| 释义 |
▪ I. stride, n.|straɪd|
Also 4–5 stryde, 5 strede.
[Two formations: (1) OE. stride str. masc. (corresp. to MLG. strede), f. strid- wk.-grade of the root of stride v. The ME. spelling stride, stryde may sometimes represent this formation (with short i), which, with regular dialectal development of the vowel appears also in the 15th c. form strēde; the latter, however, might also possibly represent OE. (north.) strǽde, f. the same root. (2) The surviving word, f. the pres.-stem of the vb., is attested already a 1300 in the Cursor Mundi (line 10592) by the rhyme with biside.]
1. a. An act of striding; a long step in walking. Phrase at or in a stride.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 111 He steh to heuen-liche heh settle, and wiche strides he makede dunward, and eft uppard, þat seið sanctus salomon þe wise. c1440Promp. Parv. 480/1 Stryde, clunicatus. 1518Whitinton De Heteroclitis Nom. B iij, Passus, a stryde. 1545R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 146 Some wyll gyue two or iii. strydes forwarde, daunsing and hoppynge after his shafte, as long as it flyeth. 1548Elyot's Dict., Grallatorius gradus, a great or longe stride, suche as one taketh that goeth on styltes. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iv. 68 Ile..turne two minsing steps Into a manly stride. 1609Heywood Brit. Troy xii. xcii. 324 Accootred thus, strong Aiax with huge strides Stalkes in the field before the best of men. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 676 The Monster moving onward came as fast, With horrid strides. 1741Richardson Pamela (ed. 3) I. 240 There was first the horrible Colbrand, running with his long Legs, well nigh two Yards at a Stride. 1837Dickens Pickw. xxiv, Mr. Pickwick had taken a few strides to and fro. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xiv. 99 We went downwards with long swinging strides. 1906C. Mansfield Girl & Gods xxiv, The sexless females..whose strides disgrace their petticoats.
b. transf. and fig. Esp. in phr. to take or make strides: to make progress.
1600J. Chamberlain Lett. (Camden) 97 Mrs. Pranell is like to make a wide stride from that she was, to be Countesse of Hartford. 1658Sir T. Browne Hydriot. Ep. Ded., Simplicity flies away, and iniquity comes at long strides upon us. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitland Club) 189, I said I had never heard of one taking such a stride at once, as from the top of the kirk of Scotland to the top of the church of Rome. 1791W. Hutton Hist. Derby 285 Having now got into the political world,..he made rapid strides towards preferment. 1815Scott Guy M. xi, Our narration is now about to make a large stride, and omit a space of nearly seventeen years. 1880Kinglake Crimea VI. x. 384 The newly split stones..had scarce been yet worn down to smoothness when already the stride of a railway began to cover the ground. 1914Blackw. Mag. Nov. 580/2 Stride by stride the village has closed in on the modest manor. 1926J. S. Huxley Essays in Pop. Sci. 21 Great strides have been taken in this field too during the last twenty years. 1934Discovery Dec. 362/2 Photography for all purposes has made immense strides latterly. 1956J. B. Wilson Lang. & Pursuit of Truth i. 14 The development of a good system of notation made it possible to take great strides in our mathematical knowledge. 1976Field 18 Nov. 979/1 Great strides have been made in short term forecasting in the last five years.
c. The distance covered by a stride; the normal length of a stride used as a measure of distance. Phr. to lengthen (or shorten) one's stride, (U.S.) to lengthen (or shorten) stride.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) P 134 Passus, faeðm uel tueᵹen stridi. 13..K. Alis. 4433 (Laud MS.), Ne miȝtten men a stride go Bot men stepped on ded men. a1320Sir Tristr. 1488 No ȝede he bot ten stride, His speche les he þar. c1380Sir Ferumb. 4644 And nowar myȝte he passe be-syde, For þe roche was heȝ an hundred stryde. 1470–85Malory Arthur iv. x. 131 Syre Arthur..gaf hym..suche a buffet that he went thre strydes abak. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 256 And as for shotyng a ferre, he passid the ferthest on the felde .xxiiii. stredes. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 24 Betwixt them both was but a litle stride. 1663Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 482 A part of the quadrangle, containing 30 of my strides in square. 1670Covel in Early Voy. Levant (Hakl. Soc.) 163 The first tent..was 15 strides long and 12 broad. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Stride, two Steps, or a Measure of five Foot. 1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. xvi, I am to carry you to old Father Crackenthorp's, and then you are within a spit and a stride of Scotland, as the saying is. 1925E. F. Norton Fight for Everest: 1924 32 On April 8 we lengthened our stride and covered 12 miles. 1978Washington Post 24 Mar. b6/2 Her many backers had some anxious moments as she shortened stride after a clear lead at the head of the stretch. 1980H. D. Westacott Walker's Handbk. (ed. 2) iv. 60 On level ground use your natural stride and resist any temptation to lengthen it. On a gradient the stride should be shortened.
d. Extent of reach. nonce-use.
1703Swift Sid Hamet's Rod 53 Sid's Rod was of a larger stride, And made a circle thrice as wide.
†e. One of a flight of steps. Obs. rare—1.
a1300Cursor M. 10592 Þis maiden..was..on þis grece..On þe neþermast stepp don, Bot sco þan clamb an oþeir son; þat quils þai locked [= looked] þam biside Sco was won to þe heist stride.
2. a. A striding gait; a manner of progression by long steps.
1671Milton Samson 1067, I know him by his stride. c1705Pope Imit. Dorset, Artemisia 18 Her voice theatrically loud, And masculine her stride. 1813Scott Trierm. i. xvii, While she aped a martial stride. 1853C. Brontë Villette x, I recognized his very tread: it was the same firm and equal stride I had followed under the dripping trees. 1893Outing XXII. 154/2 Green was slightly crotch-bound, and had in consequence a ‘digging stride’.
†b. An energetic walking tour. ? nonce-use.
1767S. Paterson Another Trav. I. 112 He chose to take great strides upon the continents of Europe and Asia.
c. A distance traversed by a striding walk.
1834Pringle Afr. Sk. xiii. 376 note, The usual mode of measuring..was for the Veld-wagt-meester..to stride or pace the ground; and half an hour's stride in each direction from the centre..was the regulated extent of the farms.
3. a. An act of progressive movement of a horse, or occasionally of other quadrupeds, completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position which they occupied at the beginning; also, the distance covered by such a movement.
1614Markham Cheap Husb. i. i. 5 Be sure that he take a long stride with his feete, for..he which takes the largest strides goes at the most ease. 1846J. Baxter's Libr. Pract. Agric. I. 415 Then, too, comes the art of the rider, to keep the horse within his pace, and..add to the length of every stride. 1860Baily's Mag. I. 301 The former [horse]..winning in the last stride by a head. 1861Sporting Rev. June 414 Stride for stride he [the favourite] caught his horses; but still he did not go like a winner. 1875W. Paterson Notes Milit. Surv. (ed. 3) 80 Horse's stride in walking = about 1 yard. Ditto..galloping..about 2½ yards.
b. transf. with reference to foot-racing.
1879H. C. Powell Amateur Athletic Ann. 19 [In the 100 yds. scratch race] It was only in the last few strides that he [the winner] could show at all in front. 1901Oxford Mag. 24 Apr. 291/1 Brown overhauled Richards in the last stride.
c. The regular or uniform movement (of a horse) in a race. Hence transf. of rowers, their ‘swing’. Freq. in phrases, as to get into one's stride, to hit one's stride, to put or throw (someone) out of (or off) his stride.
1883E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 356 Horses have been pulled out of their stride. 1901Daily News 1 Apr. 5/6 The Dark Blues, however, almost immediately pulled themselves together, and got into their stride.
fig.1890S. Webb Let. in J. MacKenzie Victorian Courtship (1979) viii. 104, I had a bad week... But I have ‘got into my stride again’ now. 1909Athenæum 2 Jan. 9/3 The metre refuses to flow:..the reader loses his stride and has to return to the beginning of the line to get a fresh start. 1919Punch 12 Mar. 210/1 The operator won the first game before I could get into my stride. 1933A. Powell From View to Death i. 19 Conversationally, Zouch was getting back into his stride and he knew that by the evening he would be in good form. 1941E. S. Gardner Case of Haunted Husband viii. 53 He threw me out of my stride for a whole half day. 1946K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) xiv. 226 ‘Why, I had a talk with him only the other night.’ ‘Did you?’ Dipper asked, put out of his stride. 1955H. Kurnitz Invasion of Privacy (1956) xii. 77 It was late in the working day..but..Louis Stradling was just hitting his full stride. 1967N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 85 ‘Who told you that?’.. The young man was thrown out of his stride. 1978D. Devine Sunk without Trace xxii. 202 He was disappointed. He didn't think I'd let a man like Max Sapiro put me off my stride. 1983Listener 27 Jan. 21/1 But when Mr. Maccoby gets into his stride of explaining the mechanisms of what has so often been the loathsome behaviour of so-called Christians to Jews, his book becomes of potent interest.
d. to take in his stride: of a horse or his rider, to clear (an obstacle) without checking his gallop; fig. to deal with (a matter) incidentally, without interrupting one's course of action, argument, etc. Also (chiefly U.S.) without possessive adj.
1832Q. Rev. XLVII. 239 Seven men, out of thirteen [fox-hunters], take it [the brook] in their stride. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. xxxv. (1901) I. 281 Cantering up, cracking his whip, as if he wanted to take it [sc. the fence] in stride. Ibid., He rose in his stirrups and pounded while Charley took the fence in his stride.
fig.1902Nature 25 Dec. 171/1 Acting on this opinion, Ostwald has introduced physical theories, applicable to chemical facts, ‘in his stride,’ as it were. 1905E. Wharton House of Mirth xv, I'd want something that would look more easy and natural, more as if I took it in my stride. 1908R. Broughton Mamma v, Her niece's talent for ‘getting things’ out of people..lay..in a brutal directness of inquiry, that took rebuffs in its stride. 1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? iii. 48 It was funny to see him taking the Vendome [sc. an expensive restaurant] in stride too. 1974Publishers Weekly 7 Jan. 49/2 Coach John Wooden..has taken it all in stride. 1976New Society 3 June 521/1 Everyone understood what it meant to be photographed and took the request in stride.
4. a. Divergence of the legs when stretched apart laterally; straddle; also, the distance between the feet when the legs are stretched apart laterally to the utmost.
1599T. Storer Life & D. Wolsey F 2 b, If once we fall, we fall Colossus-like,..They that betweene our stride their sailes did strike [etc.]. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 455 My legs being put to the full stride, by a maine gad of iron aboue a yard long. 1681Cotton Wonders of Peak 12 And yet above the Current's not so wide To put a Maid to an indecent stride. 1727Bailey vol. II, Stride, the greatest Distance between the Feet set wide. 1798R. Dodd Port Lond. 6 Through its arch will be seen sailing, gallant ships, like the ancient gallies through the stride of the great Colossus in the isle of Rhodes.
b. transf.
1791W. Gilpin Rem. Forest Scenery I. 106 When two shoots [of an oak] spring from the same knot, they are commonly of unequal length; and one with large strides generally takes the lead. 1850Beckett-Denison Clock & Watch-m. 47, 20° between them [sc. the rollers of the pendulum] would give them a sufficiently wide stride for a firm bearing and add hardly anything to the pressure.
c. Tailoring. (See quot. 1806–7.)
1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life xx. No. 33 (1826) 257 A pair of pantaloons so constructed with regard to what taylors call the stride as to limit you to 3 or 4 inches per step. 1922Joyce Ulysses 344 A navy threequarter skirt cut to the stride showed off her slim graceful figure to perfection. 1939Country Life 11 Feb. p. xxxiii/2 (Advt.), There is plenty of stride; the knees are well formed; the lines and run of seams are perfectly executed.
d. pl. Trousers. Also occas. breeches; jeans. slang.
1889A. G. Murdoch Scotch Readings (Ser. 3) 26 His two legs, which were encased in a pair of all but skintight ‘strides’. 1889Clarkson & Richardson Police! xxv. 346 If the ‘Peter’ (cash-box) can be found, that is at once appropriated, as also are a man's ‘strides’ (trousers). 1914Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 81 Strides,..a pair of trousers. 1924Truth (Sydney) 27 Apr. 6 Strides, trousers. 1932L. Mann Flesh in Armour 291 His tunic and light coat were of the ultra fashionable style, and his strides would not have disgraced an officer of the Guards. 1947D. M. Davin For Rest of our Lives xxxviii. 196 Trying to get his strides up. 1950‘N. Shute’ Town like Alice ix. 261 Could you get into a pair of my strides? 1960‘A. Burgess’ Doctor is Sick xxvi. 211 He handed a crumpled bundle to Edwin, saying: ‘You'll 'ave to take my strides.’.. The trousers, Edwin found, were too short. 1973M. Amis Rachel Papers 186 The Oxford University candidate was to be seen in T-shirt and khaki strides. 1980B. Mason Solo 91, I wiped damp hands on my serge strides.
5. The action of bestriding. rare—1.
a1616Beaum. & Fl. Wit at sev. Weapons ii. i, Lady. So, what Saddle have I? Pris. Mounsieur Laroon's... Lady. That agen, You know so well it is not for my stride, How oft have I complain'd on't?
†6. ? A foot-bridge. Obs.
1791Rep. Commiss. Thames-Isis Navig. 15 At the lower End of this Channel there is a Pen formed by a Swing Stride and Flood Gates.
7. Ellipt. for stride piano (see sense 8 b below).
1956Panassié & Gautier Guide to Jazz 260/2 Stride, a piano style much in use by soloists about 1930. 1969Listener 6 Feb. 186/3 Peterson stands at the end of a long and honourable tradition of jazz piano playing originally known as ‘Harlem stride’. The stride refers to a left-hand vamping method using alternating tenths and note clusters at least an octave apart. 1975New Yorker 19 May 6/2 Jaki Byard, who displays a confident feel for ragtime, stride, and more modern piano styles, has fun with bassist Major Holley.
8. a. Comb.: stride-high a., placed at such a height as to be reached by a stride; stride-leg(s adv. (Sc. and north.), astride, ‘straddle-legs’; stride-legged a., riding astride; adv. astride; strideways adv., astride.
1906Pall Mall Gaz. 16 Apr. 2/1 Smooth steps projecting, *stride-high, from the breasts of the rough masonry.
1809T. Donaldson Poems 150 He sat down *stridelegs on a stane. 1828Ann. Reg. 378/1 Burke stood stride legs over her. 1894Crockett Raiders xx. 180 Yet it was an amazing sight—Dee Bridge that night, with..men stride-leg on the parapet of it.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 310/2 A like Torture..is for an Offender to sit *stride-legged over a great Gun, and so to have it Fired. 1879Stevenson Trav. Cevennes (1895) 30 A pair of mounted stride-legged women..dashed past me at a hammering trot.
1859Meredith R. Feverel xxiii, I wish they'd let us ride our ponies *stride⁓ways.
b. Jazz. Used attrib. to designate a style of piano-playing in which the left hand alternately plays a single note and a chord that is an octave (or more) higher; esp. in stride piano (hence stride pianist); also stride accent, stride bass, stride tempo, etc.
c1938N. E. Williams His Hi de Highness of Ho de Ho 35/2 ‘Gut tempo’ and ‘stride tempo’ usually are intelligible only to our own musicians. 1950Blesh & Janis They all played Ragtime x. 192 He could play the ragtime stride bass, but it bothered him because his stomach got in the way of his arm, so he used a walking bass instead. 1952B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. iv. 29 ‘Stride piano’, the particular pride and joy of Fats Waller and, before him, of innumerable ragtime pianists, comes from the blues. Ibid. 30 The blues is usually played in unaccented four/four time or with stride accents. 1955L. Feather Encycl. Jazz 289 His lacy, charming melodies sometimes contrast with ‘stride’ passages of great intensity. 1959Jazz Rev. June 14/1 He [sc. James P. Johnson]..developed the New York style of ‘stride’ piano from the rags of Scott Joplin and the southern Negro cotillion and set dances. 1978Listener 29 June 841/2 An exhilarating two hours of Fats Waller numbers..accompanied on stage by the celebrated stride pianist, Luther Henderson. 1983Listener 20 Jan. 10/2 Its earliest landmark was James P. Johnson's stride-piano showpiece ‘Carolina Shout’.
▪ II. stride, v.|straɪd|
Pa. tense strode |strəʊd|, pa. pple. stridden |strɪd(ə)n|, (colloq.) strode. Forms: 1 strídan, 3 striden, 4 strid, (3rd pers. sing. strit), 4–6 stryd(e, 5 strydyn, 4– stride. pa. tense 4–9 north. strade, 5 Sc. straid, 5, 7 strad, 6 Sc. straide, 6 stryd, 7 strid, 7–9 strided, 5– strode. pa. pple. 6 stridde, 7 strid, 9– stridden.
[OE. strídan str. vb. (once only, but cf. bestrídan, found once in pa. tense bestrád: see bestride v.) = (M)LG. strîden str. vb., to set the legs wide apart, straddle, to take long steps; cf. LG. bestriden to bestride (a horse). The vb. is not found elsewhere in Teut. with similar sense, but is formally coincident and prob. identical with the str. vb. meaning to strive, quarrel: OFris. strîda, (M)Du. strijden, MLG. strîden, OHG. strîtan (MHG. strîten, mod.G. streiten); of the same or similar meaning are the weak verbs, OS. strîdian (MLG. strîden), ON. strîða (Norw., Sw. strida; Da. stride is now conjugated strong); cf. OFris., OS. strîd, Du. strijd, OHG. strît (mod.G. streit) masc. strife, quarrel, ON. stríð neut. strife, grief, affliction (Norw., Sw., Da. strid), stríða fem. adversity, severity, strið-r stubborn, severe (Norw., Sw., Da. strid).
The primary meaning of the Teut. root *strī̆đ- is commonly assumed to be ‘contention’ or ‘strong effort’. On this view the Eng. sense of the vb., ‘to take long steps’ (sense 2 below), would be a development from the continental sense ‘to strive’. This would in itself be possible, but sense 1 would remain unexplained. The assumption of a primary sense ‘to diverge’ (cf. Skr. sridh to go astray) would account plausibly on the one hand for the sense ‘to quarrel’, and on the other hand for the sense ‘to straddle’, from which the sense ‘to take long steps’ would be a natural development.
The later examples show much uncertainty with regard to the conjugation. Perhaps (though this is far from certain) most people would give strode, stridden in answer to a grammatical question; but in actual speech and writing there is often hesitation as to the correct form. The pa. pple. rarely occurs; our material includes hardly any 19th or 20th c. examples of stridden, and not many of strided. In the pa. tense strode is certainly the usual form; but where the reference is to a single act and not to a manner of progression there seems to be a tendency to say strided (‘I strided over the ditch’).]
†1.
a. intr. To stand or walk with the legs widely diverging; to straddle. Obs. in literal sense; cf. b.
c700Epinal Gloss. 1086 Varicat, stridit [So Erfurt and Corpus; Leiden stridæd]. a1310in Wright Lyric P. xxxix. 110 Mon in the mone stond ant strit. 14..Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 579/8 Distrigio, to stryde. 1530Palsgr. 738/2, I stryde, I stond a stridlyng with my legges, je me escarquylle. Stryde and I will dryve thes schepe betwene thy legges. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. 115 b, If wee assaye to take vp a thing from the ground, stryding, and not with our legges together, wee take it vp with more ease and strength. a1585Montgomerie Flyting 394 Some, on steid of a staig, ouer a starke monke straide. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 40 The gate was open, but therein did wait A sturdy villein, striding stiffe and bold. 1598Stow Surv. 69 When the great fenne or Moore..is frozen, many young men play vpon the yce, some stryding as wide as they may, doe slide swiftly. 1623Cockeram ii, To Stride wide in going, diuaricate. 1638W. Lisle Heliodorus x. 180 Then [he] strid, and strongly pight His feet on chosen ground, with armes out-right, Backe, necke, and shoulders bent.
b. transf. (Often said of an arch.)
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. iv. Columnes 201 Because th' acute, and the rect-Angles too, Stride not so wide as obtuse Angles doe. 1650Fuller Pisgah v. xix. 176 How many, but especially how high must the arches therein be, to stride over so vast a concavity? 1787Burns Written Kenmure Inn 15 The arches, striding o'er the new-born stream. 1791Cumberland Observer No. 143 V. 197 The bridge of Toledo, which proudly strides with half a dozen lofty arches over a stream scarce three feet wide. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1871) II. 238 An arched gateway..that..looked like a great short-legged giant striding over the street. 1863― Our Old Home, Pilgr. Boston I. 243 A Roman arch which..has been striding across the English street ever since the latter was a faint village path.
2. a. To walk with long or extended steps; to stalk.
Often with implication of haste or impetuosity, of exuberant vigour, or of haughtiness or arrogance.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 111 Here he cumeð stridende fro dune to dune, and ouer strit þe cnolles. a1300Cursor M. 10235 Ioachim..tilward þe auter can stride. a1400–50Wars Alex. 2194 (Dubl. MS.), Þen tenyd þe tebe folke..And withstode his strenth & strode to þe walles. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 32 His steid aganis the storme staluartlie straid. 1650Fuller Pisgah v. xix. 178 The going up to the Altar was not divided into steps..but that it heightened it self by insensible degrees,..so that the Priests, not striding, but pacing up there⁓on, were not necessitated to any divarication of their feet. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 676 The Monster moving onward came as fast, With horrid strides, Hell trembled as he strode. 1697Dryden æneis iii. 880 But when our Vessels out of reach he found, He strided onward. 1735Somerville Chase iii. 276 The stately Elephant from the close Shade With Step majestick strides. a1790Burns ‘My Harry was a gallant gay’ i, My Harry was a gallant gay Fu' stately strade he on the plain. 1791Boswell Johnson an. 1768, He then rose up, strided to the fire, and stood for some time laughing and exulting. 1825Croker Fairy Leg. Irel. i. 153 With an air of becoming consequence he strided out of the stable-yard. 1829J. Sterling Ess. etc. (1848) I. 78 He would have stridden among them without belonging to either faction. 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 181 But the other swiftly strode from ridge to ridge,..looking, as he walk'd, Larger than human on the frozen hills. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxx, The hypocrite was..striding about the room, upsetting the chairs,..and showing other signs of great inward emotion. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley ix, Mr. Talboys strode out of the room, banging the door after him. 1951R. Lynd Essays on Life & Lit. i. 27 But a gauche big farmer's son in a white coat..had strode past her roughly. 1972Observer (Colour Suppl.) 24 Sept. 23/2 The clear mental picture of the battlefront with which he had so boldly strode into Samsonov's headquarters.
b. with various advs. to stride out: to go with vigorous strides.
1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 159 His sonne in law..used a slow and mincing pace, like a woman: his daughter..stryd out lustelie like a man. 1697Dryden æneis xii. 126 Striding on, with speedy Pace. 1798J. Baillie Tryal iv. iii. Plays on Passions (1821) I. 274 Come away, uncle, and see him go down the back walk,..I'll warrant you he'll stride it away most nobly. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, The officer whistled a lively air as he strode away. 1843Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. x, Striding prosperously along. 1853Lytton My Novel xii. vi, Randal stood still for a few moments as Harley strided on. 1915Daily Tel. 5 May 7/4 The going has seldom been better, and judging by the way the horses strode out they appreciated it in every way. 1980New Yorker 24 Mar. 127/1 (Advt.), No consumer advocate has yet strode forth to defend and protect the interests of those who can afford a $30,000 sport coupe.
c. transf. and fig.
c1205Lay. 17982 Þe leome gon striden a ueire seoue strengen. c1400Destr. Troy 4105 Fifté shippes full shene strode fro þe depe. 1839Lytton Richelieu i. i. 37 Midst Richelieu's foes I'll find some desperate hand To strike for vengeance, while we stride to power. 1884Harper's Mag. Feb. 393/2 The long low barns with great windmills striding through the air. 1886Corbett Fall of Asgard I. 268 Five ships, each with forty oars swinging like music, were striding over the fjord. 1936‘R. West’ Thinking Reed iii. 89 From youth he had strode through the twenty-four hours at the pace of a Marathon race.
¶d. To step, tread. nonce-use.
1596Spenser F.Q. iv. viii. 37 They..kept on their readie way, With easie steps so soft as foot could stryde.
3. a. To take a long step; to advance the foot beyond the usual length of a step; to pass over or across an obstacle by a long step or by lifting the feet. Also in figurative context.
a1310in Wright Lyric P. xxxix. 111 Sete forth thyn other fot, stryd over sty. a1320Sir Tristr. 151 Ouer bord þai strade Al cladde. c1440Promp. Parv. 480/1 Strydyn (or steppyn ovyr a thynge) clunico, patento, strigio. 1530Palsgr. 738/2, I stryde over a brooke or the canell or any fowle place as I am goyng, je jamboye. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 199 To stride over the rivelet there. 1611Beaum. & Fl. Philaster iv. iv. (1620) 51 When my fortunes eb'd, that men strid o're them carelesse, She did showre her welcome graces on me, And did swell my fortunes. 1634–5Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 45 The lowest of these hedges higher than any man can stride over. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xi. 400 They that stride so wide at once will go farre with few paces. c1643Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 64 To teach men how far they may stretch out their Feet when they would make a Thrust..lest they either overstride themselves, or not striding far enough fail to bring the point of their weapon home. 1818Maginn in Blackw. Mag. IV. 321 A Gulliver chap such as I, That could stride over troops of their tribes. 1899J. Milne Romance of Pro-consul ix. 89 The larger quarter-deck on to which Sir George Grey had stridden, much needed cleaning up.
b. With cognate obj.
a1300Cursor M. 5194 Israel wit þis vplepp Þat moght noght forwit strid a step. 1661J. Childrey Brit. Baconica 28 Ordulphus..was a Giant-like man, that (if William of Malmesbury say true) would break open the bars of Gates, and stride 10 foot. 1859Tennyson Marr. Geraint 376 The Prince,..fain To follow, strode a stride, but Yniol caught His purple scarf..and said, ‘Forbear!’
†c. To mount (on a horse, into a stirrup). Obs.
a1300in Wright Anecd. Lit. (1844) 96 Love is stalewarde and strong for to striden on stede. a1400–50Wars Alex. 778 Ilk a hathill to hors hiȝis him be-lyue, Stridis into stele-bowe stertis apon loft. Ibid. 2880 He..Strad vp him⁓selfe on a stede in starand wedis, And on a cursoure þe kniȝt with a collt foloȝes. c1400Destr. Troy 10205 Achilles..wan to his armys, Strode on a stith horse, stroke into batell. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 616 On twa stedis thai straid.
†d. To put the foot down upon; to tread upon. Obs. rare.
1581A. Hall Iliad vi. 104 But for to plucke his Iaueline out, he forced was to stride Vpon the carcasse [Gr. λὰξ ἐν στήθεσι βάς].
4. trans. To step over with a stride.
c1572Gascoigne Fruites Warre cx, Where blockes are stridde by stumblers at a strawe. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. iii. 35 A Debtor, that not dares To stride a limit. 1682Creech Lucretius (1683) 167 That Man of such vast force and limbs did rise, That he could stride the Ocean. 1709Congreve tr. Ovid's Art of Love iii. Wks. 1730 iii. 310 Another, like an Umbrian's sturdy Spouse, Strides all the Space her Petticoat allows. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 110 A hedge to clamber or a brook to stride.
transf.1906Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 7/1, I would place two wheels at the front and two at the rear, with a considerable gap under the middle of the engine. This gap would permit it to stride a curve if I may put it that way.
5. To walk about (a street, etc.) with long steps; to pace; hence, to measure by striding.
1577Grange Golden Aphrod. etc. R j, I stryde the streetes both long and wyde, A stealed sight of hir to haue. 1834[see stride n. 2 c]. 1850H. Melville White Jacket II. xviii. 111 ‘Call all hands!’ roared the Captain. ‘This keel sha'n't be beat while I stride it.’ 1853Lytton My Novel viii. xii, Riccabocca..with a firm step strode the terrace, and approached his wife. 1915Blackw. Mag. Feb. 229/1 The brave ghosts who stride these fields and live in the people's mind are Englishmen.
6. To bestride.
13..K. Horn 753 (Harl. MS.) His stede he bigan stryde. 1599George a Greene B 1, They haue othe, Not to leaue one aliue that strides a launce. 1602Chettle Hoffman iv. (1631) H 3 b, Some got on Rafts..; many strid the mast, But the seas working was soe violent, That [etc.]. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. vii. 22 Pitty, like a naked New-borne Babe, Striding the blast, or Heauens Cherubin, hors'd Vpon the sightlesse Curriors of the Ayre, Shall [etc.]. 1607― Cor. i. ix. 71, I meane to stride your Steed. 1657N. Billingsley Brachy-Martyrol. ii. vii. 171 The old man strides his horse, and rides to look him. 1735Dyche & Pardon Dict., Stride,..to throw the Legs over the two Sides of a Thing, as a Horse, a Camel. 1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. iv. 421 The tempest is his steed, he strides the air. 1868J. G. Holland Kathrina ii. (1869) 103 E'en the prophet's ass Had better eyes than he who strode his back.
7. Jazz. To play stride piano (see stride n. 8 b).
Found only in the gerund or participial form striding.
1944Metronome Nov. 17/3 Alberta Simmons, from down in the Jungles, could beat the average man ‘striding’. 1958P. Gammond Decca Bk. of Jazz xv. 187 Nobody else has compounded so many pianistic devices—the delayed note, the tremolo, the dazzling run, the striding bass—into such a homogeneous quiddity. |