English
strath
Strath comes from Irish srath ‘holm, bottom’, from Old Irish srath ‘grass, sward’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to extend, spread, stretch out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-‘to extend, spread, stretch out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*str̥h₃tós‘spread’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*stratos‘valley’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900srath‘grass, sward’
- Irishc. 1200–presentsame form‘holm, bottom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1699strath
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-‘to extend, spread, stretch out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*str̥h₃tós‘spread’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*stratos‘valley’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900srath‘grass, sward’
- Irishc. 1200–presentsame form‘holm, bottom’
- Englishearliest quotation 1699strath
Earliest quotation: 1699, George Turnbull: “[T]he place is pretty pleasant, close by Forth waterside,…”
The story
The meaning was likely influenced by a Cumbric/Pictish cognate; compare Welsh ystrad.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to extend, spread, stretch out’
street, straw, strand, sternum, prostrate, stroma, substratum, 10 more
Today it means
noun A wide, flat river valley.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- / strath