jai
1st person plural stroke-unk stroke-jaink
2nd person plural stroke-otok stroke-jaitok
3rd person plural stroke-juk stroke-jaik

References

  1. ↑ Pusztai Ferenc, Magyar értelmező kéziszótár. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 2003, ISBN 963 05 7874 3

Etymology

From Middle English *stroak, strok, strak, from Old English *strāc ‎(“stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *straikaz ‎(“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‎(“stroke; to strike”). Cognate with Scots strak, strake, straik ‎(“stroke, blow”), Middle Low German strēk ‎(“stroke, trick, prank”), German Streich ‎(“stroke”). In its British sense as a name for the slash ⟨ / ⟩, a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique originally employed in telegraphy.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /stɹəʊk/
  • (US) enPR: strōk, IPA(key): /stɹoʊk/

Similar Results