Straggle Strag"gle noun The act of straggling. [ R.]
Carlyle.
Straggler Strag"gler noun 1. One who straggles, or departs from the direct or proper course, or from the company to which he belongs; one who falls behind the rest; one who rambles without any settled direction. 2. A roving vagabond. Shak. 3. Something that shoots, or spreads out, beyond the rest, or too far; an exuberant growth. Let thy hand supply the pruning knife,
And crop luxuriant stragglers .
Dryden. 4. Something that stands alone or by itself.
Straggling Strag"gling adjective & noun from Straggle , v.
Stragglingly Strag"gling·ly adverb In a straggling manner.
Stragulum Strag"u·lum noun ;
plural Stragula . [ Latin , a spread or covering, from
sternere to spread out.]
(Zoology) The mantle, or pallium, of a bird.
Straight Straight adjective A variant of Strait , adjective [ Obsolete or R.]
Egypt is a long country, but it is straight , that is to say, narrow.
Sir J. Mandeville.
Straight Straight adjective [
Compar. Straighter ;
superl. Straightest .] [ Middle English
strei...t , properly past participle of
strecchen to stretch, Anglo-Saxon
streht , past participle of
streccan to stretch, to extend. See
Stretch .]
1. Right, in a mathematical sense; passing from one point to another by the nearest course; direct; not deviating or crooked; as, a straight line or course; a straight piece of timber. And the crooked shall be made straight .
Isa. xl. 4. There are many several sorts of crooked lines, but there is only one which is straight .
Dryden. 2. (Botany) Approximately straight; not much curved; as, straight ribs are such as pass from the base of a leaf to the apex, with a small curve. 3. (Card Playing) Composed of cards which constitute a regular sequence, as the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten-spot; as, a straight hand; a straight flush. 4. Conforming to justice and rectitude; not deviating from truth or fairness; upright; as, straight dealing. 5. Unmixed; undiluted; as, to take liquor straight . [ Slang]
6. Making no exceptions or deviations in one's support of the organization and candidates of a political party; as, a straight Republican; a straight Democrat; also, containing the names of all the regularly nominated candidates of a party and no others; as, a straight ballot. [ Political Cant, U.S.]
Straight arch (Architecture) ,
a form of arch in which the intrados is straight, but with its joints drawn radially, as in a common arch. --
A straight face ,
one giving no evidence of merriment or other emotion. --
A straight line .
"That which lies evenly between its extreme points." Euclid. "The shortest line between two points." Chauvenet. "A line which has the same direction through its whole length." Newcomb. --
Straight- way valve ,
a valve which, when opened widely, affords a straight passageway, as for water.
Straight Straight adverb In a straight manner; directly; rightly; forthwith; immediately; as, the arrow went straight to the mark. "Floating
straight ."
Shak. I know thy generous temper well;
Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it,
It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.
Addison. Everything was going on straight .
W. Black.
Straight Straight noun (Poker) A hand of five cards in consecutive order as to value; a sequence. When they are of one suit, it is calles straight flush .
Straight Straight transitive verb To straighten. [ R.]
A Smith.
Straight-joint Straight"-joint` adjective (Architecture) Having straight joints. Specifically:
(a) Applied to a floor the boards of which are so laid that the joints form a continued line transverse to the length of the boards themselves. Brandle & C. (b) In the United States, applied to planking or flooring put together without the tongue and groove, the pieces being laid edge to edge.
Straight-lined Straight"-lined` adjective Having straight lines.
Straight-out Straight"-out` adjective Acting without concealment, obliquity, or compromise; hence, unqualified; thoroughgoing. [ Colloq. U.S.]
Straight-out and generous indignation.
Mrs. Stowe.
Straight-pight Straight"-pight` adjective Straight in form or upright in position; erect. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Straight-spoken Straight"-spo`ken adjective Speaking with directness; plain-spoken. [ Colloq. U.S.]
Lowell.
Straightedge Straight"edge` noun A board, or piece of wood or metal, having one edge perfectly straight, -- used to ascertain whether a line is straight or a surface even, and for drawing straight lines.
Straighten Straight"en transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Straighted ;
present participle & verbal noun Straighting .]
1. To make straight; to reduce from a crooked to a straight form. 2. To make right or correct; to reduce to order; as, to straighten one's affairs; to straighten an account. To straighten one's face ,
to cease laughing or smiling, etc., and compose one's features.
Straighten Straight"en transitive verb A variant of Straiten . [ Obsolete or R.]
Straightener Straight"en·er noun One who, or that which, straightens.
Straightforth Straight"forth` adverb Straightway. [ Obsolete]
Straightforward Straight`for"ward adjective Proceeding in a straight course or manner; not deviating; honest; frank. --
adverb In a straightforward manner. --
Straight`for"ward*ly ,
adverb --
Straight`for"ward*ness ,
noun
Straighthorn Straight"horn` noun (Paleon.) An orthoceras.
Straightly Straight"ly adverb In a right line; not crookedly.
Straightly Straight"ly adverb A variant of Straitly . See 1st Straight .
Straightness Straight"ness noun The quality, condition, or state, of being straight; as, the straightness of a path.
Straightness Straight"ness noun A variant of Straitness .
Straightway Straight"way` adverb Immediately; without loss of time; without delay. He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi. . . . And straightway the damsel arose.
Mark v. 41,42.
Straightways Straight"ways` adverb Straightway. [ Obsolete]
Straik Straik noun A strake.
Strain Strain noun [ See
Strene .]
1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family. He is of a noble strain .
Shak. With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain , gives vigor and fertility to the offspring.
Darwin. 2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition. Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation.
Tillotson. 3. Rank; a sort. "The common
strain ."
Dryden.
Strain Strain transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Strained ;
present participle & verbal noun Straining .] [ Old French
estraindre ,
estreindre , French
étreindre , Latin
stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Greek ... a halter, ... that which is squeezwd out, a drop, or perhaps to English
strike . Confer
Strangle ,
Strike ,
Constrain ,
District ,
Strait ,
adjective Stress ,
Strict ,
Stringent .]
1. To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To
strain his fetters with a stricter care."
Dryden. 2. (Mech.) To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it. 3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously. He sweats,
Strains his young nerves.
Shak. They strain their warbling throats
To welcome in the spring.
Dryden. 4. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person. There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it.
Swift. 5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship. 6. To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle. Prudes decayed about may track,
Strain their necks with looking back.
Swift. 7. To squeeze; to press closely. Evander with a close embrace
Strained his departing friend.
Dryden. 8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth
Is forced and strained .
Denham. The quality of mercy is not strained .
Shak. 9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. Note, if your lady strain his entertainment.
Shak. 10. To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth. To strain a point ,
to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings. --
To strain courtesy ,
to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; -- often used ironically. Shak.
Strain Strain (strān)
intransitive verb 1. To make violent efforts. "
Straining with too weak a wing."
Pope. To build his fortune I will strain a little.
Shak. 2. To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.
Strain Strain noun 1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. Specifically: --
(a) A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain ; the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain. Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less strain and less ostentation.
Landor. Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a strain .
Sir W. Temple. (b) (Mech. Physics) A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress. Rankine. 2. (Mus.) A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement. Their heavenly harps a lower strain began.
Dryden. 3. Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain ; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career. "A
strain of gallantry."
Sir W. Scott. Such take too high a strain at first.
Bacon. The genius and strain of the book of Proverbs.
Tillotson. It [ Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains
Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains .
Bunyan. 4. Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Confer 1st Strain . Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements.
Hayward.
Strain Strain noun (Hort.) A cultural subvariety that is only slightly differentiated.
Strainable Strain"a·ble (-ȧ*b'l)
adjective 1. Capable of being strained. 2. Violent in action. Holinshed.
Strainably Strain"a·bly adverb Violently. Holinshed.
Strained Strained adjective 1. Subjected to great or excessive tension; wrenched; weakened; as, strained relations between old friends. 2. Done or produced with straining or excessive effort; as, his wit was strained .
Strainer Strain"er noun 1. One who strains. 2. That through which any liquid is passed for purification or to separate it from solid matter; anything, as a screen or a cloth, used to strain a liquid; a device of the character of a sieve or of a filter; specifically, an openwork or perforated screen, as for the end of the suction pipe of a pump, to prevent large solid bodies from entering with a liquid.
Straining Strain"ing adjective & noun from Strain . Straining piece (Architecture) ,
a short piece of timber in a truss, used to maintain the ends of struts or rafters, and keep them from slipping. See Illust. of Queen- post .
Straint Straint (strānt)
noun [ Old French
estrainte ,
estreinte , French
étrainte . See 2nd
Strain .]
Overexertion; excessive tension; strain. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
Strait Strait adjective A variant of Straight . [ Obsolete]
Strait Strait adjective [
Compar. Straiter ;
superl. Straitest .] [ Middle English
straight ,
streyt ,
streit , Old French
estreit ,
estroit , French
étroit , from Latin
strictus drawn together, close, tight, past participle of
stringere to draw tight. See 2nd
Strait , and confer
Strict .]
1. Narrow; not broad. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matt. vii. 14. Too strait and low our cottage doors.
Emerson. 2. Tight; close; closely fitting. Shak. 3. Close; intimate; near; familiar. [ Obsolete] "A
strait degree of favor."
Sir P. Sidney. 4. Strict; scrupulous; rigorous. Some certain edicts and some strait decrees.
Shak. The straitest sect of our religion.
Acts xxvi. 5 (Rev. Ver.). 5. Difficult; distressful; straited. To make your strait circumstances yet straiter .
Secker. 6. Parsimonious; niggargly; mean. [ Obsolete]
I beg cold comfort, and you are so strait ,
And so ingrateful, you deny me that.
Shak.
Strait Strait adverb Strictly; rigorously. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Strait Strait noun ;
plural Straits . [ Middle English
straight ,
streit , Old French
estreit ,
estroit . See
Strait ,
adjective ]
1. A narrow pass or passage. He brought him through a darksome narrow strait
To a broad gate all built of beaten gold.
Spenser. Honor travels in a strait so narrow
Where one but goes abreast.
Shak. 2. Specifically:
(Geology) A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural; as, the strait , or straits , of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the strait , or straits , of Mackinaw. We steered directly through a large outlet which they call a strait , though it be fifteen miles broad.
De Foe. 3. A neck of land; an isthmus. [ R.]
A dark strait of barren land.
Tennyson. 4. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits . For I am in a strait betwixt two.
Phil. i. 23. Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever.
South. Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that time in his thoughts.
Broome.
Strait Strait transitive verb To put to difficulties. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Strait-handed Strait"-hand`ed adjective Parsimonious; sparing; niggardly. [ R.] --
Strait"- hand`ed*ness ,
noun [ R.]
Strait-jacket Strait"-jack`et noun A dress of strong materials for restraining maniacs or those who are violently delirious. It has long sleeves, which are closed at the ends, confining the hands, and may be tied behind the back.
Strait-laced Strait"-laced` adjective 1. Bound with stays. Let nature have scope to fashion the body as she thinks best; we have few well-shaped that are strait- laced .
Locke. 2. Restricted; stiff; constrained. [ R.]
Fuller. 3. Rigid in opinion; strict in manners or morals.
Strait-waistcoat Strait"-waist`coat noun Same as Strait-jacket .
Straiten Strait"en transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Straitened ;
present participle & verbal noun Straitening .]
1. To make strait; to make narrow; hence, to contract; to confine. Waters, when straitened , as at the falls of bridges, give a roaring noise.
Bacon. In narrow circuit, straitened by a foe.
Milton. 2. To make tense, or tight; to tighten. They straiten at each end the cord.
Pope. 3. To restrict; to distress or embarrass in respect of means or conditions of life; -- used chiefly in the past participle; -- as, a man straitened in his circumstances.
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