▪ I. stroke, n.1
(strəʊk)
Forms: α. 3–4 stroc, 4–7 strok, 4–5 strook, 5–8 strooke, 6 strocke, 6–7 stroake, 6–8 strock, 7–8 stroak, 9 dial. strauk, 4– stroke. β. Sc. and north. 4–6 strak, 4–8 strake, Sc. 5–9 straik, 6 strack, strek, strayk, pl. strax.
[ME. (late 13th c.) strōk, north. strāk, prob. repr. an unrecorded OE. *strác = (M)LG. strêk, Du. streek masc., MHG., mod.G. streich masc.:—OTeut. *straiko-z, f. *straik- ablaut-var. of *strī̆k-: see strike v.]
1. An act of striking; a blow given or received. a. A blow with the hand or a weapon (occas. with the paw of an animal, the claws or beak of a bird, etc.) inflicted on or aimed at a living being. Sometimes (now rarely) applied to the thrust of a pointed weapon.
to † smite, strike a stroke: see those verbs. † to come to strokes = to come to blows. † within one's stroke; within reach of one's weapon.
| α 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4281 Sire wawein him biturnde & an stroc him ȝef, & al þat heued & þe breste al clanliche him to-clef. a 1320 Sir Tristr. 2335 Tvelue fete was þe wand Þat vrgan wald wiþ play, His strok may no man stand. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 409 And so þer wordli liif, þat lettiþ sich service, is moche worse þanne a strooke upon þe cheke wiþ an hand. 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 259 They foyned with her speres eygrely, theyr strokes and foynes were grete. 1484 ― Fables of Toge viii, Fro wordes they came to strokes and cratchyng with naylys. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 213 But Arthur put his shelde before hym, and the lyons stroke dashte theron so sore, that Arthur was all astonyed with the stroke. a 1533 ― Huon lv. 188 He slewe and bette downe..all that came within his stroke. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 29 Their mightie strokes their haberieons dismayld. 1625 Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 411 An enditement that one strucke I.S. in one countie, of which stroke hee died in another Countie, is no good enditement. 1696 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 86 If your Adversary offers to answer your stroak, and go to the Parade, then your best way is [etc.]. 1741 in Scott. Hist. Rev. (1905) Apr. 303 The prisoner struck him and blooded him with the strock. 1760–72 Brooke Fool of Qual. (1792) II. 137 Flying instantly at Harry, he gave him a smart stroke on the left cheek. 1806 Wordsw. Horn of Egremont Castle 43 And where'er their strokes alighted, There the Saracens were tamed. 1829 Scott Anne of G. Note A, In such parts of that country [Germany] as retain the old custom of execution by stroke of sword. 1849 James Woodman I. iii. 53 He suddenly drew his sword from the sheath, and aimed a rapid and furious stroke at the woodman's head. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xxii, [He] remained obstinately silent under all the strokes from the knotted cord. 1889 Baden-Powell Pigsticking 186 With the jobbing spear the arm should not be raised from the shoulder to deliver the stroke. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 12428 Þe maister..Gaf iesu wit hand a strak. 13.. Gosp. Nicod. 419 Ane wane of fourty strakes with ȝerde he sal be smeten. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 79 Saynt Benett strake þis yong monk with a wand..& so for ferd of þis strake of Saynt Benett þis fende..durst nevur after com & feche hym furthe. 1572–3 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 205 The said Stevin denyit the stryking of the said Jonet as is libellit, or that he offerit ony straikis to hir. 1607 Sel. Rec. Regality Melrose (S.H.S.) I. 33 Secundlie, gif thair be straikis without blude, ten pundis. 1635 Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. Ser. ii. VI. 5 Johne..came..with ane pycked suord stalffe in his hand and.. gave her manie bauch and blae straiks upon the head [etc.]. 1818 Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck I. iii. 42, I wheeled just round in a moment, sir, and drew a desperate straik at the foremost [pursuer]. 1820 Scott Monast. xxvi, It was a blithe time in Wight Wallace's day..when the pock-puddings gat naething here but hard straiks and bloody crowns. |
¶ stroke of grace:
Eng. rendering of
coup de grâce (
coup n.3 5).
rare.
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. i, The victim having once got his stroke-of-grace. |
† b. pl. = ‘Stripes’, blows as a punishment.
Obs.| α 1388 Wyclif Luke xii. 48 He that knew not, and dide worthi thingis of strokis, schal be betun with fewe. 1593 Tell-troth's N.Y. Gift (1876) 5 A lesson learned with stroakes, staies with the scholler. 1699 Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. Wks. 1720 II. 531 No Person was punished by Bonds, Strokes, or Death, without the Judgment..of the Druids. |
| β 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. i. x. (1884) 59, I sall..punis thair wyckidnes with a wand, and thair synnis with strakis. |
c. A blow struck at an inanimate object;
e.g. with a hammer, axe, etc.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 3687 For no man at the firste stroke Ne may not felle doun an oke. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxx. 78 Withouten strook of hamour ne may none impression be brought in to gold. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 26 With many strokes is an oke ouerthrowen. 1681 J. Flavel Meth. Grace Ep. Ded. 9 A true diamond will endure the smartest stroke of the hammer, but a false one will fly. 1697 Dryden æneis viii. 561 The Cyclops here their heavy Hammers deal; Loud Strokes, and hissings of tormented Steel Are heard around. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 25 Carry with your mallet an even and perpendicular stroke. 1799 Wordsw. Lucy Gray 26 With many a wanton stroke Her feet disperse the powdery snow. 1833 J. Davidson Brit. & Rom. Rem. Axminster 82 A stroke of his pickaxe broke an urn which contained a number of Roman coins. 1842 Macaulay Horatius vii, But now no stroke of woodman Is heard by Auser's rill. 1902 ‘Violet Jacob’ Sheep-Stealers xii, Rhys..listened to the strokes of the pickaxe among the gooseberry bushes. |
| β 1513 Douglas æneis xi. iii. 82 The heich eschis..Down weltit ar with mony granand strakis. |
d. In various games: An act of striking the ball; a hit or an attempted hit; in some games (
e.g. tennis), a hit that satisfies certain conditions. Also, manner of striking.
| α 1744 J. Love Cricket iii. 70 The strokes re-echo o'er the spacious ground. 1778 Hoyle Games 205 (Tennis) The lowest Odds given is a Bisque.., and is the Liberty of scoring a Stroke whenever the Player, who receives Advantage, chooses. 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life iii. §22 Missing your cue at every stroke. 1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 767/2 (Golf) In Medal playing a ball may, under a penalty of two strokes, be lifted out of a difficulty of any description. 1884 Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 104 Cantley has a good stroke off his legs. 1896 W. Park Jr. Game of Golf 270 Stroke, any movement of the club which is intended to strike the ball. 1897 Ranjitsinhji Cricket 159 It is almost impossible to score off a genuine half-cock stroke. It is a mistake to play the stroke unless forced to do so. 1905 H. Vardon Compl. Golfer 251 A player whose handicap was several strokes removed from scratch. |
| β 1811 H. Macneill Bygane Times 15 Is this the gate to gowf the ba', Whan by the straik ye're sure to fa'? |
† e. The mark left by a blow; a bruise, wound, cut.
Obs.| 14.. A.B.C. Poem 28 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 272 With rede wondis & strokis blo He was dryue fro top to þe too. 1661 J. Childrey Brit. Baconica 143 One might see the stroaks of the Axe upon them. 1677 Lond. Gaz. No. 1204/4 Stolen.., a black Gelding six years old, with a large white snip on the top of the Nose,..and had formerly a stroke upon the near Leg behind. 1686 R. Blome Gentl. Recr. ii. 25/1 For a Bite, or Stroak in the [Horse's] Eye. 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3723/4 His Mane half shorn, has had a Stroke in his right Eye. |
† f. Discharge of an engine of war; a shot of a bow or gun; the impact of a missile.
Obs.| α c 1400 Rom. Rose 6278 Withouten stroke it mot be take Of trepeget or mangonel. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. 3 Now hath he schote an arowe at the ymage; And for þat he failith of his strook, he makith moch sorowe. c 1482 J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes (1870) ¶10 [They] sayd, that they herde neuer strokes of bombardes so grete and so horryble as thylk were. 1544 Betham Precepts War ii. xlii. K viij b, There is no breste plate, whyche is able to wythstand, and holde owte the stroke of the arrowes. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 313 The Third [governor],..being kill'd with the stroke of a Stone, clearly made an end of his Government. 1678 R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 442 The Stroak of an Arrow convinc'd Alexander, that he was not the Son of Jupiter. 1695 Sibbald Autobiog. (1834) 128 When the town was taken by storme my Father was hurt with a strock given him by a footman with a carabin. 1771 Ann. Reg., Nat. Hist. 91/2, The shot entered an inch above his eye, the animal fell under the stroke, and died almost instantly. |
| β 1579–80 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 264 He wes sumquhat recoverit of his formar hurt ressavit be the strek of the first pistolett. |
† g. Point of impact; place hit by a missile.
| c 1450 Mirk's Festial 42 Þen anothyr smot aftyr, and hut yn þe same stroke. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 70 Observe how much the last stroke of the Shot is above the Mark. |
h. † Shock or forcible impact of a moving body (
obs.); impact or incidence of moving particles, light, etc. (now
rare).
| 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) F viij, With the stroke of metyng, the trumpettour was ouerthrawen with his hors. 1557 T. Phaer æneid vii. (1558) V ij b, Full like a rocke in seas,..Whom strokes of water strikes,.. and beates about. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. ii. 5 Many stroaks, which our eyes, eares, and other organs receive from externall bodies. 1660 Stanley Hist. Philos. xi. Democr. ix. §8 (1687) 765/1 All Sensation is caused by a touch or stroak upon the Organ. 1661 Boyle Cert. Physiol. Ess. (1669) 184 When the igneous Corpuscles have by their numerous and brisk strokes upon the vessel communicated by its means their agitation to the enclosed powder. 1681–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 116 Impressions..such, as did as fully satisfy them that they were from God, as the Strokes of the Sun-beams on our Eyes do us that it is Day at Noon. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vi. 42 The backs of the ridges..meet the direct stroke of the solar rays. |
2. Phrases.
† a. without (any) stroke (of sword): without fighting. Also
without fighting a stroke.
(to die) without stroke: otherwise than by violence.
Obs. For
without striking a stroke,
without stroke stricken, see
strike v. 32.
| α c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxv. 260 Thanne the Cristene men wenten..and hire enemyes enclosed and confounded in Derknesse, with outen ony strok. c 1460 Contn. Brut 491 Many other townes in Normandie gafe þeme ouer with-out stroke or siege. Ibid. 507 At Bedford, on Ashtwesday, wer iij men murthred without strok, by falling doun of a steir. 1584 R. Birrel Diary (1798) 23 Bot quhen he came, they yat ver vithin fled, sua yat hes Maiestie entred and tooke ye toune and castell vithout stroke of suord. 1645 R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (Bannatyne Club) II. 262 A great many honest burgesses were killed,..many were bursten in the flight, and dyed without stroak. 1670 Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 54 Suetonius writes that Claudius found heer no resistance, and that all was done without stroke: but this seems not probable. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 159 This Murteza Basha, without stroke of Sword made himself master of Bassora. 1721 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 266 We marched away without fighting a stroke. |
| β 1533 Bellenden Livy (S.T.S.) II. 136 Fra þe wache was slane þe remanent war sone opprest and randerit but ony straik. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 213 Tha tynt the feild but straik of sword or knyfe. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 88 Stout Oliver was without strack tackin, fleing full manfully. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) I. 154 The lord Aboyne..seeing their collours upon the Brig, takes the flight shamefully but straik of sword or any other kind of vassalage. |
† b. stroke of battle: active warfare.
Obs.| 1525 Wolsey in St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 403 Putting theym unto the wors, not by stroke of batail..but with consumyng of theym by long tract of tyme. |
c. stroke and strife (altered from earlier
strot or
sturt and strife): lawless violence.
| c 1510 Lyt. Geste Robin Hood 181 Or elles thou hast ben a sory housband And leued in stroke and stryfe. |
† d. the first stroke: the beginning of a war.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 687 At the first straik with thaim he had nocht beyne. 1677 Sir R. Southwell in Essex Papers (Camden) II. 111, I cannot expect anything but ruin the very first stroke of the warr. |
e. at one stroke,
at a stroke: with a single blow;
fig., all at once.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. v. pr. vi. (1868) 178 But he ay dwellynge comiþ byforn and enbraceþ at o strook [L. uno ictu] alle þi mutaciouns. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 60 And at a straik the formast has he slayne. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Fly xci. 102 The maide of the house with her brome: at a strake, Swepth downe those copwebs. 1709 T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 16 Omnipotent Power might have created the whole World at one stroke, by an Imperious Fiat. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 173 At one stroke he had lost all his old friends. 1884 Bosanquet Lotze's Logic 236 It is not always possible to prove at one stroke that a proposition T holds good for all quantities, integral and fractional, positive and negative, [etc.]. |
3. fig. a. With conscious metaphor: An act which causes pain, injury, or death; often, an act of divine chastisement or vengeance.
| α 1340 Ayenb. 34 Efter alle þise zorȝuolle poyns of sleuþe him yefþ þe dyeuel þane strok dyadlych. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2029 Whan þat the colde stroke of deth My lyfe hath quenched, & me byraft my breth. 1484 Caxton Fables of Avian xiii, Werse is the stroke of a tonge than the stroke of a spere. c 1520 Skelton Magnif. 1882 The Stroke of God, Aduersyte, I hyght. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. King & No K. i. i, Sheele make you shrinke as I did, with a stroke But of her eye Tigranes. 1665 J. North in Extr. St. Papers rel. Friends Ser. iii. (1912) 234 By which false verdict the Murderer hath Escaped the stroke of Justice hitherto. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 210 So judg'd he Man,..And th' instant stroke of Death denounc't that day Remov'd farr off. 1689 Extracts Rec. Convention Royal Burghs Scot. (1880) IV. 100 By one strock of ane act of parliament..we are outterly ruined in our trade. 1753 J. Collier Art Torment. i. i. 37 All the pleasure of Tormenting is lost, as soon as your subject is become insensible of your strokes. 178. Burns Highland Lassie vi, Till the mortal stroke shall lay me low. 1858 Rawlinson tr. Herodotus ii. cxxix. II. 208 Mycerinus..was acting as I have described, when the stroke of calamity fell on him. 1860 Sala Baddington Peerage I. xviii. 306 Not to be passed over in its portents any more than the first stroke of disease which attacks thrice before it kills. |
| β 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 76 And thairefter to bide the straik of Law. 1590 R. Bruce Serm. Sacram. iv. N 8, Therefore knawledge must go before the straik of the conscience. Thy hart can neuer feele that to be euil, quhilk thy mynde knawis not to be euill. |
b. A calamitous event;
† a ‘blow’
to,
upon (a person, institution, etc.).
| a 1700 Evelyn Diary 15 Apr. 1686, I looke on this as a greate stroke to the poore Church of England. a 1709 J. Lister Autobiog. (1842) 50 On the Tuesday I laid him [sc. his son] in his grave at Kendall... I feared this sad stroke would break my wife's heart, but..she bore it with uncommon fortitude. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 238 The tragic death of his royal protector was a dreadful stroke..to Petitot. 1785 Mary Michel in A. C. Bower's Diaries & Corr. (1903) 25 The loss of an only son..must be a very severe stroke upon her. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxix, Tom's whole soul was filled with thoughts of eternity; and while he ministered around the lifeless clay, he did not once think that the sudden stroke had left him in hopeless slavery. |
† c. A hostile attack; an offensive movement in warfare.
Obs.| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 337 He safely resides within, invulnerable from Foreign Strokes, and reigns in this his Capital City. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 77 Yet were we wholly set upon pursuing the Stroke, and hoped that the night should prove rather more commodious and successful. 1777 Washington in W. Irving Life xcix. (1856) III. 806 A successful stroke on the Highlands. |
† d. to have,
bear,
carry,
strike a (great, etc.) stroke: to have an influential or controlling share in an enterprise or action, to have great influence.
to have,
bear,
carry,
strike the stroke: to prevail, rule, have authority; to be highest in excellence.
to give,
strike a good stroke: to contribute largely, go far
to effect some result.
Obs.| 1531 Tindale Expos. 1–3 S. John (1538) 83 An yf..we can fynde no shyfte, but that y⊇ byshop of Rome..must thus mocke vs, what a stroke thynke ye hath Satan amonge vs? [Cf. ante, Then the deuell hath a greate swynge amonge vs.] 1538 Bale Thre Lawes 1514 Such a fellawe was he as of that age had the stroke. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 168 All suche persones..as beare any rewle, stroke, or autoritee in the commonweale. 1549 Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 63 Thys byshoppe was a great man borne, and did beare such a stroke, that he was able to shoulder the Lord Protectour. 1564 Brief Exam. D iiij b, Which..loue, if it beare stroke among vs, we shall be able..to discomfyte the body..of Antichrist. a 1569 A. Kingsmill Comf. Afflict. (1585) B iij, Hee knewe that whatsoever befell him, God had a stroke in it. 1600 Holland Livy xxix. xxix. 731 This Mezetulus having gathered a powre of..paisants of the countrey (with whom he carried a great stroke). 1609 F. Sherwood in Lismore Papers Ser. ii. (1887) I. 134 The advise you wisht me to geiue him..gave a good stroke to perswade him. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle iv. (1613) I 2, Wife. Let him goe George, a shall not haue any countenance from vs, nor a good word from any i' th' Company, if I may strike stroke in't. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. ¶11 The vintage of Abiezer, that strake the stroake: yet the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim was not to be despised. 1612 T. Taylor Titus ii. 14 (1619) 532 It is verie hard to say, whether nature or religion giveth the stroke to their actions. 1622 in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1908) II. 17 Captaine Fitzharbert opposed the resolutione, but the Admiralls double voice carried the stroke. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. Ep. Ded. A 3, Opinion strikes a great stroake in the iudgements and affaires of men. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. xii. 338 That the salts of naturall bodies doe carry a powerfull stroake in the tincture and vernish of all things, we shall not deny. 1659 in Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 444 The Jesuits have too great a stroke amongst them. 1687 Burnet Contn. Reply to Varillas 41 They had the main stroak in our Parliaments. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. i. (1709) 246 We may plainly perceive, That the Prejudices of Education have a great Stroak in many of our Reasonings. 1702 Engl. Theophrastus 248 To stir up seditions and troubles the worst man commonly bears the stroke. 1731 T. Boston in Morrison Mem. iv. (1899) 34, I..could never fall into the good graces of those who had the stroke in settling parishes. |
† e. to come in the stroke: to be part of one's task.
Obs.| 1617 Hieron Penance for Sin xx. Wks. 1619 II. 287, I speake not this..by way of censuring..any mans course; but I note this, (it comming in the stroke) according to my Text, to worke care in mine owne heart [etc.]. |
† 4. Coinage, imprint of coin.
Sc. Obs.| 1449 Sc. Acts Jas. II (1814) II. 37/1 Of þe new strak to be maide & the cours þerof and of þe money þat now rynnis. 1493 Sc. Acts Jas. IV ibid. 233/1 Notwithstanding þe diuersitie of prentis of þe straikis of sundry cunȝeors. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 198 Vpone the thrid day of Julij the lordis..tuik all the quenis siluir weschell and struik siluir quhilk straik was the xxx schilling peice. 1600 Earl Gowrie's Conspir. A 3, His answere was, that so farre as hee could take leisure to see of them, that they seemed to bee forraine..strokes of coyne. |
5. a. A damaging or destructive discharge (of lightning).
| a 1542 Wyatt Poems, ‘The lively sparks’ 10 Muche lyke vnto the gyse Of one Istricken with dynt of lightening blynded with the stroke, erryng here & there. 1730 A. Gordon tr. Maffei's Amphith. (1735) 366 The Thunder, which..has broken..two large Pieces of the lowermost Stones;..by the Nature of the Stroke..it appears that the Direction of the Blow came from below upwards, [etc.]. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. iv, Mingled with shivers from the oak, Rent by the lightning's recent stroke. 1889 Science 11 Oct. 257 The attempt to obtain information regarding lightning-strokes..will result in a clearer understanding of the danger from these strokes to unprotected houses. |
† b. An electric shock.
Obs.| 1766 Ann. Reg., Chron. 71 After applying the electrical strokes to several parts of her body, and at length to her mouth, she soon recovered her speech. 1799 Ht. Lee Canterb. T. III. 95 An electric stroke could hardly have produced a more sudden effect on both his hearers than [etc.]. |
† c. A shock of earthquake.
Obs.| 1813 Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 308 Earthquakes are most frequent in volcanic districts, but the strokes are not the most violent in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes. |
6. An attack of disease.
a. An apoplectic or (now more usually) paralytic seizure. Formerly
† the stroke of God's hand.
| 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physic 25/2 An excellent Cinnamome water for the stroke of Gods hande. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 22 Nov. 1694, The Abp. of Canterbury, who a few days before had a paralytic stroke. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 11 He was seized with a stroke of apoplexy. 1780 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Lucy Porter 8 Apr., He has had a stroke, like that of an apoplexy. 1832 S. Warren Diary Physic. II. ii. 85 Our inestimable friend, Mr. E―, had a sudden stroke of the palsy this afternoon. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvii. IV. 97 Soon after he had risen from table, an apoplectic stroke deprived him of speech and sensation. 1861 Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne iii. xviii, Mr. Justice Hare's illness had turned out to be a stroke of paralysis. 1889 Gretton Memory's Harkback 316 In his later years he had a partial stroke, which drew the muscles of his cheek a little on one side. 1898 J. Hutchinson in Archives Surg. IX. 382 The popular distinction between a stroke and a fit was well illustrated by a hemiplegic patient who asserted, ‘I never had a fit; I never lost my senses; I only had a stroke’. 1905 People's Doctor 48 Apoplexy. This disease goes under quite a variety of names. The popular term is ‘stroke’; doctors speak of cerebral hemorrhage; [etc.]. |
† b. Falconry. A disease in the eyes of hawks:
= pin and web (
pin n. 11).
Obs.| 1575 Perf. Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 31 Pyn and Web, or Stroke. Pyn or Web or other dymnes by strokes &c. must be spedely loked unto. |
† c. A blight on wheat, honey-dew.
Obs.| 1750 W. Ellis Mod. Husb. II. i. 2 (E.D.S.) In the latter part of June,..green wheat is most liable to receive the stroke, as the farmer calls it; that is, the honey-dews. |
7. The striking of a clock; the sound produced by each striking of the clapper or hammer upon a bell, or on the striking part of a clock.
on or upon the stroke (of a specified hour): on the point of striking.
| 1436 Sc. Acts Jas. I (1814) II. 24/1 Þat na man in burghe be fundyn in tauernys..efter the straik of ix houris. a 1558 in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 129 Before the howre of ix of the cloke, at which time ther shalbe a bell to be towlde by the officers ther by xxti strokes. 1604 Marston Malcontent ii. iii. C 4 b, Piet. What houre ist? Celso. Vpon the stroake of twelue. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 700 The King hath a Bell, the strokes whereof sound such terror into the heart of the fearefull theefe, that [etc.]. c 1616 Fletcher Thierry & Theod. iii. i, His houres vpon the stroake. 1816 Gentl. Mag. Sept. 270/1 At Hatherleigh..a bell..announces, by distinct strokes, the number of the day of the month. 1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley ix. 137, I used to like its stroke when it brought the work-people flocking from their cottages. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xi, It is on the stroke of twelve now. 1858 Trollope Dr. Thorne xxx, He dressed himself hurriedly, for the dinner-bell was almost on the stroke as he entered the house. 1874 Burnand My Time xxiii. 211 Straining my ears to catch the very first stroke of the hour. 1897 R. N. Bain tr. Jókai's Pretty Michal xxxii. 251 At the stroke of two she was already in the shop below. 1908 J. R. Harris Side-Lights N.T. Research ii. 55 The person who first succeeds in drawing the water after the stroke of midnight will find it turn to gold and silver. |
† 8. a. A touch on a stringed instrument; manner of playing a musical instrument; hence, a tune, strain.
Obs.| 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus iii. i. O j, He can no more skille of the stroke of the harpe or lute, than a iay can. 1561 Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtier i. I ij b, Afterward the musitien chaunging the stroke and his maner of tune [Alexander] pacified himself againe. 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 61 Neither is there anie tune or stroke which may be sung or plaide on instruments, which hath not some poetical ditties framed according to the numbers thereof. 1600 Marston etc. Jack Drum's Entert. (1601) A 3, I had the best stroke, the sweetest touch, but now..I am falne from the Fidle. 1689 Ayres Lyric Poems (1906) 308 (To his Viol) Then to my soft and sweetest strokes I keep. 1721 A. Malcolm Treat. Mus. i. 18 The Notes of a Violin and all string'd Instruments that are struck with a Bow, whose Notes are made longer or shorter by Strokes of different lengths or Quickness of Motion. 1773 Barrington in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 261 Several nightingale strokes, or particular passages in the song of that bird. |
† b. Hunting. A call played on the horn.
Cf. strake n.4 Obs.| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 76/2 [Hunting-lesson blown on the Horn] The Stroaks to the Field, Ton-ton-tavern tone ton-tavern [etc.]. |
9. A pulsation, beat (of the heart, pulse).
Cf. 12 c.
| 1538 Elyot Dict., Pulsus..is more proprely the poulse or stroke that the arteries or beatyng vaines do make. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 183 The Blood's Momentum or Stroke. 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 525 Her pulse usually beating from 120 to 130 strokes in the minute. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 173 The pulse..changed its character from a short and small to a full soft stroke. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 716 Wroth, but all in awe, For twenty strokes of the blood,..Linger'd that other, staring after him. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 390 The impulse communicated to an aneurysmal sac is of course repeated at each stroke of the heart. |
10. a. A movement of beating time; a beat, measure; metrical ictus, rhythm. Now
rare or
Obs.| 1576 G. Baker tr. Gesner's Jewel of Health 198 Distyll first with so softe a fyre, that foure musicall strokes may be made betweene droppe and droppe falling. 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 62 The naturall course of most English verses seemeth to run vppon the olde Iambicke stroake. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 9 Phi. What is a stroke? Ma. It is a successiue motion of the hand, directing the quantitie of euery note & rest in the song, with equall measure..: this they make three folde, more, lesse, and proportionate. The More stroke they call, when the stroke comprehendeth the time of a Briefe. The lesse, when a time of a Semibriefe, and proportionate where it comprehendeth three Semibriefes. 1677 F. North Philos. Ess. Mus. 33 The due observance of time is gratefull for the same reason that I gave for the formality of a single Tune, because the subsequent strokes are measured by the memory of the former. 1891 J. C. Parsons Engl. Versif. 20 In iambic movement..the stroke or accent, which usually comes only on the last syllable, may, at times, come equally on the first syllable. |
† b. to keep stroke: to keep time.
Cf. 13 b.
Obs.| 16.. G. Percy in Purchas Pilgrims (1625) IV. 1687 When they were in their dance, they kept stroke with their feet iust one with another. |
11. a. In negative context: A minimum amount of work.
b. In later use: A large or considerable amount
of work, business, trade.
| a. 1568 Hist. Jacob & Esau v. vi, I wrought not a stroke this day but led Isaac. 1791 Bentham Panopt. 69 Without either punishment, or interest given him in the profits of his labour,..how could you have insured a man's doing a single stroke of work? a 1843 Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. (1851) IV. 359 This fellow..never would strike a stroke of work afterwards. 1867 W. H. Dixon New Amer. II. 322 ‘Work!’ said a stout young fellow in Tennessee..‘thank God, I have never done a stroke of work since I was born.’ |
| b. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 484 ¶4 The best Consolation that I can administer to those who cannot get into that Stroke of Business (as the Phrase is) which they deserve, is [etc.]. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v., A good stroke of business. 1838 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. ii. xvii. 248 They carry on a considerable of a fishery here, and do a great stroke in the timber business. 1841 Hartshorne Salop. Ant. Gloss., Stroke, an unusual quantity of labor performed in a certain time. 1842 Thackeray Fitz-Boodle's Prof. i, A trade doing a stroke of so many hogsheads a week. 1853 C. R. Read Austral. Gold Fields 14 A little further on I met the carpenter of the ship I came out from England in, two years before; he told me he was doing a rattling stroke. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown Oxf. iv, One of those who do a good stroke of the work of the country without getting much credit for it. 1884 Contemp. Rev. Apr. 579 The mileage run and the stroke of work performed. |
12. A movement like that of striking a blow.
a. A single movement of the legs in walking or running, of the wings in flying, etc.
| 1618 Baret Vineyard Horsem. i. 20 Further he must handle his legges neatly,..with an equall largenesse of his stroke carrying an apt proportion according to the slownes or swiftnes of his pace. a 1642 Suckling Goblins iv. (1646) 39 How she..danc'd a stroak in, and a stroak out, Like a young Fillet [? read Filly] training to a pace. 1704 F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 29 Take the Bearings of a Running Horse, that is, measure the Extent of his Stroaks. 1865 A. L. Gordon Poems, Ye Wearie Wayfarer ii. iv, I saw him shorten his horse's stroke As we splash'd through the marshy ground. 1869 Spencer Princ. Psychol. §91 (1870) I. 216 A gnat's wings make ten or fifteen thousand strokes per second. 1880 A. H. Swinton Insect Variety 175 In the pairing season..this music..is prolonged to ten or eleven strokes of the femora, lasting a quarter of a minute. |
b. In swimming, the combined movement of the limbs forming a single impulse of progression; also, any particular manner of effecting this, as the breast-stroke, side-stroke.
| c 1800 W. Hickey Mem. (1913) I. 158, I observed we were already too deep, asking the gunner whether he could swim, to which he answered: ‘No, Sir, not a stroke’. 1863 Kinglake Crimea II. 220 There are however some deeps which would force a man to swim a few strokes. 1902 Buchan Watcher by Threshold 314 He found deep water, and in two strokes was in the grip of the tide. |
c. A single complete movement in either direction of any piece of machinery having a reciprocating motion (
e.g., of a piston, piston-rod, etc.); also, the amplitude or length of such a movement.
| 1731 H. Beighton in Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 11 If instead of sixteen Forcers they worked only eight, the Stroke might be five Feet in each Forcer. 1741 in Sixth Rep. Dep. Kpr. Publ. Rec. App. ii. 120 A new pump, Engine or forcer for raising water with a perpendicular stroke. 1840 Mechanics' Mag. XXXIII. 157/1 A popular notion has for a considerable time past prevailed, that a long stroke engine is much superior to a short stroke engine. 1841 Whewell Mech. Engin. 185 The engine consumed 80 lbs. of coal per hour, working 18 strokes per minute. 1847 J. Bourne Catech. Steam Eng. 162 The engine should always be made to work full stroke. 1869 C. Knight Mechanician 109 The stroke of a slide-valve is the length of the path along which the valve moves. The stroke of a piston is the length of its travel or path. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail i. ii, The saw leaped back and forth a few strokes more. |
13. Rowing.
a. A single pull of the oar.
| 1583 H. Howard Defensative L iij b, Barges which are forced by the strength of oares, haue a kinde of gate or swinge when the stroke dooth cease. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 40 The Galley-slaves..made her scoure little lesse than her full length betweene one stroake and the other. 1753 J. Collier Art Torment. iii. 221 You may scream at every stroke of the oar. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xiii, So that they might dash on board of her with a few strokes of the oars. |
† b. to keep stroke: to keep time in rowing.
Cf. 10 b.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 200 The Owers..to the tune of Flutes kept stroke. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. xii. §2 (1622) 338 And he, that bending slowly brings his tarrying Oare to breast, His winding Armes keepe stroke with songs, while he the water beates. 1629 Wadsworth Pilgr. v. 38, I being unable to keepe stroake with the rest, was well beaten. 1652 Hermeticall Banq. 5 At Table, be sure that your Teeth labour like so many Gally slaves, keeping true stroke with the Hand. |
c. Style of rowing, manner of handling the oars,
esp. with regard to the length, speed, or frequency of the ‘strokes’ (see
quot. 1898).
| 1870 Field Q. Mag. I. 202/2 Close came away at once, and, rowing a long easy stroke, won very easily by four lengths. 1877 Oxf. & Camb. Undergrad. Jrnl. 173/2 A journey to Ditton and back was essayed at a slow stroke. 1890 R. C. Lehmann Harry Fludyer 118 To-day we are going to work up our stroke, so as to be able to row forty [strokes to the minute]. 1898 Encycl. Sport II. 298/1 Stroke, (1) the number of dips of the oar in the water within a given time. |
d. The oarsman who sits nearest to the stern of the boat, and whose ‘stroke’ sets the time for the other rowers (
= stroke-oar,
-oarsman,
strokesman). Also
quasi-adv. in
to pull stroke,
row stroke.
| 1825 Westmacott Eng. Spy (1907) I. 28 In a water party he was a stroke of the ten oar. [Note. A first rate water⁓man.] 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Peter Priggins II. xiv. 306 Their talk was principally of boating,..with discussions on the merits of the ‘strokes’ of the different boats. 1845 in Brasenose Ale 77 Thus spake the prince, who set us all afloat, And pull'd first stroke in the old Brasenose boat. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxiv, He pulls stroke in the Boniface boat. 1868 Field 4 July 14/2 Hall's rowing as stroke was very different to his execution of the past two years. 1898 Encycl. Sport II. 298/1 (Rowing) Stroke, (2) the oarsman who sits nearest the stern of the boat and sets the work to the men behind him. The side upon which his oar projects is called ‘stroke side’ all the way up the boat. |
e. The station occupied in a boat by the stroke-oarsman.
| 1901 Oxford Mag. 24 Apr. 291/2 University..with Huntley at stroke. |
f. to put (someone) off (his) stroke, to distract (someone) from his course of activity; to disconcert or disturb.
colloq.| a 1914 Joyce Stephen Hero (1944) xx. 103 Besides girls praying put me off my stroke. 1922 ― Ulysses 285 Put you off your stroke. 1965 J. Gale Clean Young Englishman iv. 167 The note put me right off my stroke. I was trying to tell the audience what the war in Algeria was really like... But somehow I never finished what I wanted to say. 1977 R. Perry Dead End iii. 41 She must have..seen the bodies..but it didn't put her off her stroke at all. |
14. a. A vigorous attempt to attain some object; a measure, expedient, or device adopted for some purpose. Also
stroke of policy (or † politics),
stroke of business (
cf. 11 b).
| 1699 T. Baker Refl. Learning xiv. 166 Isidor's Collection was the great and bold Stroke, which [etc.]. 1732 Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments etc. 413 The greatest and most important Strokes for the Recovery of the Patient, must be made at the time of the Invasion, or first State of the Disease. 1769 Burke Observ. Late St. Nat. Wks. 1842 I. 102 He pays..some compliments to Lord Bute and Lord Despenser. But to the latter, this is, I suppose, but a civility to old acquaintance; to the former, a little stroke of politicks. 1822 Galt Provost xi, Before the Michaelmas I was..fully prepared to achieve a great stroke of policy for the future government of the town. 1850 Merivale Rom. Emp. iv. (1865) I. 185 This stroke of policy was not unsuccessful. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. iii, It is conceded by all, that that stroke of business on Brewer's part, in going down to the House that night to see how things looked, was the master-stroke. 1876 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma 112 For us,..Christianity [is] the greatest and happiest stroke ever yet made for human perfection. |
b. stroke of state:
tr. Fr. coup d'état (see
coup n.3 5 a).
| 1783 Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies VIII. 115 If we destroy..the nature of any great body, those convulsive motions which are called strokes of state, will disturb the whole nation. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xxi. v. (1872) X. 59 Her Son, the spirited King Gustav III., at Stockholm had made what in our day is called a ‘stroke of state’. 1871 Browning Pr. Hohenst. 1367 He cannot but intend some stroke of state Shall signalize his passage into peace Out of the creaking. 1910 Rosebery Chatham xi. 238 Fortified by this treaty,..the Pelhams executed their stroke of state. |
c. In a game: An effective move or combination.
| 1735 Bertin Chess Pref. p. iii, This noble Game abounds with a greater variety of fine strokes, than any other Games which depend upon design only. 1862 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (1864) 51 You almost preclude him from executing any of the finer strokes of play. 1913 Illustr. Lond. News 22 Feb. 264/3 P to Kt 5th The winning stroke, as White gains a passed Pawn. |
d. to pull a stroke, to play a dirty trick.
Cf. pull v. 20 d.
slang.| 1970 P. Laurie Scotland Yard 293 Pull a stroke, to, to play a dirty trick. 1974 J. McVicar McVicar i. ii. i. 109 It would be wrong to let Charlie go... He's pulled too many strokes. |
15. a. A feat, achievement; a signal display
of art, genius, wit, etc.
Cf. 18 c.
| 1672 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. ii. (Arb.) 75 There's a smart expression of a passion; O ye Gods! That's one of my bold strokes, a gad. 1677 Dryden State Innoc. Apol. Heroic Poetry b 3, The boldest strokes of Poetry, when they are manag'd Artfully, are those which most delight the Reader. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables clii. 138 'Tis a Stroake of Art to Divert the Reproach, by Emproving a Spitefull Word, or Thing, to a bodies Own Advantage. 1731 Gentl. Mag. I. 84 The statues about St. Paul's..are strokes of his masterly hand. 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) III. 31 Perhaps 'tis this, by a Stroke of Simpathy, that hurries on the Reader at such a Rate. 1760–2 Goldsm. Cit. W. li, It is filled with strokes of wit and satire in every line. 1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. Pref. p. x, I had no notion, I protest, that this exquisite stroke of pleasantry was aimed at me. 1881 Ld. Acton Lett. to Mary Gladstone (1904) 74 One of the best strokes of wit I can remember in my time. |
b. stroke of luck: an unexpected piece of good fortune.
| 1853 C. B. Mansfield Paraguay etc. (1856) 420 The prisoner captain looked almost as much pleased as his capturer, who jumped for joy at this stroke of good luck. 1882 C. Pebody Engl. Journalism xxiii. 179 The Times, by a stroke of luck..was represented in that war by a man who [etc.]. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay x, That lynching business was a stroke of luck for Deering. |
16. a. A movement of the pen, pencil, graver, etc., in writing, painting, drawing, etc.; a single movement of a brush, chisel, knife, file, etc. over the surface operated on. Phrase,
with a stroke of the pen: often said
hyperbolically.
| 1668 Temple Let. Wks. 1720 II. 91 Your Excellency with a Stroak of your Pen, has brought to Light the most covered Designs of your Enemies. 1699 E. Ward Lond. Spy v. 4 Their Senses were Ravish'd with each Master'y stroak of the skillful Stone-Cutter. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 626/2 The varnish should be put on very quickly, making great strokes with the pencil or brush. 1804 Revol. Plutarch II. 305 In acting so, he changed with a stroke of the pen the general aspect of affairs, in such a manner that [etc.]. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 745 Draperies are to be done with broad strokes of the pencil. 1875 Fortnum Maiolica 89 It would seem laid on purposely with a coarse brush the strokes of which are very apparent. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay viii, The money is in Spanish bonds..; it can be handed over to you with the stroke of a pen. 1889 Hasluck Model Engin. Handybk. 133 The file strokes should not all be made parallel one to another. 1907 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 106 The print should be cut with one stroke of the knife. |
† b. Manner of handling the pencil, graver, etc.
| 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. 69 The imitations of the graver..are altogether admirable and inimitable, the stroke and conduct consider'd. 1699 Wanley in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 282 The Print..is so well engraven, and the workman had so good a stroke, that I believe half the workmen in London cannot now do better. 1717 Pope Ep. to Mr. Jervas 38 Caracci's strength, Correggio's softer line, Paulo's free stroke, and Titian's warmth divine. Ibid. 64 Oh, lasting as those Colours may they shine, Free as thy stroke, yet faultless as thy line. |
c. finishing stroke (
lit. and
fig.): see
finishing ppl. a.
| 1695 Plot in Aubrey Lett. Eminent Persons (1813) I. 74, I am heartily glad to hear Mr. Cook has given the finishing stroke to your fine chapel. 1800 Asiatic Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 16/2 Major Caillaud and the young Nabob crossed their troops over the Ganges, to put the finishing stroke to the affair. 1854 Surtees Handley Cr. xxix. (1901) I. 218 On the Monday, he bespoke an audience with Mr. Jorrocks to put the finishing stroke to his arrangements. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. ii. 60 æthelstan added the finishing stroke to the work of his father. |
17. a. A linear mark; a mark traced by the moving point of a pen, pencil, etc.; a component line of a written character (
cf. up-stroke,
down-stroke); also, a dash (in writing or print).
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 2 [An agate] hauing strokes on eche side like to blew vaines. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. vii. 347 With the bloud they made a stroake on the dead mans face, from one eare to the other. 1673 Dryden Marr. à la Mode ii. i, With strokes in ashes Maids their Lovers drew. 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 39/2 The Achate is variously coloured..: some have stroakes of blew, some with blood. 1693 J. Edwards Author. O. & N. Test. 201 The shadow..on the dial..went backward so many lines or stroaks. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 32 The white Hoof is of a brittle Disposition; and those that have Strokes, or are ribbed as it were, with white, must be worse than the black Sort. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 243 A fourth Kind of Writing, the Strokes whereof being more joined, and less distinguished one from another, are made with more Ease and Expedition. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 19 The drawing of strokes by the eye with the black-lead pencil, charcoal, or chalk, will afford the most proper exercise. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xxvii. 326 Very careful in the perfection of every letter, and very neat in every stroke. 1885 Sweet O.E. Texts 132 The various readings are separated by a stroke, and come in the following order. |
b. a stroke above:
= ‘a cut above’ (
cut n. 17).
colloq. rare.
| 1856 W. Collins Wreck Golden Mary ii. Househ. Words Christm. No. 14/2 She had had her schooling up in London..so it was but nature she should be a stroke above the girls of the place. 1914 Joyce Dubliners 153, I don't say Hynes.—No, damn it, I think he's a stroke above that. |
c. Bacteriology. A line formed by drawing the point of an infected wire over the surface to be inoculated.
Cf. stroke-culture, etc. in 26.
| 1893 M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 63 The colonies may confine themselves to the actual inoculating stroke, or they may spread themselves out.., until the whole surface of the nutrient medium is covered right up to the sides of the test-tube. |
d. In
Telegraphy, the name of the signal for an oblique stroke. Now
usu. colloq., a spoken representation of a solidus. Freq. used as
conj. to indicate or stress alternatives: or else, alternatively.
| 1884 W. Lynd Pract. Telegraphist i. 27 The oblique stroke is to be signalled ‘stroke’, thus—‘FI three stroke five FF’, meaning 3/5 (three shillings and fivepence). 1965 M. Allingham Mind Readers xv. 153, I have my own feel, of course, which would be ‘glad stroke laughingat’ in his case. 1971 J. Yardley Kiss a Day keeps Corpses Away ii. 39 The Truman stroke Eisenhower regime. 1974 G. Markstein Cooter xlvii. 171 ABPQ stroke 113 stroke 1. Ah yes. Is that your national registration number? 1977 N. J. Crisp Odd Job Man iii. 28 One dozen cardigans, stroke thirty-three, blue, for knitwear. |
e. spec. in
Logic = Sheffer(
's)
stroke s.v. Sheffer.
| 1925 Whitehead & Russell Principia Math. (ed. 2) I. p. xvi, The symbol ‘p/q’ is pronounced: ‘p stroke q’... All the usual truth-functions can be constructed by means of the stroke. 1952 R. L. Wilder Introd. Found. Math. ix. 220 Since P[rincipia] M[athematica] was first published, with its two undefined symbols (or ‘logical constants’)..it has been shown that one undefined symbol..[is] sufficient. The symbol referred to is / and is called ‘stroke’. 1975 P. K. Bastable Logic 189 Later he [sc. Russell] preferred to become acquainted with implication through defining it as ‘Either not p or q’ or, like Sheffer and Nicod, in terms of the stroke functor. |
† 18. a. Lineament, line of a face or form.
Obs.| 1635–56 Cowley Davideis iv. 526 Not bright Ahin'oam..Had sweeter strokes, Colours more fresh and fair. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 21 They..content themselves with the Imitation of visible things, following stroke after stroke. |
† b. fig. A constituent feature; a characteristic; a trait of character.
Obs.| 1666 S. Parker Platonic Philos. 41 In its main strokes it [sc. Plato's ‘physiology’] accords with the Aristotelean Philosophie. 1710 Felton Diss. Classics (1718) 49 Give me Leave, my Lord, to..draw out..some of the chief Strokes, some of the principal Lineaments, and fairest Features of a just and beautiful Style. 1729 Law Serious C. xvi. (1732) 303 He is so very quick sighted that he discovers in almost every body, some Strokes of vanity. 1734 tr. Rollin's Rom. Hist. vi. (1827) III. 241 Two or three principal strokes of his character. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. ii. 75 Many strokes in their character are evidently to be ascribed to the extreme oppression under which they live. |
c. fig. A felicitous or characteristic expression or thought in literary composition; a ‘touch’ of description, satire, pathos, or the like.
Cf. 15.
| 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. Pref., But when Action or Persons are to be described..how bold, how masterly, are the strokes of Virgil! 1697 C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 88 He wrote a Comedy which everybody likes, and the Queen..found therein such moving and delicate Stroaks in it, that she would act a part in it herself. 1706 Prior Ode to Queen Pref., I have endeavor'd to imitate all the great Strokes of that Ode. 1725 Cotes tr. Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 17th C. I. ii. iii. 35 Not to mention many satyrical Strokes which are scatter'd throughout his History. 1770 Jortin Erasmus II. 170 One can hardly excuse Erasmus intirely, for having put into the mouth of Folly some strokes, which seem to confound religious Truth with Folly. 1831 Mackintosh Hist. Eng. II. 16 A few strokes of Comines throw a more clear and agreeable light over our story than the scanty information of our own meagre and unskilful writers. 1876 Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. xi. 226 Macaulay..thought..nothing whatever of reconstructing a paragraph for the sake of one happy stroke or apt illustration. |
† 19. to have a good stroke (at eating): to have a hearty appetite. (
Cf. twist n.1 18.)
Obs.| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. iv. 71 Neither can any man be entertain'd as a Soldier, that has not a greater stroke than ordinary at eating. 1731–8 Swift Polite Conv. ii. 150 Lady Answ. God bless you, Colonel; you have a good Stroke with you. Col. O Madam; formerly I could eat all, but now I leave nothing. |
† 20. A cut, slice (of meat).
Obs.| 1581 A. Hall Iliad ix. 157 Down he layes the spit, Wheron the strokes of flesh were brotcht. |
21. Agric. (See
quot. 1891.)
| 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 6 Give the land a stroke with the great harrow, and roll it as before. 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. ii. 449 When the seed is sown, it should be covered by two strokes of the light seed-harrow. 1891 Malden Tillage Gloss. s.v., Each time land is crossed with harrows it is said to have received a stroke or tine. |
† 22. = transom 2.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1684 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. vii. xix. (ed. 2) 140 Chuse a convenient place in the Transum or Stroke of the Window. |
23. A denomination of dry measure, varying in capacity according to locality:
= strike n. 4.
| 1532 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 34 To have one stroke of peese. 1569 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 218, xxti stroke wheate, iiij li. 1681 O. Heywood Diaries (1881) II. 286 A stroke of shilling [= shelled oats] standing on the table. 1744 MS. Parish Bk. Pannal, Yorks., A strooke of Pottatoes 5 d. 1790 Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2) Suppl., Stroke, half a bushel. 1814 W. S. Mason Statist. Acc. Irel. I. 339 The measure, or stroke of potatoes 2 Bushels. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds 424 Stroke, a half-bushel, or two pecks; so called from the measure (when upheaped) being stroked off with a thin piece of wood. |
24. Geol. = strike n. 8.
rare.
| 1877 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 113 The stroke of the slates varies from north 25° west, south 25° east, to north 45° west, south 45° east. |
25. Basket-making. A single movement analogous to a stitch in sewing or knitting; the result of this.
| 1912 T. Okey Art of Basket-Making vii. 59 Where an even number of pairs of leagues or sticks is used, the centre strokes lie alternate, and not side by side. Ibid. 154 Stroke, any complete movement in basket-work: analogous to a stitch in needlework. 1960 E. Legg Country Baskets iii. 29 And now for the strokes, which are comparable with ‘stitches’ in knitting... The strokes are indeed simple and few. |
26. attrib. a. Golf, in terms relating to the method of scoring by strokes (sense 1 d) instead of by holes, as
stroke-competition,
stroke-game,
stroke-play;
b. Bacteriology (sense 17 c), as
stroke-cultivation,
stroke-culture,
stroke-inoculation;
c. special combinations,
† stroke-bias, an obsolete game resembling ‘prisoners' base’;
† stroke engraving, a line engraving;
stroke-haul, an apparatus used for illegal capture of fish, formed of three hooks joined back to back, and weighted with lead; hence
stroke-haul v.,
stroke-hauling vbl. n.;
stroke-maker Cricket, a batsman who plays attractive, attacking strokes; hence
stroke-making;
stroke-oar, (
a) the oar nearest the stern of a rowing-boat; (
b) the rower who handles this oar (
= sense 13 d);
stroke-oarsman = sense 13 d;
stroke-ornamented a. Archæol. (see
quot. 1970);
strokeplay Cricket, the playing of attractive, attacking strokes; hence
stroke-player;
stroke-side, the side of a rowing-boat on which the stroke-oarsman sits;
stroke-stitch Needlework (see
quot.).
| 1700 J. Brome Trav. Eng. 264 The Kentish Men have a peculiar Exercise,..'tis called *Stroke-Biass. [Description follows.] |
| 1904 in H. Vardon Compl. Golfer (1905) 274 Special Rules for *Stroke Competitions. |
| 1890 W. W. Cheyne tr. Flügge's Micro-organisms 177 *Stroke cultivations. |
| 1893 M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 62 For the *stroke cultures we use the test-tubes. |
| 1793 Thomson in Burns' Wks. (1800) IV. 33 We intend presenting the subscribers with two beautiful *stroke engravings. |
| 1896 Westm. Gaz. 8 Apr. 5/3 The match..consists of the *stroke game to-day and play by holes to-morrow. |
| 1850 Act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 88 §40 That it shall not be lawful..to use for the Purpose of taking Fish any Otter, Lyster, Spear, *Strokehaul, Dree Draw, or Gaff. |
| 1912 London Mag. Sept. 97/2 They *stroke-hauled them in couples in the moonlight. |
| 1860 C. Simeon Stray Notes Fishing 37 This plan, with a large weighted treble hook, is sometimes adopted with destructive effect by poachers for salmon..it is then called ‘*stroke-hauling’. |
| 1893 M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 62 The *stroke inoculation being completed. |
| 1927 Observer 5 June 21/5 A beautiful *stroke-maker, he [sc. H. W. Austin] is pleasant to watch. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 84 Nurse could be a brilliant and savage stroke-maker on his day, but could graft when necessary. |
| 1956 R. Alston Test Commentary iii. 23 One of the features of the morning's play was the *stroke-making of..Van Geloven. 1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 87/1 He impressed the Lord's gathering with his crisp stroke-making. |
| 1835 Dickens Sk. Boz, River, After a great deal of changing and fidgeting, consequent upon the election of a *stroke-oar. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xi, At College he pulled stroke-oar in the Christchurch boat. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xx, Winter steered the boat and Gwenoch took the stroke-oar. |
| 1838 J. F. Cooper Excurs. Italy I. xvi. 302 The *stroke-oarsman of the boat advised me to pull in under the promontory. 1894 Daily News 3 July 8/3 One of the finest stroke oarsmen in England. |
| 1925 V. G. Childe Dawn Europ. Civilization xii. 172 The second ware may..be called *stroke-ornamented pottery. Its forms are rather more angular than those of spiral-meander pottery. Ibid. xviii. 272 Hut foundations..yielded sherds with curvilinear decoration and others recalling the Danubian stroke-ornamented ware. 1970 Bray & Trump Dict. Archaeol. 222/1 Stroke-ornamented ware, pottery with zigzag patterns made by a series of distinct jabs rather than continuous lines. It was current during the centuries after 4000 BC in Bohemia, west Poland, Bavaria and central Germany. |
| 1905 Daily Chron. 20 July 3/1 The old golf was Scotch, and was a match game. The new, English game, is *stroke play, with oneself as one's hardiest opponent. 1930 C. G. Macartney My Cricketing Days ii. 14 Perhaps this sort of cricket was an aid to stroke play, perhaps not, but as far as I can see, it never did me any harm. 1979 Daily Tel. 19 May 29/1 Any doubts about his form or fitness were violently dismissed in a morning of rich strokeplay. |
| 1935 Times 20 July 13/5 Some of the English cricketers now getting past their prime are still *stroke-players. 1963 A. Ross Australia 63 x. 183 There were, on the England side, three stroke-players capable of enhancing any Test, on the Australian side two. |
| 1862 W. P. Lennox Recreat. Sportsm. I. 197 The terms in boating are as follows:—..*stroke side, the port, or right side. 1909 Blackw. Mag. May 613/2 Tell Jerry to get down a new strokeside oar, with a good six-inch blade. |
| 1900 L. F. Day & Mary Buckle Art in Needlework ii. (1901) 16 The mere work line—or ‘*stroke-stitch’, not crossed, is a perfectly fair way of getting a delicate effect. |
▪ II. stroke, n.2 Also 7–8
stroak.
[f. stroke v.1] 1. A stroking movement of the hand,
esp. for purposes of healing. Also, an act of stroking,
esp. by way of caress.
| 1631 B. Jonson New Inn iv. ii, Tip. Hee'll borrow money on the stroke of his beard! Or turne off his Mustaccio. 1665 Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux title-p., Who Cureth all manner of Diseases with a stroak of his hand and Prayer. 1666 H. Stubbe Mirac. Conformist 6 Having..stopped the paine and effusion of blood by some strokes of his hand, he bad her put nothing to it but a linnen Cloth. 1697 Dryden æneis x. 1229 Soothing his Courage with a gentle Stroke, The Steed seem'd sensible, while thus he spoke. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Stroaking, But as to the particular Efficacy of the Stroak of particular Persons; we see little Foundation for it in Nature. 1953 H. E. Bates Nature of Love iv. 36 She gave her hair a long deep casual stroke with the brush. |
2. An act of copulation.
slang. rare.
| 1785 Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue s.v., Stroke. To take a stroke, to take a bout with a woman. 1976 P. Cave High Flying Birds ii. 19, I happened to be engaged upon a variation of the sexual act known as the ‘Birmingham Stroke’ at the time our little love-nest started rolling. |
3. A comforting gesture of approval or congratulation (see also
quot. 1964). Hence, a flattering or friendly remark, etc.,
esp. one made in order to help or manipulate another.
Cf. stroke v.
1 1 e. Now chiefly
U.S. colloq.| 1964 E. Berne Games People Play 15 By an extension of meaning, ‘stroking’ may be employed colloquially to denote any act implying recognition of another's presence. Hence a stroke may be used as the fundamental unit of social action. An exchange of strokes constitutes a transaction, which is the unit of social intercourse. 1969 T. A. Harris I'm OK, You're OK iii. 45 The Adult has something to work on: what must I do to gain their strokes, or their approval? 1973 Houston (Texas) Chron. Texas Mag. 14 Oct. 4/1 The popular saying around PDAP [sc. The Palmer Drug Abuse Program] is ‘different strokes for different folks’, and that's the basis of the program. 1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xi. 122 He started off dishing out some nice strokes. With an admiring smile he told me how smart I was, how honest, so absolutely reliable. 1981 TV Picture Life Mar. 12/3 Let's face it, everybody needs their strokes and that would be very ego-satisfying. |
4. Special combinations:
stroke book, a pornographic book;
stroke house U.S., a cinema where pornographic films are shown.
| 1972 Pussycat XXXIII. lix. 10/1 For a stroke book, the quality of writing is astonishingly good. 1978 T. Gifford Glendower Legacy (1979) 73 I'm just going to pig out at home, look at a stroke book... As a matter of fact, I've taken to writing for stroke books. |
| 1971 Atlantic Monthly July 52 He would camp in the 42nd Street stroke houses and come back with tales of what they were getting away with now. |
▪ III. † stroke, n.3 ?
Anglo-Irish.
Obs. rare—1.
(Sense obscure.)
Perh. a misprint for
noke,
nook n. (where see senses 3 d, e).
| 1571 E. Campion Hist. Irel. 14/2 in Holinshed (1577), Styll erecting Castelles..so to mayster the Irishe, that with such maner of strengthes of Walles..had not as yet beene acquaynted, for tyll those dayes they knewe no defence but Woods, Bogs, or strokes. |
▪ IV. stroke, n.4 Obs. exc. dial. (
strəʊk)
Also 8
stroak.
[Altered form of strake n.1] = strake n.1 1 a.
| 1688 Holme Armory iii. 332/1 The parts of a Wheel. The Nave,..The Stroke, is the Iron Rim about the Felloes. 1773 W. Emerson Princ. Mech. (ed. 3) 283 Stroaks or straiks, the iron going round the circumference of carriage wheels. 1904 Eng. Dial. Dict. |
▪ V. stroke, v.1 (
strəʊk)
Pa. tense and
pa. pple. stroked (
strəʊkt). Forms: α. 1
strácian, 6–7
stroake, 6–8
stroak, 7
strocke,
strooke, 8–9
dial. strock, 3–
stroke. β.
Sc. and
north. 5–6, 9
strake, 6
straik(e,
strayk(e, 8–9
straik.
[OE. strácian, corresp. to MLG., MDu. strêken (mod.Du. streeken), OHG. streihhôn (MHG., mod.G. streichen, which coalesced with streichen:—OHG. strîhhan strike v.), f. Teut. *straik-, ablaut-var. of *strī̆k-: see strike v.] 1. a. trans. To rub (a surface) softly with the hand or some implement;
esp. to pass the hand softly in one direction over (the head, body, hair, of a person or animal) by way of caress or as a method of healing (
cf. stroke n.2,
stroker, also
strike v. 4 b).
| α c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xli. 303 Swa [swa] wildu hors, ðonne we h[ie] æresð ᵹefangnu habbað, we hie ðacciað & straciað mid bradre handa. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 134 Myd swyþe driᵹeon handum straca ᵹeornlice þane innoþ. c 1290 St. Francis 367 in S. Eng. Leg. 64 He..strokede heom [birds] with is longue sleue. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 334 He stroked his berde. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xcvi. (1495) 842 Tame apes haue lykyng to be strokyd. 1530 Palsgr. 741/1, I stroke ones heed, as we do a chyldes by flatterynge, or whan he dothe well. 1575 Turberv. Falconrie 100 Then muste you haue a little rownde stycke..with the whiche you shall oftentymes stroke and handle your Falcon. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 302 Oftentimes stroking his white beard, as his manner was when he was thorowly angry. 1619 Wonderf. Discov. Witchcrafts Marg. Flower etc. (1837) 22 Wherevpon she brought downe a gloue and deliuered the same to her mother, who stroked Rutterkin her Cat with it. 1655 J. S. Bonarelli's Filli di Sciro ii. i. 28 As they had Learnt to strooke each others cheekes. 1662 W. Faithorne Graving & Etching xxv. 41 Then take a piece of the whitest Virgin-wax and spread it thin over the plate, and with a smooth feather gently stroak it all over, to the end it may lie the more even and smooth. 1665 Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux 7 He likewise cures the Convulsion fits only by stroaking the persons afflicted with his hand. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 6 July 1660, The Chirurgeons cause the sick to be brought or led up to the throne, where they kneeling, the King strokes their faces or cheekes with both his hands at once. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. l. V. 183 His only gesture is that of stroking his beard. 1911 Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson xvi. 241 Softly she stroked the carpet with the palms of her hands. |
| β 1786 Burns Epist. J. Rankine viii, The poor wee thing was little hurt; I straiket it a wee for sport. |
b. said of an animal.
| 1621 Quarles Hadassa Introd. B 4 b, This [steed] stroaks the ground, that skorn's it with his heele. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 56 It [the guinea-pig] strokes its head with the fore feet like the rabbit. 1913 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 4 June 948/2 The male Amauris egialea stroking the brands of the hind wings with its anal tufts. |
c. absol. (Proverbially contrasted with
strike.)
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxvi. 187 Sua se læce grapað, & stracað,..ærðonðe he stingan wille. 1612 J. Davies (Heref.) Muse's Sacrif. (Grosart) 51/1 So, with remorse, reuenge to execute; So, stroke and strike at once. 1675 H. Woolley Gentlew. Comp. 128 When you have laid three or four layers one on the other, wet a feather in Rosewater and Musk, and stroke over it. 1699 Thoresby in Phil. Trans. XXI. 334 Where he stroked for Pains, he used nothing but his dry Hand. 1750 Berkeley Patriotism §19 Wks. 1871 III. 456 A good groom will rather stroke than strike. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad iv. 95 His weighty hands he laid On their soft backs, and, stroaking gently, said [etc.]. |
d. to stroke against the hair,
stroke the wrong way (of the hair): to rub (an animal) in the direction opposite to the natural lie of its hair;
fig. to irritate, ruffle, cross (a person). Similarly
to stroke with the hair, to soothe (
Sc.).
| c 1590 Montgomerie Sonn. xxxiii. 6 In hir vnhappy hands sho held my heed, And straikit bakuard wodershins my hair. 1786 Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer xviii, For God-sake, Sirs! then speak her fair, An' straik her cannie wi' the hair. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf viii, I'll speak him fair..and stroke him wi' the hair. 1844 W. Cross Disruption xi. (1846) 113, I hae a good deal o' the cuddy in me, when I'm straikit against the hair. 1860 Trollope Castle Richmond I. xiii. 260 Somebody's been stroking him the wrong way of the 'air. |
e. transf. and
fig. † Formerly often,
= to soothe, flatter, ‘tickle’; also, to treat indulgently, cocker, make much of (
cf. L.
mulcere). Sometimes contrasted with
strike. In recent use, to reassure (a child, etc.) by approval or congratulation (see also
quot. 1964). Hence, to manipulate (another) by means of flattery, persuasion, etc.; to compliment.
Cf. stroke n.2 3. Now chiefly
U.S. colloq.,
esp. in political contexts.
| 1513 Douglas æneis iv. Prol. 189 Venus henvifis..That strakis thir wenchis hedis thaim to pleis. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. ii. i. §2 (1562) 70 There is nothing that mannes nature more coueteth, than to be stroked with flattery. 1600 Edmonds Observ. Cæsar's Comm. vii. (1604) 126 If it be demaunded, what became of these great Princes and personages after the triumph, it will appeare that they did not stroke their heads, or make more of them then of miserable captiues. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 333 When thou cam'st first Thou stroakst me, & made much of me. 1616 B. Jonson Epigr. lxi, Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike, One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike. a 1637 ― Underwoods, Eupheme iv, The voice so sweet, the words so fair, As some soft chime had stroked the air. 1629 Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 145 With these faire Promises he stroked the Senators. 1675 Traherne Chr. Ethics To Rdr., The design of this treatise is, not to stroak and tickle the fancy, but to elevate the soul. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 2175 Sleep's dewy wand Has strok'd my drooping lids. 1898 Hardy Wessex Poems 94 They parted there as morning stroked the panes. 1964 [see stroke n.2 3]. 1969 T. A. Harris I'm OK, You're OK iii. 48 If a two-year-old concludes I'm OK, does this mean his OK is the product of ‘self-stroking’ and, if so, how does a small child stroke himself? 1973 T. C. Huston in L. Chester et al. Watergate iv. 43 Mr. Hoover should be called in privately for a stroking session at which the President [sc. Nixon] explains the decision he had made. 1975 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 44 It's Show Biz, man—a bunch a' egomaniacal people using a captive audience to stroked themselves. 1977 Time 17 Oct. 20/1 Carter also stroked the Jerusalem government by promising that the U.S. would never attempt to impose a Middle East settlement. 1978 New Yorker 9 Jan. 41 He tells his client, ‘It's looking pretty good. We'll stay on top of it.’ This is what is known as ‘stroking’ the client. 1981 Observer 11 Jan. 6/5, I think he's still a little kid from Hoboken, who likes to be stroked by Presidents. |
f. to stroke over:
= perstringe v.
2| 1822 Byron To Murray 25 Dec., Since I have read the Quarterly, I shall erase two or three passages in the latter six or seven cantos, in which I had lightly stroked over two or three of your authors. |
g. With
adv. or similar extension: To bring into a specified position, condition, etc. by stroking. Also
fig.| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 73 Hee would take occasion to stroke vp his haire, and turne vp his mustachios twice or thrice ouer. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 81 The Midwife after she haue stroaked down the bloud to nourish the Babe. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. viii. (1640) 54 The Pope..stroked the angry Patriarch of Antioch into gentlenesse with good language. 1666 H. Stubbe Mirac. Conformist 29 Such consequents are usuall, when the Disease is not stroked out. 1675 South Serm. Judges viii. 34, 35 (1692) 581 He..sees the folly of Endeavouring to stroke a Tyger into a Lamb. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xv. 407 Letting it [their hair] grow very long, and stroking it back with their Hands curiously. 1764 Gray Jemmy Twitcher 22 She strok'd up her belly, and strok'd down her band. 1770 Luckombe Hist. Printing 360 With the back sides of the nails of his fingers to draw or stroke it [i.e. the paper to be printed] over the Point. 1859 Habits of Gd. Society xiv. 359 With his hands so full that he cannot even stroke out his splendid whiskers. |
h. To express or testify by stroking.
rare.
| 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xix. cclxxiii, And then she prais'd the steeds unwearied Pains, Stroking her thanks upon their ruffled Mains. |
i. To pass (one's hand) gently
over a surface.
| 1697 C. Leslie Snake in Grass (ed. 2) 114 Stroaking his Hand over their Faces (as his Custom was) who kneel'd or fell prostrate before him. |
2. To draw (a cutting instrument) along a surface in order to sharpen or whet it.
Cf. strake v.
3 1 and G.
streichen.
Obs. or
arch.| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 416 ‘..Ta now þy grymme tole to þe, & let se how þou cnokez.’ ‘Gladly sir, for soþe’, Quod Gawan; his ax he strokes. a 1800 Bonny Birdy xv. in Child Ballads II. 261 Then out the knight has drawn his sword, An straiked it oer a strae. 1885–94 Bridges Eros & Psyche July xv, She..laid the knife, to mortal keenness stroked, Within her reach, where she was wont to lie. |
† 3. fig. To plight (one's troth).
Obs. Cf. strike v. 69.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3192 Þire traitours on þis trechoure trowthis has strakid [Dublin MS. han stroken]. a 1776 Sweet William's Ghost ix. in Child Ballads II. 230 Up she has tain a bright long wand, And she has straked her trouth thereon. |
4. To milk (a cow);
esp. to draw the last milk from (a cow) by pressing the teat. Also
fig. Cf. stroking vbl. n.; also
strap v.
2,
strip v.
3 1.
| 1538 Elyot Dict., Mulgeo, to mylke or stroke. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xvii. (1640) 198 Some say..that this onely was a trick to stroke the skittish cow to get down her milk. a 1658 Lovelace Lucasta, Posth. Poems (1659) 83 No wonder if a Drawer Verses Rack,..Whilst the Fair Barmaid stroaks the Muses teat, For milk to make the Posset up compleat. 1675 H. Woolley Gentlew. Comp. 215 When you milk your Cattel, stroke them well, and in the Summer-time save those strokings by themselves, to put into your morning-Milk-cheese. 1746 Exmoor Scolding 47 Nif tha dest bet go down into the Paddick, to stroak the Kee. Ibid. 110 Thee hast a let the Kee go zoo vor Want o' strocking. 1886 W. Somerset Word-bk., Stroke, to take part of the milk; to milk gently. |
5. ? To whip (cream, a syllabub).
| a 1639 Wotton Descr. Spring 18, Reliq. W. (1651) 524 And now She trips to milk the Sand-red Cow; Where, for some sturdy foot-ball Swaine, Jone strokes a sillibub, or twaine. 1908 Daily Chron. 12 June 9/6 Chocolate Hands. —Wanted cream coverers, used to curl and stroke. |
6. To smear (something) over a surface.
Obs. exc. Sc. (
Cf. strake v.
3 2.)
| 1586 Lupton 1000 Notable Things (1675) 88 Let..the water thereof be dropped and stroaked about the Eyes. 1883 J. Kennedy in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets VI. 218 Now she's prappit near the ceiling, Straikin' whitening on the wa'. 1888 A. G. Murdoch Sc. Readings Ser. ii. (ed. 2) 33 Johnny himself was busy ‘straiking’ the melted solution roun' the inner edge of the rim of his hat with the point of his right fore finger. |
7. Masonry. To work the face of (a stone) in such a manner as to produce a sort of fluted surface (Ogilvie 1850).
| 1842 Gwilt Archit. §1911 In London, the squared stone used for facing buildings is usually stroked, tooled, or rubbed. 1910 [see stroked ppl. a.1]. |
8. Needlework. To dispose (small gathers) in regular order and close succession by drawing the point of a blunt needle from the top of each gather downwards.
| 1875 [Mrs. Floyer] Plain Needlework 21 The top of the gathers above the thread should be stroked, to give them an even appearance. 1880 ― Plain Hints Needlework 48 Gather, stroke, and set in. 1909 Even. Standard 2 Aug. 11/4 In stroking gathers, the needle should be held in a sloping direction. |
9. Printing. To move (a sheet) into place by a stroking-movement of the hand. Also
to stroke in.
10. To level (grain) in a measure;
= straik v.
| 1887 Hall Caine Deemster v. 30 The bushel of the poor man was not to be stroked, but left in heaped-up measure. |
Hence
stroked,
ppl. a.1,
ˈstroking ppl. a.| 1619 B. Jonson Masques, Pleas. reconciled to Virtue (1640) 28 But with a minde as gentle as the stroaking winde runs ore the gentler flowers. 1620 Quarles Feast for Worms G 3, A Yongling..(Scarce weaned from his dandling mothers tet, Where he was cockerd with a stroking hand). 1693 Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 891 They stroke her Neck; the gentle Heyfar stands, And her Neck offers to their stroking Hands. 1890 Nature 9 Oct. 578/2 The method adopted..consisted in determining the velocity of sound in the vapour by Kundt's dust-figures, from observation of the wave-length and the pitch of the note emitted by the stroked tube containing the vapour. 1898 A. Lang Making of Relig. i. 4 Such phenomena science has ignored, as it so long ignored the sparks from the stroked deer-skin. 1910 C. H. Gregory Gloss. Build. Constr. 38 Striped or Stroked Work. Chisel marks made across a stone at an angle of 45°. |
Add:
11. To play (a plucked or keyboard instrument, or its keys or strings) with a light or gentle touch.
| 1969 W. F. Nolan Dashiell Hammett viii. 82 Director Howard Hawks, listening with sad eyes as George Antheil stroked the piano. 1972 [see oud n.]. 1981 N.Y. Times 20 Oct. c12/1 You can look at the pictures and eat your dinner to the accompaniment of harp music. Alyssa Hess strokes the instrument to bring out light classics and show tunes that mellifluously flood the room from 7 to 10 P.M. 1985 Ibid. 3 Feb. ii. 21/2 You can't test the patented pedal because it's under glass, but you can see the keys that fingers of genius stroked. |
▪ VI. stroke, v.2 (
strəʊk)
[f. stroke n.1] I. 1. trans. To mark with streaks or stripes. So
stroked ppl. a.2, striped.
rare.
Cf. strake v.
4,
straked ppl. a.
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 31/4 Those [leeches] which have the backes stripped, stroked with gouldeyellow strokes. 1896 W. Harvey Kennethcrook 35 (E.D.D.) If there's siccan things as spottit horses, what ails ye at strokit anes? |
† 2. To depict with strokes of the brush.
Obs.| 1624 Wotton Elem. Archit. ii. 84 Such a seeming softnesse in the Limbes, as if not a Chissell has hewed them out of Stone,..but a Pensill had drawne and stroaked them in Oyle. |
3. To draw the horizontal line across the upright of (the letter
t); to cross. Also
fig.:
cf. T 1 b.
| 1894 M. Pemberton Sea Wolves xi. (1901) 51 What I can spell right here is thirst, and stroke the t's, too! 1897 Bookman Jan. 120/1 So Landor dotted the i's, stroked the t's, put in qualifying words, and flat contradictions. |
4. With
out or
through: To cancel by drawing a line or lines across; to cross out.
| 1885 E. D. Gerard Waters of Hercules xxv, Half of what I had written was stroked through. 1910 G. Stevenson Suppl. Montgomerie's Poems (S.T.S.) 247 note, The name ‘hay’ has been stroked out. |
5. Of a bell: to chime the strokes of (the hour, etc.).
poet. rare—1.
| 1902 Hardy Poems of Past & Present 132 As the hope-hour stroked its sum, You did not come. |
† II. 6. nonce-use. To throw
into (a palsy).
Cf. stroke n.1 5.
| 1647 J. Hall Poems ii. 78 In thine Eye Carrying an all⁓enraged Majesty; That shall the Earth into a Palsie stroke, And make the Clouds sigh out themselves in smoake. |
III. 7. a. To row stroke in (a boat); to act as stroke to (a crew).
| 1866 Morn. Star 14 Feb., They are alternately stroked by Messrs. Brown and Senhouse. 1874 Shotover Papers I. No. xi. 172 They wanted Jones to stroke the Varsity boat. 1899 Daily News 16 Feb. 7/2 In the last two races he had the satisfaction of stroking his side to victory. |
b. Of an oarsman or crew: to row at (a certain number of strokes per minute).
| 1928 Times 11 Aug. 5 The winner stroked an average of 28 to Gunther's 30. 1976 C. Freud in Webster's Sports Dict. 431/1 With 500 yards to go, the Cairo Police, stroking 38, edged past Oxford. |
8. Sport. To hit or kick (the ball) smoothly and elegantly; to score in this manner.
| 1960 J. Fingleton Four Chukkas to Australia xvi. 136 He..raved of the manner in which Cowdrey stroked the ball. 1962 [see cross n. 22 e]. 1972 Even. Telegram (St. John's, Newfoundland) 24 June 1/1 Bernie Allen stroked his first home run of the season. 1976 Wymondham & Attleborough Express 3 Dec. 27/4 Wortwell fought back and were awarded a spot kick only for Webb to stroke the ball straight to the keeper. |
Sense 8 in
Dict. becomes 9. Add:
8. a. intr. To swim by making strokes.
| 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling iv. 35 When he dropped into the water, stroking with his free arm, the current picked him up. 1981 S. Strutt On Edge of Love iii. 57 Dulcie slipped into the rhythm of a long, even crawl, revelling in the use of unused muscles as she stroked the length of the full-sized pool. 1987 Washington Post 19 May b3/1 He was stroking for about 25 to 30 feet then he turned on his back. |
b. trans. To strike or push back (the water) by performing swimming strokes.
| 1980 N.Y. Times 13 July v. 2/6 You'll need both hands later when you start stroking the water. 1984 Ibid. 1 Sept. i. 27/3 The 23-year-old college student, whose hands were bandaged because she stroked the water ‘wrong’. |
▪ VII. stroke, v.3 rare.
Also 9
Sc. straik.
[? related to strake v.1] intr. To go quickly; to travel.
| 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 445 The gen'rous Steed, that strokes along O'er rough, o'er smooth. 1823 Tennant Card. Beaton i. iii. 28 We'el better slip awa' soon to our beds the night, that we may rise wi' the day-daw, if we're to straik down to the coast. |
▪ VIII. stroke, v.4 rare—1.
[? An artificial anglicizing of straik, Sc. form of streek v.] trans. To lay out (a corpse). Also with
out.
| 1898 N. Munro John Splendid i. 4 My dear cousin, stroked out and cold under foreign clods at Velshiem. Ibid. xi. 116 We gathered and stroked our dead. |
▪ IX. stroke, stroken see
strike v.