English
strain
Strain comes from Old English strēon ‘gain, acquisition, treasure’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*streuną‘heap, treasure, profit, gain’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*streunreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150strēon‘gain, acquisition, treasure’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streen
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599strain
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*streuną‘heap, treasure, profit, gain’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*streunreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150strēon‘gain, acquisition, treasure’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streen
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599strain
Earliest quotation: 1598–1599, Much Adoe about Nothing: “He is of a noble strain.”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’
construction, structure, destroy, destruction, instrument, construct, destructive, instructor, obstruction, straw, stray, instruct, obstruct, perestroika, construe, stripling, 12 more
Another origin of strain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-‘to twist’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréngʰetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strengōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringō‘to draw tight together, to tie together’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estreindre‘to strain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500straynen
- Englishtodaystrain
Today it means
noun Race; lineage, pedigree.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / strain