| 释义 |
▪ I. streak, n.1|striːk|
Forms: α. 1 strica, 4 stric, stryk, 5 strick(e, 5–6 stryke, 5–7 strike; β. 5 strek, 5–6 streke, 6 streeke, 6–7 streek, streake, 6– streak.
[OE. strica wk. masc., f. weak-grade of the Teut.-root *strī̆k-: see strike v. The α and β forms represent a difference of dialectal phonetic development: in the α forms the ĭ remained (cf. prick n.:—OE. prica); in the β forms the OE. ĭ in open syllable became ME. ē (with strēke cf. week, ME. wēke:—OE. wicu). It is probable that the spelling strike, stryke in the late 16th and early 17th c. sometimes represents a pronunciation (striːk), so that these forms would really belong to the α class. Cf. Goth. strik-s, OHG., mod.G. strich masc., MDu. strēke (Du. streek fem.), which agree in sense and root-grade with the Eng. n.]
†1.
a. A line, mark, stroke; esp. one used as a sign or character in writing or as a unit or degree in measurement. Obs.
αc1000ælfric Hom. II. 200 An strica oððe an stæf [L. iota unum aut unus apex] ðære ealdan æ ne bið forᵹæᵹed oðþæt hi ealle ᵹefyllede beon. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 249 Esdras..fonde up newe manere titles and strikes [L. apices litterarum] to write among þe lettres. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §12. 24, & endith in the nexte strik of the plate. Ibid., Techyng by swych strikes the howres of planetes by ordre as thei sitten in the heuene. c1400Destr. Troy 3024 The shede þurghe þe shyre here shone as þe lilly, Streght as a strike, straght þurgh the myddes. c1460[see β.]. 1530Palsgr. 58 There is a stryke above the hed of au, by cause the accent of the worde is there. 1598W. Phillip tr. Langenes' Voy. Ships Holland E. Ind. 11 We found that our Compasses helde two Strikes to farre Northwarde. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 178 Upon this Exchequer board is laid a cloth..rewed with strikes distant one from another a foote. 1611tr. Serlio's Archit. iv. vii. 34 b, The strickes of the Columnes, which wee call Chanels or hollowings, shall be 24. in number.
βc1440Promp. Parv. 479/1 Strek, or poynt be-twyx ij. clausys yn a boke (S.W. poyntinge of ij. clauses), liminiscus. c1460J. Metham Wks. 89 Yef in the same lyne be suche strykys descende and in the myddys be cutte or deuyded with other lynes or strekes. 1545in Archæologia XLIII. 237, iiij copys of ymagerye worke with strekes of golds. 1594Blundevil Exerc. i. xxvii. (ed. 7) 65 Minutes are marked with one streek over the head, seconds with two streekes, thirds with three streekes. 1633B. Jonson Tale Tub iv. i. Scene interloping 41 Cle. Zure, you can gage 'hun. Med. To a streake, or lesse: I know his diameters, and circumference. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. xxii. 238 Men and women use to cut three streaks on their body. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 7 View them [the wings of the butterfly] in the Microscope, and you may see the very streaks of the Coelestial pencil that drew them. 1735Dyche & Pardon Dict., Streak, a Line or Mark make to put Things in order by, &c.
†b. A cutting stroke. Obs. rare—1.
1725Bradley's Family Dict. s.v. Pears, Give them [sc. the pears] a streak upon the Head with the point of a Knife.
2. a. A thin irregular line of a different colour or substance from that of the material or surface of which it forms a part.
α1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 414/2 Marble hauing white specks or stricks in it.
β1577Grange Golden Aphrod. H iv b, And teares with streakes doth paynte Their lether cheekes. 1646Suckling Poems (1648) 39 For streaks of red were mingled there, Such as are on a Katherne Pear. 1666G. Harvey Morbus Angl. xxi. (1672) 50 A high coloured Urin with a number of small streeks of fat, swimming a top in the form of a Cobweb. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 879 But say, what mean those colourd streaks in Heavn [sc. a rainbow]. 1718Prior Solomon i. 77 While the fantastic Tulip strives to break In two-fold Beauty, and a parted Streak. 1784Cowper Task vi. 241 Not a flow'r But shows some touch, in freckle, streak, or stain, Of his unrivall'd pencil. 1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 613 Petals..purple, with 3 or 4 darker streaks. 1845Budd Dis. Liver 220 Streaks of a black substance were observed in the matter which was vomited. 1845–7Longfellow Evang. ii. iv. 172 Then there appeared and spread faint streaks of gray o'er her forehead. 1860Tyndall Glac. ii. xxvii. 381 We observe blue streaks, from a few inches to several feet in length, upon the walls of the same crevasse. 1876O. C. Stone in Jrnl. R. Geogr. Soc. XLVI. 57 They paint the face with streaks by means of a rose-coloured lime. 1890Hardwicke's Sci.-Gossip XXVI. 265/2 The appearance of Jupiter is very different from that of Mars. On his surface we see grey..streaks or belts. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 595 Papules rarely arise, but there are often red scaly streaks on the face. 1911Webster s.v., Bacon with a streak of lean and a streak of fat.
b. A line of colour, less firm and regular than a stripe, occurring as a distinctive mark on the coat of an animal, the plumage of a bird, the body or wings of an insect. Also fig.
α1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 70 [This aspis] is of white colour,..beset with black spots or strikes. 1626Maldon (Essex) Docum. Bundle 208 No. 9 A tall darkeish graye gelding,..haveing a white stricke on one side.
β1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 74 Too much of the Leopard..in our spots, and streaks, with sinfull customes, and habits. 1687Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 237 This Ass had a black List down the back, and the rest of its Body was all begirt with white and Tawny streaks. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 150 The better Brood [of bees]..Are mark'd with Royal streaks of shining hue. 1815Stevens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. i. 29 There is a short streak at the angles of the mouth, beneath the eye, sometimes whitish, sometimes yellow. 1882–4Yarrell's Brit. Birds (ed. 4) III. 561 The black loral streak..is assumed the second year.
c. In the names of moths, etc.
1704Petiver Gazophyl. ii. Tab. xi, Papilio minor fuscus, duplici linea inferne præditus, The brown double Streak. 1775M. Harris Engl. Lepidoptera 45 Phalæna... Streak. 1815Burrow Elem. Conchol. 206 Patella Mammillaris. Black Hair Streak Limpet. 1832J. Rennie Butterfl. & Moths. 1872J. G. Wood Insects at Home 461 The Moth which is appropriately termed the Streak (Chesias spartiata).
d. Min. The line of coloured powder produced by scratching a mineral or fossil, or the mark made by rubbing it on a harder surface.
1794Kirwan Elem. Min. I. 26 External characters. These are colour, shape, lustre,..colour of streak &c. 1796Ibid. (ed. 2) I. 183 Its streak somewhat glossy. 1805Weaver tr. Werner's Ext. Char. Fossils 190 Solid fossils..when scraped..yield a powder, presenting the same, or a different, colour from that of the fossil; and also the same or a more or less different lustre. This is called the streak. 1849J. Nicol Man. Min. 487 Kobellite... Colour blackish lead-grey to steel-grey; streak black. 1888Crookes Mitchell's Pract. Assaying (ed. 6) 239 Cinnabar has both a red colour and a red streak.
e. Biol. etc. A linear mark, stria. Also, a narrow tract in a tissue.
primitive streak: see primitive a. 8.
1837P. Keith Bot. Lex. 34 If the streak of the parenchyma is to be regarded as a good evidence. But this streak is not discernible in all stems. 1856Henslow Bot. Terms, Streak, a straight line formed by a vein, by colour, by indentation, &c. Ibid., Stria (a groove or furrow), a streak. 1859Semple Diphtheria 20 We often see a long, narrow streak, of a dark red colour, which extends into the pharynx. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 716 The degeneration may be more intense in certain streaks; as in the posterior root-zones, or in Goll's tracts.
f. Glass-making. (See quot. 1807.)
1807T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 512 Streaks. These are waved lines, often visible in glass, which interrupt distinct vision. 1832G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 197 Large plates,..to be perfect, require to be without streak or bubble.
g. Bacteriology. A light scratch made with the bacteria-covered point of a needle on the surface of the mass to be infected. Cf. streak-culture in 8.
1892G. M. Sternberg Man. Bacteriol. i. viii. 75 We commonly make a streak upon the surface of cooked potato or solidified blood serum in studying the development of various bacteria on these culture media. 1893W. R. Dawson tr. Schenk's Man. Bacteriol. 57. 1939 A. J. Salle Fund. Princ. Bacteriol. ix. 133 The last streaks should thin out the culture sufficiently to give isolated colonies. 1969Sirockin & Cullimore Practical Microbiol. ii. 17 It will be observed that away from the initial streak, the growth is less dense and discrete colonies are present.
h. Hairdressing. A strand or strands of hair fashionably tinted, esp. in a light colour. Cf. high light 1 b.
1949Queen 21 Dec. 39 Light streaks are again fashionable. These can be tinted to match an evening dress—the colour can be washed out next day. 1956Ashley & Stevenson Hair Design & Control xi. 127 When introducing blonde streaks, or tipping, it assists to segregate the streak or section of hair concerned by means of a piece of cloth or Cellophane. 1966J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 144/1 Streaks, light strands of hair deliberately contrived to enhance the appearance. 1979R. Rendell Make Death love Me v. 40 She and Pam argued as to whether it was possible to put blonde streaks in one's hair at home.
3. a. A faint line of light (esp. of the dawn) diversifying the darkness. Also fig.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iii. 2 The gray ey'd morne smiles on the frowning night, Checkring the Easterne Cloudes with streaks of light. 1605― Macb. iii. iii. 5 The West yet glimmers with some streakes of Day. 1697Dryden æneis ix. 477 And see the scatter'd Streaks of dawning day. 1812–16J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 450 When we look at a candle..with our eyes almost closed, streaks of light appear to dart upwards and downwards. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. iii. vi, Darkness..with here and there some streak of faint lurid light. 1881S. R. Macphail Relig. House Pluscardyn xii. 114 The grey streaks of Reformation dawn speedily forced themselves upon public attention. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v, The first faint streaks of daylight were stealing across the eastern sky.
b. A flash of lightning, etc.
1781Cowper Heroism 18 While through the stygian veil that blots the day, In dazzling streaks, the vivid lightnings play. 1828Carlyle Misc., Burns (1840) I. 352 Streaks of hell-fire quivering madly. 1847Illustr. Lond. News 10 July 19/3 She saw a streak of lightning shoot in an oblique direction. 1863Aytoun Lays Scott. Cavaliers, Exec. Montrose xiii, And the jagged streak of the levin-bolt Lit up the gloomy town.
c. slang. streak of lightning, ? a glass of gin (cf. lightning n. 2). like a streak, like streaks: with the swiftness of lightning; also quick as a streak and transf.
1839Knickerbocker XIII. 298, I see him yesterday afternoon..starting off like a streak, to go to Norridgewock. 1849C. Lanman Lett. from Alleghany Mts. xi. 89 The water wheeled my head round to the hole, and in I went quick as a streak. 1859C. Mackay Life & Liberty Amer. I. 169 ‘Ginsling,’ ‘brandy-smash’, ‘a streak of lightning’, [etc.]. 1887M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 376 He went past me like a streak when I was coming up the road. 1901Daily Chron. 26 Sept. 6/2 Workman was running like a ‘streak,’ to use the local phrase. 1901Scribner's Mag. XXIX. 501/1 We worked like streaks. 1920C. Sandburg Smoke & Steel 138 Maybe I will light out like a streak of wind.
d. slang (orig. U.S.). A rapid move; (a journey undertaken at) a fast rate. Also fig.
a1861T. Winthrop John Brent (1862) xxii. 243 She's got the old man to take care of and follow off on his next streak. 1865A. D. Whitney Gayworthys 141 She's going a good streak, ain't she? 1875J. G. Holland Sevenoaks iv. 60 We'll wopse 'im up in some blankits, an' make a clean streak for the woods. 1909R. A. Wason Happy Hawkins 280 She was in the habit of estimatin' just how little nourishment it would take to run her to the next feed, gettin' it into her in the shortest possible time, an' then makin' a streak for it. 1960Twentieth Cent. Dec. 556 His streak to stardom.
e. to talk a streak, to talk fast or constantly; to talk a blue streak: see blue streak (b) s.v. blue a. 13.
1915J. London Jacket v. 37 He sleeps most of the watch, and we can talk a streak. 1968T. Wolfe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test xxvii. 373 Robertson's talking a streak. It's a grand speech.
4. a. A long irregular narrow strip of land, water, etc.; a line of colour representing a distant object in a landscape.
the silver streak: the English Channel; see silver n. 21 and cf. quot. 1870 below.
1727Dyer Grongar Hill 118 See on the mountain's southern side..How close and small the hedges lie! What streaks of meadows cross the eye! 1818Keats Lett. 20 July (1895) 173 The first glance was a streak of waters deep in the Bases of large black Mountains. 1841Browning Pippa Passes i. Poems (1905) 167/2 Ah, the clear morning! I can see St. Mark's: That black streak is the belfry. 1842Tennyson Œnone 55 Far-up the solitary morning smote The streaks of virgin snow. 1865W. G. Palgrave Journ. Central & E. Arabia II. 128 Though separated from it by a streak of desert. 1870Gladstone in Edin. Rev. Oct. 588 Happy England!..happy..in this, that the wise dispensation of Providence has cut her off, by that streak of silver sea,..partly from the dangers, absolutely from the temptations which attend upon the local neighbourhood of the Continental nations. 1872Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 274 The white streak of water running down the face of the mountain is Sour Milk Gill. 1883Morfill Slavonic Lit. i. 6 There is also a thin streak of Little Russian population in the kingdom of Hungary, north of the Carpathians. 1907J. London Before Adam viii, When we reached the edge of the forest he was no more than a streak in the distance.
b. colloq. (orig. Austral.). A tall, thin person.
1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 73 Streak, a tall, lean person. 1947K. Tennant Lost Haven iii. 57 Thank goodness he hadn't told that long, gabbling streak about Cherry. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. ix. 169 There is a fusion of terms between those for the thin and lanky lad and those for the overgrown... Epithets include:..streak or streaker, Tower of London, walking barge pole, [etc.]. 1966Listener 3 Mar. 317/1 That long streak of misery in a blue shirt.
5. a. The horizontal course of a stratum of coal (cf. stretch, strike ns.). b. A stratum or vein (of metal ore).
1672G. Sinclair Hydrostaticks (1683) 273 The Coal..hath its three principal dimensions,..Longitude, Latitude, and Profundity... The Longitude is nothing else but what is termed by the Coal-hewers, the Streek. 1686Plot Staffordsh. iii. 129 According to the course of the row or streek of the coal. 1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 334 The streeks or flat veins. Ibid. 339 By the word streek they mean stretch, or a vein between the strata which stretches or spreads in a horizontal position. 1872Schele de Vere Americanisms 171 He hopes..to strike it very rich, as soon as he comes to the pay-streak, that is, the lode or vein which is to repay him for all his labors. 1904S. E. White Blazed Trail Stories xii, Here a pocket, there a streak, yon a clear ten feet of low-grade ore.
6. a. An intermixture (of some contrasting or unexpected quality, esp. in a person or his character); an inherited strain. a streak of red: a strain of American (‘Red’) Indian blood.
1647Cowley Mistr., Wisdom Poems (1905) 86 With your grave Rules from musty Morals brought: Through which some streaks too of Divinity ran. 1762Ann. Reg., Charac. 32/2 Broad streaks of folly now and then appear through all the grave wisdom..of those mighty statesmen. 1856Mrs. Stowe Dred I. ix. 121 Just act, now, as if you'd got a streak of something in you. 1865Grote Plato II. xxiii. 158 There is..a streak of eccentricity in his character. 1885W. D. Howells Silas Lapham (1891) II. 175 He always did have that close streak in him. 1889Spectator 28 Dec., The deep and unscrupulous craft which lay in streaks through all Cavour's great character. 1890J. Aitchison Signa Christi i. 23 The streak of immorality would have run through the whole history. 1908W. Churchill Mr. Crewe's Career vii. 84, I can't understand Victoria. She really has influence with these country people... Sometimes I think Victoria has a common streak in her. 1913Play Pictorial No. 134. 82 A woman even suspected of a ‘streak of red’ is scarcely within the pale.
b. A temporary run (of luck). In phr. (on) a losing (or winning) streak, (experiencing) a series of losses (or wins). Hence, a series (of games, etc.) of a specified kind.
1843Knickerbocker XXI. 303, I had ‘struck a streak of bad luck’. 1865‘Mark Twain’ in Harte & ‘Twain’ Sk. Sixties (1926) 205 There never was a bad James in the Sunday-school books that had such a streak of luck as this sinful Jim. 1871B. Harte Luck of Roaring Camp 34 We've had a streak of bad luck since we left Poker Flat. 1882Poker; how to play it 94 The player in this seat should not come in..under a pair of court cards, unless he happens to be in a streak of good luck. 1900A. Upward Ebenezer Lobb 114 He said he found luck did come in these queer streaks. 1912C. Mathewson Pitching in a Pinch xi. 233 But what's a new hat against a losing streak or a batting slump? 1950Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Okla.) 30 Apr. d. 6/2 Last year's edition of the Indians set one of the hottest paces in the league before folding with a long losing streak. 1963A. Baron Lowlife xi. 107 The old song inside my head, don't be mad, don't walk out of a winning streak. 1967Boston Globe 5 Apr. 51/5 It is also fair enough to figure the 76ers will end the Celtics' streak of eight straight National Basketball Assn. titles. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 35/6 Toronto Marlboros snapped Montreal Junior Canadiens' unbeaten streak at 10 games. 1968Winning streak [see goal-tending vbl. n. s.v. goal n. 6]. 1972‘H. Carmichael’ Naked to Grave xvi. 183 Mrs Davey won quite a lot of money... She said something to him about Mrs Davey's winning streak. 1973G. Moffat Deviant Death ix. 125 The police were on a losing streak and they knew it. The questions were just form. 1976New Yorker 15 Nov. 162/1 ‘We're on a winning streak. We're on a hot roll,’ one city official said happily last summer, during the triumphal series of events that began with Operation Sail and extended through other local Bicentennial celebrations. 1980Times 19 Feb. 11/5 Their winning streak includes the Boat Race record. 1976Cumberland News 3 Dec., Gilsland's Station Hotel team, playing in the Irthing Valley Sunday League, are still in a winning streak.
7. Any of various virus diseases of plants which cause discoloured stripes to appear on their leaves; = streak disease, sense 8 below.
1930Discovery June 196/1 Other important virus diseases of plants include..streak of maize,..and many others. 1936J. Johnson in Phytopathology XXVI. 285 The writer has repeatedly observed a disease of tobacco in the field that is characterized by a necrosis of, or along, the veins of the leaf... The term ‘tobacco streak’ is..proposed as perhaps the simplest and most suggestive for this malady. 1939N.Z. Jrnl. Sci. & Technol. A. XX. 365 In New Zealand, pea-streak has not been observed other than at Palmerston North. 1952Gram & Weber Plant Dis. iii. 387/2 Heavy dressings of stable manure make the symptoms of tomato streak worse. 1963L. Bos Symptoms Virus Dis. in Plants 39 The term ‘streak’, such as in ‘cocksfoot streak’ or ‘pea streak’, is confusive and insufficient. The name does not indicate whether the streak is chlorotic or yellow, such as in ‘cocksfoot streak’, or is necrotic, such as in ‘pea streak’. 1977J. Kranz et al. Diseases, Pests & Weeds in Tropical Crops 21 Maize streak has not been reported from Europe or the Americas.
8. attrib. and Comb., as streak-like adj.; streak camera, a camera which uses the principles of streak photography; also, an electron-optical analogue of this allowing the resolution of events of the order of a picosecond duration and used esp. in high-speed spectroscopy (see quots. 1973, 1977); streak culture, a bacterial culture made by drawing the point of an infected needle or the like over the surface of a solid culture medium; streak disease = sense 7 above; streak fallowing (see quot.); streak-flowered a. Bot., striate; streak lightning, forked lightning; streak photography, a form of photography in which film is automatically and rapidly moved past the open shutter of a camera, allowing a one-dimensional record of high-speed events to be made which can be reconstituted optically; so streak photograph; streak plate, (a) Bacteriology, (a vessel containing) a streak culture; (b) Min., a small tablet of unglazed porcelain on which minerals may be rubbed to ascertain the colour of the streak (sense 2 d); streak powder (see quot., cf. 2 d); streak stitch (see quot.); streak vein, ? = sense 5 b; streak virus, a virus causing a streak disease in plants.
1962Sci. Amer. May 102/2 For this purpose we use a *streak camera. 1973Ibid. June 60/2 In the streak camera, which has an electronic circuit fast enough to measure picosecond events, light from a slit is focused onto a cathode where electrons are released and accelerated towards a phosphorus substance, which emits light. A voltage increasing with time..streaks the electrons across the phosphor so that electrons released at earlier times appear at a different position on the phosphor than electrons released later. 1977Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXV. 772/2 Direct linear measurement of pulse durations by electronoptical streak-cameras, in which the time-into-space transformation is brought about by deflecting an electronoptical slit image across the output phosphor of an image-tube.
1892G. M. Sternberg Man. Bacteriol. i. viii. 75 Koch made ‘*streak cultures’ by drawing the point of a platinum needle, charged with bacteria, over the surface of a gelatin or agar plate. 1893W. R. Dawson tr. Schenk's Man. Bacteriol. 60 Blood serum..is principally adapted for surface or streak cultures (Strichculturen). 1926A. Bulleid Text-bk. Bacteriol. vii. 62 An examination of the culture tube with the naked eye will reveal the presence of ‘colonies’ on or in the medium, according to whether the culture was made on the surface (streak culture) or into the medium (stab or shake culture).
1923W. F. Bewley Dis. Glasshouse Plants vi. 132 The organism from the tomato can cause a number of ‘stripe’ or ‘*streak’ diseases of other plants. 1925Rep. Proc. Imperial Bot. Conf. 132 (heading) Streak disease, an infectious chlorosis of sugar-cane. Ibid. 133 Streak disease in maize has been known in Natal for many years. 1938Jrnl. Agric. Res. LVI. 747 A virus disease of peas.., manifested by a streaking of the stems and leaves and a spotting of the pods, was observed under greenhouse conditions..in the fall and winter of 1934. The disease..resembles the streak disease described by Linford, in 1929, as occurring in pea fields throughout the United States. 1970Liebscher & Koehler tr. Fröhlich & Rodewald's Pests & Dis. Tropical Crops 240 Leaves [of sugar cane] infected with streak disease exhibit light⁓coloured, short and long streaks along the veins.
1677Plot Oxfordsh. 243 There is a sort of tillage..which they call *streak-fallowing; the manner is, to plough one furrow and leave one.
1822Hortus Anglicus II. 186 Sisyrinchium Striatum. *Streak flowered Sisyrinchium.
1916Chamb. Jrnl. Aug. 560/1 It was *streak lightning that was observed.
1876Clin. Soc. Trans. IX. 87 Small white *streak-like spots.
1950Jrnl. Appl. Physics XXI. 448/2 (caption) *Streak photograph illustrating the motion of the platform of the instrument shock testing machine. Ibid. 445/1 Methods of *streak photography are easy to perform and can often be done with ordinary laboratory equipment. 1952G. A. Jones High Speed Photogr. ix. 181 Streak photography is mainly of value in the case of luminous objects. 1980Sci. Amer. May 102/2 The course of growth over time also appears to be continuous, as can be seen in time-lapse motion pictures, multiple-exposure photographs and streak photographs. (A streak photograph is made with a camera in which the lens is left open and the film moves at a constant speed.)
1895Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. Suppl. 83/1 ‘*Streak-plates’ are made on gelatine and agar, after the medium has been poured in the plates and become solidified, by drawing an infected needle across them in four or five parallel courses. 1898Brush & Penfield Man. Determ. Mineral. (ed. 15) v. 228 The streak of a mineral..may be quickly determined by rubbing it on a piece of white, unglazed porcelain... Pieces of unglazed porcelain, called streak plates, are made especially for this purpose. 1964J. Sinkankas Mineral. for Amateurs viii. 202 Hematite crystals appear quite black, but when rubbed across a porcelain streak plate, the characteristic deep red trace shows the true color. 1966McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. III. 616/2 Streak plates are incubated in a closed vessel in which the air is replaced by an inert oxygen-free gas.
1857Dana Man. Min. (1862) 56 The color of a surface that has been rubbed or scratched..is called the streak, and the powder abraded, the *streak-powder.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 464 In hand-made laces the veins of leaves or flowers are made with an open line, that is sometimes designated *Streak Stitch.
1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 404 In Derbyshire..great attention is paid to all the *streek veins.
1930Ann. Appl. Biol. XVII. 623 Our maize *streak virus was taken from a naturally streaked maize plant. 1948Phytopathology XXXVIII. 421 To determine the incidence of the streak virus in wild and crop plants, collections were made in areas near infected tobacco fields.
▪ II. streak, n.2 slang (orig. U.S.).|striːk|
[f. streak v.2 6 d.]
An act of running naked in a public place; = streaking vbl. n.2 4. Also attrib. Cf. streek v. 5.
1974Newsweek 4 Feb. 63/3 A student who participated with 125 others in a co-educational streak has been suspended from school. 1974Daily Tel. 11 Mar. 16 High spirits may account for some streaks, and sheer frustration or a desire to insult society for others. 1974Newsweek 18 Mar. 42/3 Any number of other streak-watchers didn't react at all. 1980Times 5 Jan. 3/5 [He] ran down Dean Street, Soho, on New Year's Eve, wearing only shoes while taking part in a ‘streak’ for charity.
▪ III. streak, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.|striːk|
Forms: 5–6, 9 streke, 6 streyk(e, 6–7 streak(e, 7, 9 streek.
[? a. ON. striúka to stroke, rub, wipe; but cf. straik v. (Sc.), strake v.3, strike v., stroke v.]
1. trans. To stroke.
c1440Promp. Parv. 479/2 Strekyn, as menn do cattys, or hors or howndys, palmito. 1851W. Anderson Rhymes (1867) 60 (E.D.D.) Streek my hair.
2. To make level, flat, or even; spec. to level (corn, etc.) to the rim of a measure by passing a piece of straight wood over it. Cf. straik v., strike v.
c1440Promp. Parv. 479/2 Strekyn or make pleyne, complano. Ibid., St(r)ekyn, or streke mesure, as buschellys and oþer lyke, hostio. 1829Brockett N.C. Words, Streek, to measure corn exactly. Ibid., Streeked-measure, exact measure—in opposition to heaped measure. 1841Hartshorne Salopia Ant. Gloss., Streke, to strike with a streckle.
†3. To polish or make smooth by rubbing; to iron (clothes). Obs.
1567Drant Horace, Ep. Ded. *iij, The verie Crounes and Scepters of best Monarks and princes had bene rustie, wembde, and warpde with obliuion, hadd not they with the goodly eloquence of greate clarkes, and Poettes, ben streked and filed. 1823E. Moor Suffolk Words, Streek, to iron clothes.
†4. ? To sweep; to clean by sweeping, rubbing, or the like. Obs.
1492Churchw. Acc. St. Mary, Oxon (Wood MS. D. 3 lf. 261) Item for streking of the church 4 times, xvi d... Item for streyking the roffe of the church, xii d. 1498Churchw. Acc. Croscombe etc. (Somerset Rec. Soc.) 66 Item for strekyng the wyndows and wallys, iiiid. 1516Ibid. 73 Item ffor strekyng off y⊇ chercheerd, iiiid.
†5. To rub or smear (a surface) with (some soft or liquid substance). Obs.
1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde ii. vi. (1552) 87 In the water of this decoction beyng warme, dyp a spunge,..fomenting, soking, & streking the back with the same. 1561Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 6 Wyth thys wyne streke the lymmes greued. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 257 And with the iuyce of this Ile streake her eyes.
†6. ? To spread, lay evenly. Obs.
c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 471 Then take the same stuff, and streke above the trenchours al hote. 1517in Archæologia XLVI. 205 Paid to Alson hog for strekyng of the straw mete & wages, iij d.
†7. To pass (one's hand) over a surface. Obs.
1607Dekker & Wilkins Jests 38 Two of them meete him at a corner, and only with streaking of their hands on his hose, gesse whether this bayte be worth the nibling at.
†8. intr. To rub softly or make strokes with an implement upon (a surface). Obs.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 410 Lay vnto the place a peece of shoomakers waxe made like a flat cake,..and with your iron not made ouer hot, streek softly vpon it too and fro, vntill the said wax be throughly melted into the sore.
Hence ˈstreaking vbl. n.1; pl. the last milk that comes before the cow's udder is empty.
1658W. Gurnall Chr. in Armour ii. verse 15 xiii. §1. 424 This was Christs fare-well Sermon, the very streakings of that milk, which he had fed them withall. 1866J. E. Brogden Prov. Lincs, Strappings, Streakings, Strokings, the last milk given by a cow.
▪ IV. streak, v.2|striːk|
Forms: 5–6 streke, 6 streeke, 6–7 streake, 6– streak.
[f. streak n.1 Cf. strake v.4]
†1. trans. ? To cancel by drawing a line or lines across. Obs. (Cf. strike v.)
c1440Promp. Parv. 479/2 Strekyn, or cancellyn a thynge wrytyn, cancello, obelo. 1594Blundevil Exerc. i. v. (1597) 7 b, Streeke out the 48. and also the first figure of your Diuisor which is 5. 1595T. Edwards Cephalus & Procris (Roxb.) 28 Affection is the whole Parenthesis, That here I streake, which from our taske doth misse.
2. a. To mark with lines or stripes of a different colour, substance, or texture; to form streaks on or in.
1595T. Edwards Narcissus (Roxb.) 55 Now Phœbus gins..To streake the welkin with his darting beames. 1612Drayton Poly-olb. xiv. 254 No browne, nor sullyed black the face or legs [of the Cotswold sheep] doth streak. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 354 Some pieces of Rock streaked with gold and silver. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 623 To morrow ere fresh Morning streak the East With first approach of light. 1784tr. Beckford's Vathek (1868) 22 The clear blue sky appeared streaked over with streams of blood. 1847Tennyson Princess v. 188 Pure as lines of green that streak the white Of the first snowdrop's inner leaves. 1888F. Hume Mme. Midas i. Prol., The sudden line of white foam every now and then streaking the dark green waves. 1913Illustr. Lond. News 22 Feb. 238/3 Large mines of rock-salt streaked here and there by riband-like veins of sylvine.
fig.1711Steele Spect. No. 118 ⁋3 This Affliction in my Life has streaked all my Conduct with a Softness, of which I should otherwise have been incapable.
b. Bacteriology. To draw an infected needle or the like lightly over the surface of a solid culture medium in order to initiate a culture in which there is a varied density of growth: used with either the needle or the medium as obj. Also, to transfer (a bacterial specimen) in this way.
1910[implied at streaking vbl. n. 1]. 1927R. A. Kelser Man. Veter. Bacteriol. vi. 70 By going to the end of the streak with a sterile needle and streaking that portion down, the end of such down streak will contain but very few bacteria. 1934A. T. Henrici Biol. of Bacteria xii. 203 It is often advisable to streak a second or even a third plate without recharging the wire loop. 1949Kelly & Hite Microbiology xi. 147 The specimen is streaked out with a sterile inoculating needle. 1969Sirockin & Cullimore Practical Microbiol. ii. 17 Streak out a loopful of the broth culture using the aseptic techniques described. 1976Williams & Shaw Micro-Organisms x. 124 (caption) Streaking a plate with pure cultures. 1977Lancet 29 Oct. 906/1 A bacteriological loop is used to sweep across the surface of a young culture of the isolate and is then streaked across one end of the strip. 1980Nature 21 Feb. 793/1 Faecal specimens were collected on sterile ‘Culturettes’..and streaked onto MacConkey plates.
c. Hairdressing. To tint (the hair) with streaks (streak n.2 2 h). Cf. streaking vbl. n.2 3.
1965R. Corson Fashions in Hair xiv. 625 Women developed an experimental urge and began streaking their hair.
3. To form or prolong in streaks.
1895P. Hemingway Out of Egypt ii. 181 He looked at the great oaks standing motionless, at the answering shadows streaked along the meadows.
4. intr.
†a. Of a comet: To emit rays or streamers of light. Obs.
1606Heywood 2nd Pt. Q. Eliz. Troub. (1609) E 2, Looke how it streakes, what doe you thinke of it? Shir. Tis a strang Comet M. Hobson.
b. Of lightning: To break forth in a streak.
1849Cupples Green Hand xiv. (1856) 139, I saw a blue flare of lightning streak out betwixt the bank of grey haze and the cloud that hung over it. 1902Westm. Gaz. 2 July 2/3 Perhaps, however, lightning can streak into many places at once.
5. To become streaked or streaky.
1870Pall Mall Gaz. 25 Nov. 12/2 His locks are thinning and his whiskers streaking with silver. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. III. 231 Paper at all liable to streak should be toned slowly.
6. a. To go or advance quickly; to go at full speed, to rush. Also with off, out, up, etc. [Originally a respelling of streek v. 5, probably through assoc. with streak n. 3 c.]
1768A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 51 O'er hill an' dale she forcefully did dreel; A' road to her was bad an' gueed alike, Nane o't she wyl'd, but forret still did streak. 1834New Monthly Mag. XLI. 465 Away we ‘streaked’ at the rate of twelve miles an hour against the current. 1844‘Jon. Slick’ High Life N. York I. 159 The door-bell rung, and in streaked five or six fellers. 1888P. Gillmore Days & Nights by Desert xx. 170 True, it was wounded; but as it ‘streaked’ across the plain, from the pace it was going, no one would have thought so. 1893Field 22 Apr. 581/3 A flock of teal come ‘streaking’ down towards me. 1897Outing XXIX. 439/1 A strong, young, spiked buck came streaking through the Chêniere. 1914Times 26 Nov. 6 Discretion seems the better part of valour when one streaks through in one's car. 1915H. Rosher In Royal Naval Air Service (1916) 50, I climbed to 2,000 feet and streaked off over the Channel. 1931Punch 28 Oct. 456/1 The village kids..used to spend most of their leisure in pushing the door ajar in order to set it [sc. an electric bell] going and then streak for home. 1955‘A. Gilbert’ Is she Dead Too? vii. 128 ‘So you opened the door—’ ‘And Tom [sc. a cat] streaked out.’ 1973E. Lemarchand Let or Hindrance viii. 94, I got out at last, and streaked up to the bungalow.
b. with it.
1833[Seba Smith] Lett. J. Downing ii. (1835) 32, I streaked it round the corner of the stone-fence to head him off. 1844‘Jon. Slick’ High Life N. York I. 132, I put on my hat, and streaked it down tu Peck slip. 1894Crockett Raiders (ed. 3) 156 Streekin' it for the Ferrytoon o' Cree as fast as the horses can birl.
c. trans. To cause to move fast or like lightning.
1912W. Deeping Sincerity xviii. 137 She shot well, very few of her arrows streaking their way through the sunlight to stand slantingly in the grass. 1928Daily Express 19 June 17/2 He hit only three 4's, and..streaked one from Staples dangerously through the slips when 28. Ibid. 25 June 17 Chapman..‘streaked’ several shots through the slips. 1970J. Howard Please Touch 2 When supersonic transports streak 330 passengers to their destinations.
d. intr. To run naked in a public place as a stunt. Cf. streak n.2 slang (orig. U.S.).
1973[implied at streaking vbl. n.1 4]. 1974Runner's World Mag. Feb. 9/1 During the winter of 1958–9 a group of us ‘streaked’ all over Berkeley. 1974Daily Tel. 5 Mar. 3/6 At Memphis State University, the dean issued a warning that students caught ‘streaking’ would be suspended. 1974Globe & Mail (Toronto) 18 Mar. s1/1 Phil Esposito, stripped as though to streak, held court in the cluttered quarters, tall, dark, unquiet. 1979Daily Tel. 12 Jan. 9/3 The girls..had danced on the lawns in the nightdresses, ‘streaked’ to chapel and enjoyed midnight parties.
Hence ˈstreaker2, one who runs naked in a public place; also attrib.; streak-in [-in3], a communal act of running naked in a public place.
1973Time 10 Dec. 14/2 Streakers generally race nude between two unpredictable points. 1974Newsweek 4 Feb. 63/3 One Los Angeles radio station broadcast ‘streaker alerts’ to warn the populace that naked youths were on the loose. 1978D. Bloodworth Crosstalk xiii. 104 The streaker had invaded the Brasserie Lipp in Paris at lunchtime. 1978J. Irving World according to Garp xi. 210 A young woman had reported that she was approached by an exhibitionist—at least, by a streaker.
1974Kingston (Ontario) Whig-Standard 8 Mar. 3/2 The mass streak-in started near Victoria and Leonard Halls. 1974Times 9 Mar. 4/8 Some of the students were arrested when a ‘streak-in’ turned into a riot.
▪ V. streak
see strake n.1 and streek v. |