| 释义 |
▪ I. stroke, n.1|strəʊk|
Forms: α. 3–4 stroc, 4–7 strok, 4–5 strook, 5–8 strooke, 6 strocke, 6–7 stroake, 6–8 strock, 7–8 stroak, 9 dial. strauk, 4– stroke. β. Sc. and north. 4–6 strak, 4–8 strake, Sc. 5–9 straik, 6 strack, strek, strayk, pl. strax.
[ME. (late 13th c.) strōk, north. strāk, prob. repr. an unrecorded OE. *strác = (M)LG. strêk, Du. streek masc., MHG., mod.G. streich masc.:—OTeut. *straiko-z, f. *straik- ablaut-var. of *strī̆k-: see strike v.]
1. An act of striking; a blow given or received.
a. A blow with the hand or a weapon (occas. with the paw of an animal, the claws or beak of a bird, etc.) inflicted on or aimed at a living being. Sometimes (now rarely) applied to the thrust of a pointed weapon.
to † smite, strike a stroke: see those verbs. † to come to strokes = to come to blows. † within one's stroke; within reach of one's weapon.
α1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4281 Sire wawein him biturnde & an stroc him ȝef, & al þat heued & þe breste al clanliche him to-clef. a1320Sir Tristr. 2335 Tvelue fete was þe wand Þat vrgan wald wiþ play, His strok may no man stand. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 409 And so þer wordli liif, þat lettiþ sich service, is moche worse þanne a strooke upon þe cheke wiþ an hand. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 259 They foyned with her speres eygrely, theyr strokes and foynes were grete. 1484― Fables of Toge viii, Fro wordes they came to strokes and cratchyng with naylys. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 213 But Arthur put his shelde before hym, and the lyons stroke dashte theron so sore, that Arthur was all astonyed with the stroke. a1533― Huon lv. 188 He slewe and bette downe..all that came within his stroke. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 29 Their mightie strokes their haberieons dismayld. 1625Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 411 An enditement that one strucke I.S. in one countie, of which stroke hee died in another Countie, is no good enditement. 1696R. H. Sch. Recreat. 86 If your Adversary offers to answer your stroak, and go to the Parade, then your best way is [etc.]. 1741in Scott. Hist. Rev. (1905) Apr. 303 The prisoner struck him and blooded him with the strock. 1760–72Brooke Fool of Qual. (1792) II. 137 Flying instantly at Harry, he gave him a smart stroke on the left cheek. 1806Wordsw. Horn of Egremont Castle 43 And where'er their strokes alighted, There the Saracens were tamed. 1829Scott Anne of G. Note A, In such parts of that country [Germany] as retain the old custom of execution by stroke of sword. 1849James Woodman I. iii. 53 He suddenly drew his sword from the sheath, and aimed a rapid and furious stroke at the woodman's head. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola xxii, [He] remained obstinately silent under all the strokes from the knotted cord. 1889Baden-Powell Pigsticking 186 With the jobbing spear the arm should not be raised from the shoulder to deliver the stroke.
βa1300Cursor M. 12428 Þe maister..Gaf iesu wit hand a strak. 13..Gosp. Nicod. 419 Ane wane of fourty strakes with ȝerde he sal be smeten. c1440Alphabet of Tales 79 Saynt Benett strake þis yong monk with a wand..& so for ferd of þis strake of Saynt Benett þis fende..durst nevur after com & feche hym furthe. 1572–3Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 205 The said Stevin denyit the stryking of the said Jonet as is libellit, or that he offerit ony straikis to hir. 1607Sel. Rec. Regality Melrose (S.H.S.) I. 33 Secundlie, gif thair be straikis without blude, ten pundis. 1635Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. Ser. ii. VI. 5 Johne..came..with ane pycked suord stalffe in his hand and.. gave her manie bauch and blae straiks upon the head [etc.]. 1818Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck I. iii. 42, I wheeled just round in a moment, sir, and drew a desperate straik at the foremost [pursuer]. 1820Scott Monast. xxvi, It was a blithe time in Wight Wallace's day..when the pock-puddings gat naething here but hard straiks and bloody crowns.
¶ stroke of grace: Eng. rendering of coup de grâce (coup n.3 5). rare.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. i, The victim having once got his stroke-of-grace.
†b. pl. = ‘Stripes’, blows as a punishment. Obs.
α1388Wyclif Luke xii. 48 He that knew not, and dide worthi thingis of strokis, schal be betun with fewe. 1593Tell-troth's N.Y. Gift (1876) 5 A lesson learned with stroakes, staies with the scholler. 1699Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. Wks. 1720 II. 531 No Person was punished by Bonds, Strokes, or Death, without the Judgment..of the Druids.
β1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. i. x. (1884) 59, I sall..punis thair wyckidnes with a wand, and thair synnis with strakis.
c. A blow struck at an inanimate object; e.g. with a hammer, axe, etc.
c1400Rom. Rose 3687 For no man at the firste stroke Ne may not felle doun an oke. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxx. 78 Withouten strook of hamour ne may none impression be brought in to gold. 1539Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 26 With many strokes is an oke ouerthrowen. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace Ep. Ded. 9 A true diamond will endure the smartest stroke of the hammer, but a false one will fly. 1697Dryden æneis viii. 561 The Cyclops here their heavy Hammers deal; Loud Strokes, and hissings of tormented Steel Are heard around. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 25 Carry with your mallet an even and perpendicular stroke. 1799Wordsw. Lucy Gray 26 With many a wanton stroke Her feet disperse the powdery snow. 1833J. Davidson Brit. & Rom. Rem. Axminster 82 A stroke of his pickaxe broke an urn which contained a number of Roman coins. 1842Macaulay Horatius vii, But now no stroke of woodman Is heard by Auser's rill. 1902‘Violet Jacob’ Sheep-Stealers xii, Rhys..listened to the strokes of the pickaxe among the gooseberry bushes.
β1513Douglas æneis xi. iii. 82 The heich eschis..Down weltit ar with mony granand strakis.
d. In various games: An act of striking the ball; a hit or an attempted hit; in some games (e.g. tennis), a hit that satisfies certain conditions. Also, manner of striking.
α1744J. Love Cricket iii. 70 The strokes re-echo o'er the spacious ground. 1778Hoyle Games 205 (Tennis) The lowest Odds given is a Bisque.., and is the Liberty of scoring a Stroke whenever the Player, who receives Advantage, chooses. 1806J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life iii. §22 Missing your cue at every stroke. 1879Encycl. Brit. X. 767/2 (Golf) In Medal playing a ball may, under a penalty of two strokes, be lifted out of a difficulty of any description. 1884Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 104 Cantley has a good stroke off his legs. 1896W. Park Jr. Game of Golf 270 Stroke, any movement of the club which is intended to strike the ball. 1897Ranjitsinhji Cricket 159 It is almost impossible to score off a genuine half-cock stroke. It is a mistake to play the stroke unless forced to do so. 1905H. Vardon Compl. Golfer 251 A player whose handicap was several strokes removed from scratch.
β1811H. Macneill Bygane Times 15 Is this the gate to gowf the ba', Whan by the straik ye're sure to fa'?
†e. The mark left by a blow; a bruise, wound, cut. Obs.
14..A.B.C. Poem 28 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 272 With rede wondis & strokis blo He was dryue fro top to þe too. 1661J. Childrey Brit. Baconica 143 One might see the stroaks of the Axe upon them. 1677Lond. Gaz. No. 1204/4 Stolen.., a black Gelding six years old, with a large white snip on the top of the Nose,..and had formerly a stroke upon the near Leg behind. 1686R. Blome Gentl. Recr. ii. 25/1 For a Bite, or Stroak in the [Horse's] Eye. 1701Lond. Gaz. No. 3723/4 His Mane half shorn, has had a Stroke in his right Eye.
† f. Discharge of an engine of war; a shot of a bow or gun; the impact of a missile. Obs.
αc1400Rom. Rose 6278 Withouten stroke it mot be take Of trepeget or mangonel. c1440Gesta Rom. i. 3 Now hath he schote an arowe at the ymage; And for þat he failith of his strook, he makith moch sorowe. c1482J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes (1870) ⁋10 [They] sayd, that they herde neuer strokes of bombardes so grete and so horryble as thylk were. 1544Betham Precepts War ii. xlii. K viij b, There is no breste plate, whyche is able to wythstand, and holde owte the stroke of the arrowes. 1665Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 313 The Third [governor],..being kill'd with the stroke of a Stone, clearly made an end of his Government. 1678R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 442 The Stroak of an Arrow convinc'd Alexander, that he was not the Son of Jupiter. 1695Sibbald Autobiog. (1834) 128 When the town was taken by storme my Father was hurt with a strock given him by a footman with a carabin. 1771Ann. Reg., Nat. Hist. 91/2, The shot entered an inch above his eye, the animal fell under the stroke, and died almost instantly.
β1579–80Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 264 He wes sumquhat recoverit of his formar hurt ressavit be the strek of the first pistolett.
†g. Point of impact; place hit by a missile.
c1450Mirk's Festial 42 Þen anothyr smot aftyr, and hut yn þe same stroke. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 70 Observe how much the last stroke of the Shot is above the Mark.
h. † Shock or forcible impact of a moving body (obs.); impact or incidence of moving particles, light, etc. (now rare).
1534Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) F viij, With the stroke of metyng, the trumpettour was ouerthrawen with his hors. 1557T. Phaer æneid vii. (1558) V ij b, Full like a rocke in seas,..Whom strokes of water strikes,.. and beates about. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. ii. 5 Many stroaks, which our eyes, eares, and other organs receive from externall bodies. 1660Stanley Hist. Philos. xi. Democr. ix. §8 (1687) 765/1 All Sensation is caused by a touch or stroak upon the Organ. 1661Boyle Cert. Physiol. Ess. (1669) 184 When the igneous Corpuscles have by their numerous and brisk strokes upon the vessel communicated by its means their agitation to the enclosed powder. 1681–6J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 116 Impressions..such, as did as fully satisfy them that they were from God, as the Strokes of the Sun-beams on our Eyes do us that it is Day at Noon. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. vi. 42 The backs of the ridges..meet the direct stroke of the solar rays.
2. Phrases.
†a. without (any) stroke (of sword): without fighting. Also without fighting a stroke. (to die) without stroke: otherwise than by violence. Obs.
For without striking a stroke, without stroke stricken, see strike v. 32.
αc1400Mandeville (1839) xxv. 260 Thanne the Cristene men wenten..and hire enemyes enclosed and confounded in Derknesse, with outen ony strok. c1460Contn. Brut 491 Many other townes in Normandie gafe þeme ouer with-out stroke or siege. Ibid. 507 At Bedford, on Ashtwesday, wer iij men murthred without strok, by falling doun of a steir. 1584R. Birrel Diary (1798) 23 Bot quhen he came, they yat ver vithin fled, sua yat hes Maiestie entred and tooke ye toune and castell vithout stroke of suord. 1645R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (Bannatyne Club) II. 262 A great many honest burgesses were killed,..many were bursten in the flight, and dyed without stroak. 1670Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 54 Suetonius writes that Claudius found heer no resistance, and that all was done without stroke: but this seems not probable. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 159 This Murteza Basha, without stroke of Sword made himself master of Bassora. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 266 We marched away without fighting a stroke.
β1533Bellenden Livy (S.T.S.) II. 136 Fra þe wache was slane þe remanent war sone opprest and randerit but ony straik. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 213 Tha tynt the feild but straik of sword or knyfe. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 88 Stout Oliver was without strack tackin, fleing full manfully. a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) I. 154 The lord Aboyne..seeing their collours upon the Brig, takes the flight shamefully but straik of sword or any other kind of vassalage.
†b. stroke of battle: active warfare. Obs.
1525Wolsey in St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 403 Putting theym unto the wors, not by stroke of batail..but with consumyng of theym by long tract of tyme.
c. stroke and strife (altered from earlier strot or sturt and strife): lawless violence.
c1510Lyt. Geste Robin Hood 181 Or elles thou hast ben a sory housband And leued in stroke and stryfe.
†d. the first stroke: the beginning of a war.
c1470Henry Wallace vi. 687 At the first straik with thaim he had nocht beyne. 1677Sir R. Southwell in Essex Papers (Camden) II. 111, I cannot expect anything but ruin the very first stroke of the warr.
e. at one stroke, at a stroke: with a single blow; fig., all at once.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. v. pr. vi. (1868) 178 But he ay dwellynge comiþ byforn and enbraceþ at o strook [L. uno ictu] alle þi mutaciouns. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 60 And at a straik the formast has he slayne. 1556J. Heywood Spider & Fly xci. 102 The maide of the house with her brome: at a strake, Swepth downe those copwebs. 1709T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 16 Omnipotent Power might have created the whole World at one stroke, by an Imperious Fiat. 1879Farrar St. Paul (1883) 173 At one stroke he had lost all his old friends. 1884Bosanquet Lotze's Logic 236 It is not always possible to prove at one stroke that a proposition T holds good for all quantities, integral and fractional, positive and negative, [etc.].
3. fig.
a. With conscious metaphor: An act which causes pain, injury, or death; often, an act of divine chastisement or vengeance.
α1340Ayenb. 34 Efter alle þise zorȝuolle poyns of sleuþe him yefþ þe dyeuel þane strok dyadlych. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2029 Whan þat the colde stroke of deth My lyfe hath quenched, & me byraft my breth. 1484Caxton Fables of Avian xiii, Werse is the stroke of a tonge than the stroke of a spere. c1520Skelton Magnif. 1882 The Stroke of God, Aduersyte, I hyght. 1611Beaum. & Fl. King & No K. i. i, Sheele make you shrinke as I did, with a stroke But of her eye Tigranes. 1665J. North in Extr. St. Papers rel. Friends Ser. iii. (1912) 234 By which false verdict the Murderer hath Escaped the stroke of Justice hitherto. 1667Milton P.L. x. 210 So judg'd he Man,..And th' instant stroke of Death denounc't that day Remov'd farr off. 1689Extracts Rec. Convention Royal Burghs Scot. (1880) IV. 100 By one strock of ane act of parliament..we are outterly ruined in our trade. 1753J. Collier Art Torment. i. i. 37 All the pleasure of Tormenting is lost, as soon as your subject is become insensible of your strokes. 178.Burns Highland Lassie vi, Till the mortal stroke shall lay me low. 1858Rawlinson tr. Herodotus ii. cxxix. II. 208 Mycerinus..was acting as I have described, when the stroke of calamity fell on him. 1860Sala Baddington Peerage I. xviii. 306 Not to be passed over in its portents any more than the first stroke of disease which attacks thrice before it kills.
β1560Rolland Seven Sages 76 And thairefter to bide the straik of Law. 1590R. Bruce Serm. Sacram. iv. N 8, Therefore knawledge must go before the straik of the conscience. Thy hart can neuer feele that to be euil, quhilk thy mynde knawis not to be euill.
b. A calamitous event; † a ‘blow’ to, upon (a person, institution, etc.).
a1700Evelyn Diary 15 Apr. 1686, I looke on this as a greate stroke to the poore Church of England. a1709J. Lister Autobiog. (1842) 50 On the Tuesday I laid him [sc. his son] in his grave at Kendall... I feared this sad stroke would break my wife's heart, but..she bore it with uncommon fortitude. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 238 The tragic death of his royal protector was a dreadful stroke..to Petitot. 1785Mary Michel in A. C. Bower's Diaries & Corr. (1903) 25 The loss of an only son..must be a very severe stroke upon her. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxix, Tom's whole soul was filled with thoughts of eternity; and while he ministered around the lifeless clay, he did not once think that the sudden stroke had left him in hopeless slavery.
†c. A hostile attack; an offensive movement in warfare. Obs.
1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 337 He safely resides within, invulnerable from Foreign Strokes, and reigns in this his Capital City. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 77 Yet were we wholly set upon pursuing the Stroke, and hoped that the night should prove rather more commodious and successful. 1777Washington in W. Irving Life xcix. (1856) III. 806 A successful stroke on the Highlands.
†d. to have, bear, carry, strike a (great, etc.) stroke: to have an influential or controlling share in an enterprise or action, to have great influence. to have, bear, carry, strike the stroke: to prevail, rule, have authority; to be highest in excellence. to give, strike a good stroke: to contribute largely, go far to effect some result. Obs.
1531Tindale Expos. 1–3 S. John (1538) 83 An yf..we can fynde no shyfte, but that y⊇ byshop of Rome..must thus mocke vs, what a stroke thynke ye hath Satan amonge vs? [Cf. ante, Then the deuell hath a greate swynge amonge vs.] 1538Bale Thre Lawes 1514 Such a fellawe was he as of that age had the stroke. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 168 All suche persones..as beare any rewle, stroke, or autoritee in the commonweale. 1549Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 63 Thys byshoppe was a great man borne, and did beare such a stroke, that he was able to shoulder the Lord Protectour. 1564Brief Exam. D iiij b, Which..loue, if it beare stroke among vs, we shall be able..to discomfyte the body..of Antichrist. a1569A. Kingsmill Comf. Afflict. (1585) B iij, Hee knewe that whatsoever befell him, God had a stroke in it. 1600Holland Livy xxix. xxix. 731 This Mezetulus having gathered a powre of..paisants of the countrey (with whom he carried a great stroke). 1609F. Sherwood in Lismore Papers Ser. ii. (1887) I. 134 The advise you wisht me to geiue him..gave a good stroke to perswade him. 1611Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burn. Pestle iv. (1613) I 2, Wife. Let him goe George, a shall not haue any countenance from vs, nor a good word from any i' th' Company, if I may strike stroke in't. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋11 The vintage of Abiezer, that strake the stroake: yet the gleaning of grapes of Ephraim was not to be despised. 1612T. Taylor Titus ii. 14 (1619) 532 It is verie hard to say, whether nature or religion giveth the stroke to their actions. 1622in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1908) II. 17 Captaine Fitzharbert opposed the resolutione, but the Admiralls double voice carried the stroke. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. Ep. Ded. A 3, Opinion strikes a great stroake in the iudgements and affaires of men. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. xii. 338 That the salts of naturall bodies doe carry a powerfull stroake in the tincture and vernish of all things, we shall not deny. 1659in Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 444 The Jesuits have too great a stroke amongst them. 1687Burnet Contn. Reply to Varillas 41 They had the main stroak in our Parliaments. 1697Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. i. (1709) 246 We may plainly perceive, That the Prejudices of Education have a great Stroak in many of our Reasonings. 1702Engl. Theophrastus 248 To stir up seditions and troubles the worst man commonly bears the stroke. 1731T. Boston in Morrison Mem. iv. (1899) 34, I..could never fall into the good graces of those who had the stroke in settling parishes.
†e. to come in the stroke: to be part of one's task. Obs.
1617Hieron Penance for Sin xx. Wks. 1619 II. 287, I speake not this..by way of censuring..any mans course; but I note this, (it comming in the stroke) according to my Text, to worke care in mine owne heart [etc.].
†4. Coinage, imprint of coin. Sc. Obs.
1449Sc. Acts Jas. II (1814) II. 37/1 Of þe new strak to be maide & the cours þerof and of þe money þat now rynnis. 1493Sc. Acts Jas. IV ibid. 233/1 Notwithstanding þe diuersitie of prentis of þe straikis of sundry cunȝeors. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 198 Vpone the thrid day of Julij the lordis..tuik all the quenis siluir weschell and struik siluir quhilk straik was the xxx schilling peice. 1600Earl Gowrie's Conspir. A 3, His answere was, that so farre as hee could take leisure to see of them, that they seemed to bee forraine..strokes of coyne.
5. a. A damaging or destructive discharge (of lightning).
a1542Wyatt Poems, ‘The lively sparks’ 10 Muche lyke vnto the gyse Of one Istricken with dynt of lightening blynded with the stroke, erryng here & there. 1730A. Gordon tr. Maffei's Amphith. (1735) 366 The Thunder, which..has broken..two large Pieces of the lowermost Stones;..by the Nature of the Stroke..it appears that the Direction of the Blow came from below upwards, [etc.]. 1810Scott Lady of L. iii. iv, Mingled with shivers from the oak, Rent by the lightning's recent stroke. 1889Science 11 Oct. 257 The attempt to obtain information regarding lightning-strokes..will result in a clearer understanding of the danger from these strokes to unprotected houses.
†b. An electric shock. Obs.
1766Ann. Reg., Chron. 71 After applying the electrical strokes to several parts of her body, and at length to her mouth, she soon recovered her speech. 1799Ht. Lee Canterb. T. III. 95 An electric stroke could hardly have produced a more sudden effect on both his hearers than [etc.].
†c. A shock of earthquake. Obs.
1813Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 308 Earthquakes are most frequent in volcanic districts, but the strokes are not the most violent in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes.
6. An attack of disease.
a. An apoplectic or (now more usually) paralytic seizure. Formerly † the stroke of God's hand.
1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physic 25/2 An excellent Cinnamome water for the stroke of Gods hande. a1700Evelyn Diary 22 Nov. 1694, The Abp. of Canterbury, who a few days before had a paralytic stroke. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 11 He was seized with a stroke of apoplexy. 1780Johnson Let. to Mrs. Lucy Porter 8 Apr., He has had a stroke, like that of an apoplexy. 1832S. Warren Diary Physic. II. ii. 85 Our inestimable friend, Mr. E―, had a sudden stroke of the palsy this afternoon. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvii. IV. 97 Soon after he had risen from table, an apoplectic stroke deprived him of speech and sensation. 1861Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne iii. xviii, Mr. Justice Hare's illness had turned out to be a stroke of paralysis. 1889Gretton Memory's Harkback 316 In his later years he had a partial stroke, which drew the muscles of his cheek a little on one side. 1898J. Hutchinson in Archives Surg. IX. 382 The popular distinction between a stroke and a fit was well illustrated by a hemiplegic patient who asserted, ‘I never had a fit; I never lost my senses; I only had a stroke’. 1905People's Doctor 48 Apoplexy. This disease goes under quite a variety of names. The popular term is ‘stroke’; doctors speak of cerebral hemorrhage; [etc.].
†b. Falconry. A disease in the eyes of hawks: = pin and web (pin n. 11). Obs.
1575Perf. Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 31 Pyn and Web, or Stroke. Pyn or Web or other dymnes by strokes &c. must be spedely loked unto.
†c. A blight on wheat, honey-dew. Obs.
1750W. Ellis Mod. Husb. II. i. 2 (E.D.S.) In the latter part of June,..green wheat is most liable to receive the stroke, as the farmer calls it; that is, the honey-dews.
7. The striking of a clock; the sound produced by each striking of the clapper or hammer upon a bell, or on the striking part of a clock. on or upon the stroke (of a specified hour): on the point of striking.
1436Sc. Acts Jas. I (1814) II. 24/1 Þat na man in burghe be fundyn in tauernys..efter the straik of ix houris. a1558in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 129 Before the howre of ix of the cloke, at which time ther shalbe a bell to be towlde by the officers ther by xxti strokes. 1604Marston Malcontent ii. iii. C 4 b, Piet. What houre ist? Celso. Vpon the stroake of twelue. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 700 The King hath a Bell, the strokes whereof sound such terror into the heart of the fearefull theefe, that [etc.]. c1616Fletcher Thierry & Theod. iii. i, His houres vpon the stroake. 1816Gentl. Mag. Sept. 270/1 At Hatherleigh..a bell..announces, by distinct strokes, the number of the day of the month. 1832H. Martineau Hill & Valley ix. 137, I used to like its stroke when it brought the work-people flocking from their cottages. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xi, It is on the stroke of twelve now. 1858Trollope Dr. Thorne xxx, He dressed himself hurriedly, for the dinner-bell was almost on the stroke as he entered the house. 1874Burnand My Time xxiii. 211 Straining my ears to catch the very first stroke of the hour. 1897R. N. Bain tr. Jókai's Pretty Michal xxxii. 251 At the stroke of two she was already in the shop below. 1908J. R. Harris Side-Lights N.T. Research ii. 55 The person who first succeeds in drawing the water after the stroke of midnight will find it turn to gold and silver.
†8.
a. A touch on a stringed instrument; manner of playing a musical instrument; hence, a tune, strain. Obs.
1540Palsgr. Acolastus iii. i. O j, He can no more skille of the stroke of the harpe or lute, than a iay can. 1561Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtier i. I ij b, Afterward the musitien chaunging the stroke and his maner of tune [Alexander] pacified himself againe. 1586W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 61 Neither is there anie tune or stroke which may be sung or plaide on instruments, which hath not some poetical ditties framed according to the numbers thereof. 1600Marston etc. Jack Drum's Entert. (1601) A 3, I had the best stroke, the sweetest touch, but now..I am falne from the Fidle. 1689Ayres Lyric Poems (1906) 308 (To his Viol) Then to my soft and sweetest strokes I keep. 1721A. Malcolm Treat. Mus. i. 18 The Notes of a Violin and all string'd Instruments that are struck with a Bow, whose Notes are made longer or shorter by Strokes of different lengths or Quickness of Motion. 1773Barrington in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 261 Several nightingale strokes, or particular passages in the song of that bird.
†b. Hunting. A call played on the horn. Cf. strake n.4 Obs.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 76/2 [Hunting-lesson blown on the Horn] The Stroaks to the Field, Ton-ton-tavern tone ton-tavern [etc.].
9. A pulsation, beat (of the heart, pulse). Cf. 12 c.
1538Elyot Dict., Pulsus..is more proprely the poulse or stroke that the arteries or beatyng vaines do make. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 183 The Blood's Momentum or Stroke. 1800Med. Jrnl. IV. 525 Her pulse usually beating from 120 to 130 strokes in the minute. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 173 The pulse..changed its character from a short and small to a full soft stroke. 1859Tennyson Elaine 716 Wroth, but all in awe, For twenty strokes of the blood,..Linger'd that other, staring after him. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 390 The impulse communicated to an aneurysmal sac is of course repeated at each stroke of the heart.
10. a. A movement of beating time; a beat, measure; metrical ictus, rhythm. Now rare or Obs.
1576G. Baker tr. Gesner's Jewel of Health 198 Distyll first with so softe a fyre, that foure musicall strokes may be made betweene droppe and droppe falling. 1586W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 62 The naturall course of most English verses seemeth to run vppon the olde Iambicke stroake. 1597Morley Introd. Mus. 9 Phi. What is a stroke? Ma. It is a successiue motion of the hand, directing the quantitie of euery note & rest in the song, with equall measure..: this they make three folde, more, lesse, and proportionate. The More stroke they call, when the stroke comprehendeth the time of a Briefe. The lesse, when a time of a Semibriefe, and proportionate where it comprehendeth three Semibriefes. 1677F. North Philos. Ess. Mus. 33 The due observance of time is gratefull for the same reason that I gave for the formality of a single Tune, because the subsequent strokes are measured by the memory of the former. 1891J. C. Parsons Engl. Versif. 20 In iambic movement..the stroke or accent, which usually comes only on the last syllable, may, at times, come equally on the first syllable.
†b. to keep stroke: to keep time. Cf. 13 b. Obs.
16..G. Percy in Purchas Pilgrims (1625) IV. 1687 When they were in their dance, they kept stroke with their feet iust one with another.
11. a. In negative context: A minimum amount of work. b. In later use: A large or considerable amount of work, business, trade.
a.1568Hist. Jacob & Esau v. vi, I wrought not a stroke this day but led Isaac. 1791Bentham Panopt. 69 Without either punishment, or interest given him in the profits of his labour,..how could you have insured a man's doing a single stroke of work? a1843Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. (1851) IV. 359 This fellow..never would strike a stroke of work afterwards. 1867W. H. Dixon New Amer. II. 322 ‘Work!’ said a stout young fellow in Tennessee..‘thank God, I have never done a stroke of work since I was born.’
b.1712Steele Spect. No. 484 ⁋4 The best Consolation that I can administer to those who cannot get into that Stroke of Business (as the Phrase is) which they deserve, is [etc.]. 1825Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v., A good stroke of business. 1838Haliburton Clockm. Ser. ii. xvii. 248 They carry on a considerable of a fishery here, and do a great stroke in the timber business. 1841Hartshorne Salop. Ant. Gloss., Stroke, an unusual quantity of labor performed in a certain time. 1842Thackeray Fitz-Boodle's Prof. i, A trade doing a stroke of so many hogsheads a week. 1853C. R. Read Austral. Gold Fields 14 A little further on I met the carpenter of the ship I came out from England in, two years before; he told me he was doing a rattling stroke. 1861Hughes Tom Brown Oxf. iv, One of those who do a good stroke of the work of the country without getting much credit for it. 1884Contemp. Rev. Apr. 579 The mileage run and the stroke of work performed.
12. A movement like that of striking a blow.
a. A single movement of the legs in walking or running, of the wings in flying, etc.
1618Baret Vineyard Horsem. i. 20 Further he must handle his legges neatly,..with an equall largenesse of his stroke carrying an apt proportion according to the slownes or swiftnes of his pace. a1642Suckling Goblins iv. (1646) 39 How she..danc'd a stroak in, and a stroak out, Like a young Fillet [? read Filly] training to a pace. 1704F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 29 Take the Bearings of a Running Horse, that is, measure the Extent of his Stroaks. 1865A. L. Gordon Poems, Ye Wearie Wayfarer ii. iv, I saw him shorten his horse's stroke As we splash'd through the marshy ground. 1869Spencer Princ. Psychol. §91 (1870) I. 216 A gnat's wings make ten or fifteen thousand strokes per second. 1880A. H. Swinton Insect Variety 175 In the pairing season..this music..is prolonged to ten or eleven strokes of the femora, lasting a quarter of a minute.
b. In swimming, the combined movement of the limbs forming a single impulse of progression; also, any particular manner of effecting this, as the breast-stroke, side-stroke.
c1800W. Hickey Mem. (1913) I. 158, I observed we were already too deep, asking the gunner whether he could swim, to which he answered: ‘No, Sir, not a stroke’. 1863Kinglake Crimea II. 220 There are however some deeps which would force a man to swim a few strokes. 1902Buchan Watcher by Threshold 314 He found deep water, and in two strokes was in the grip of the tide.
c. A single complete movement in either direction of any piece of machinery having a reciprocating motion (e.g., of a piston, piston-rod, etc.); also, the amplitude or length of such a movement.
1731H. Beighton in Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 11 If instead of sixteen Forcers they worked only eight, the Stroke might be five Feet in each Forcer. 1741in Sixth Rep. Dep. Kpr. Publ. Rec. App. ii. 120 A new pump, Engine or forcer for raising water with a perpendicular stroke. 1840Mechanics' Mag. XXXIII. 157/1 A popular notion has for a considerable time past prevailed, that a long stroke engine is much superior to a short stroke engine. 1841Whewell Mech. Engin. 185 The engine consumed 80 lbs. of coal per hour, working 18 strokes per minute. 1847J. Bourne Catech. Steam Eng. 162 The engine should always be made to work full stroke. 1869C. Knight Mechanician 109 The stroke of a slide-valve is the length of the path along which the valve moves. The stroke of a piston is the length of its travel or path. 1902S. E. White Blazed Trail i. ii, The saw leaped back and forth a few strokes more.
13. Rowing.
a. A single pull of the oar.
1583H. Howard Defensative L iij b, Barges which are forced by the strength of oares, haue a kinde of gate or swinge when the stroke dooth cease. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 40 The Galley-slaves..made her scoure little lesse than her full length betweene one stroake and the other. 1753J. Collier Art Torment. iii. 221 You may scream at every stroke of the oar. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xiii, So that they might dash on board of her with a few strokes of the oars.
†b. to keep stroke: to keep time in rowing. Cf. 10 b.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 200 The Owers..to the tune of Flutes kept stroke. a1619M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. xii. §2 (1622) 338 And he, that bending slowly brings his tarrying Oare to breast, His winding Armes keepe stroke with songs, while he the water beates. 1629Wadsworth Pilgr. v. 38, I being unable to keepe stroake with the rest, was well beaten. 1652Hermeticall Banq. 5 At Table, be sure that your Teeth labour like so many Gally slaves, keeping true stroke with the Hand.
c. Style of rowing, manner of handling the oars, esp. with regard to the length, speed, or frequency of the ‘strokes’ (see quot. 1898).
1870Field Q. Mag. I. 202/2 Close came away at once, and, rowing a long easy stroke, won very easily by four lengths. 1877Oxf. & Camb. Undergrad. Jrnl. 173/2 A journey to Ditton and back was essayed at a slow stroke. 1890R. C. Lehmann Harry Fludyer 118 To-day we are going to work up our stroke, so as to be able to row forty [strokes to the minute]. 1898Encycl. Sport II. 298/1 Stroke, (1) the number of dips of the oar in the water within a given time.
d. The oarsman who sits nearest to the stern of the boat, and whose ‘stroke’ sets the time for the other rowers (= stroke-oar, -oarsman, strokesman). Also quasi-adv. in to pull stroke, row stroke.
1825Westmacott Eng. Spy (1907) I. 28 In a water party he was a stroke of the ten oar. [Note. A first rate water⁓man.] 1841J. T. J. Hewlett Peter Priggins II. xiv. 306 Their talk was principally of boating,..with discussions on the merits of the ‘strokes’ of the different boats. 1845in Brasenose Ale 77 Thus spake the prince, who set us all afloat, And pull'd first stroke in the old Brasenose boat. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxiv, He pulls stroke in the Boniface boat. 1868Field 4 July 14/2 Hall's rowing as stroke was very different to his execution of the past two years. 1898Encycl. Sport II. 298/1 (Rowing) Stroke, (2) the oarsman who sits nearest the stern of the boat and sets the work to the men behind him. The side upon which his oar projects is called ‘stroke side’ all the way up the boat.
e. The station occupied in a boat by the stroke-oarsman.
1901Oxford Mag. 24 Apr. 291/2 University..with Huntley at stroke.
f. to put (someone) off (his) stroke, to distract (someone) from his course of activity; to disconcert or disturb. colloq.
a1914Joyce Stephen Hero (1944) xx. 103 Besides girls praying put me off my stroke. 1922― Ulysses 285 Put you off your stroke. 1965J. Gale Clean Young Englishman iv. 167 The note put me right off my stroke. I was trying to tell the audience what the war in Algeria was really like... But somehow I never finished what I wanted to say. 1977R. Perry Dead End iii. 41 She must have..seen the bodies..but it didn't put her off her stroke at all.
14. a. A vigorous attempt to attain some object; a measure, expedient, or device adopted for some purpose. Also stroke of policy (or † politics), stroke of business (cf. 11 b).
1699T. Baker Refl. Learning xiv. 166 Isidor's Collection was the great and bold Stroke, which [etc.]. 1732Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments etc. 413 The greatest and most important Strokes for the Recovery of the Patient, must be made at the time of the Invasion, or first State of the Disease. 1769Burke Observ. Late St. Nat. Wks. 1842 I. 102 He pays..some compliments to Lord Bute and Lord Despenser. But to the latter, this is, I suppose, but a civility to old acquaintance; to the former, a little stroke of politicks. 1822Galt Provost xi, Before the Michaelmas I was..fully prepared to achieve a great stroke of policy for the future government of the town. 1850Merivale Rom. Emp. iv. (1865) I. 185 This stroke of policy was not unsuccessful. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. iii, It is conceded by all, that that stroke of business on Brewer's part, in going down to the House that night to see how things looked, was the master-stroke. 1876M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma 112 For us,..Christianity [is] the greatest and happiest stroke ever yet made for human perfection.
b. stroke of state: tr. Fr. coup d'état (see coup n.3 5 a).
1783Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies VIII. 115 If we destroy..the nature of any great body, those convulsive motions which are called strokes of state, will disturb the whole nation. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xxi. v. (1872) X. 59 Her Son, the spirited King Gustav III., at Stockholm had made what in our day is called a ‘stroke of state’. 1871Browning Pr. Hohenst. 1367 He cannot but intend some stroke of state Shall signalize his passage into peace Out of the creaking. 1910Rosebery Chatham xi. 238 Fortified by this treaty,..the Pelhams executed their stroke of state.
c. In a game: An effective move or combination.
1735Bertin Chess Pref. p. iii, This noble Game abounds with a greater variety of fine strokes, than any other Games which depend upon design only. 1862‘Cavendish’ Whist (1864) 51 You almost preclude him from executing any of the finer strokes of play. 1913Illustr. Lond. News 22 Feb. 264/3 P to Kt 5th The winning stroke, as White gains a passed Pawn.
d. to pull a stroke, to play a dirty trick. Cf. pull v. 20 d. slang.
1970P. Laurie Scotland Yard 293 Pull a stroke, to, to play a dirty trick. 1974J. McVicar McVicar i. ii. i. 109 It would be wrong to let Charlie go... He's pulled too many strokes.
15. a. A feat, achievement; a signal display of art, genius, wit, etc. Cf. 18 c.
1672Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. ii. (Arb.) 75 There's a smart expression of a passion; O ye Gods! That's one of my bold strokes, a gad. 1677Dryden State Innoc. Apol. Heroic Poetry b 3, The boldest strokes of Poetry, when they are manag'd Artfully, are those which most delight the Reader. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables clii. 138 'Tis a Stroake of Art to Divert the Reproach, by Emproving a Spitefull Word, or Thing, to a bodies Own Advantage. 1731Gentl. Mag. I. 84 The statues about St. Paul's..are strokes of his masterly hand. 1757E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) III. 31 Perhaps 'tis this, by a Stroke of Simpathy, that hurries on the Reader at such a Rate. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. li, It is filled with strokes of wit and satire in every line. 1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit. Pref. p. x, I had no notion, I protest, that this exquisite stroke of pleasantry was aimed at me. 1881Ld. Acton Lett. to Mary Gladstone (1904) 74 One of the best strokes of wit I can remember in my time.
b. stroke of luck: an unexpected piece of good fortune.
1853C. B. Mansfield Paraguay etc. (1856) 420 The prisoner captain looked almost as much pleased as his capturer, who jumped for joy at this stroke of good luck. 1882C. Pebody Engl. Journalism xxiii. 179 The Times, by a stroke of luck..was represented in that war by a man who [etc.]. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay x, That lynching business was a stroke of luck for Deering.
16. a. A movement of the pen, pencil, graver, etc., in writing, painting, drawing, etc.; a single movement of a brush, chisel, knife, file, etc. over the surface operated on. Phrase, with a stroke of the pen: often said hyperbolically.
1668Temple Let. Wks. 1720 II. 91 Your Excellency with a Stroak of your Pen, has brought to Light the most covered Designs of your Enemies. 1699E. Ward Lond. Spy v. 4 Their Senses were Ravish'd with each Master'y stroak of the skillful Stone-Cutter. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 626/2 The varnish should be put on very quickly, making great strokes with the pencil or brush. 1804Revol. Plutarch II. 305 In acting so, he changed with a stroke of the pen the general aspect of affairs, in such a manner that [etc.]. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 745 Draperies are to be done with broad strokes of the pencil. 1875Fortnum Maiolica 89 It would seem laid on purposely with a coarse brush the strokes of which are very apparent. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay viii, The money is in Spanish bonds..; it can be handed over to you with the stroke of a pen. 1889Hasluck Model Engin. Handybk. 133 The file strokes should not all be made parallel one to another. 1907J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 106 The print should be cut with one stroke of the knife.
†b. Manner of handling the pencil, graver, etc.
1662Evelyn Chalcogr. 69 The imitations of the graver..are altogether admirable and inimitable, the stroke and conduct consider'd. 1699Wanley in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 282 The Print..is so well engraven, and the workman had so good a stroke, that I believe half the workmen in London cannot now do better. 1717Pope Ep. to Mr. Jervas 38 Caracci's strength, Correggio's softer line, Paulo's free stroke, and Titian's warmth divine. Ibid. 64 Oh, lasting as those Colours may they shine, Free as thy stroke, yet faultless as thy line.
c. finishing stroke (lit. and fig.): see finishing ppl. a.
1695Plot in Aubrey Lett. Eminent Persons (1813) I. 74, I am heartily glad to hear Mr. Cook has given the finishing stroke to your fine chapel. 1800Asiatic Ann. Reg., Misc. Tracts 16/2 Major Caillaud and the young Nabob crossed their troops over the Ganges, to put the finishing stroke to the affair. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. xxix. (1901) I. 218 On the Monday, he bespoke an audience with Mr. Jorrocks to put the finishing stroke to his arrangements. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. ii. 60 æthelstan added the finishing stroke to the work of his father.
17. a. A linear mark; a mark traced by the moving point of a pen, pencil, etc.; a component line of a written character (cf. up-stroke, down-stroke); also, a dash (in writing or print).
1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 2 [An agate] hauing strokes on eche side like to blew vaines. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. vii. 347 With the bloud they made a stroake on the dead mans face, from one eare to the other. 1673Dryden Marr. à la Mode ii. i, With strokes in ashes Maids their Lovers drew. 1688Holme Armoury ii. 39/2 The Achate is variously coloured..: some have stroakes of blew, some with blood. 1693J. Edwards Author. O. & N. Test. 201 The shadow..on the dial..went backward so many lines or stroaks. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 32 The white Hoof is of a brittle Disposition; and those that have Strokes, or are ribbed as it were, with white, must be worse than the black Sort. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 243 A fourth Kind of Writing, the Strokes whereof being more joined, and less distinguished one from another, are made with more Ease and Expedition. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 19 The drawing of strokes by the eye with the black-lead pencil, charcoal, or chalk, will afford the most proper exercise. 1865Trollope Belton Est. xxvii. 326 Very careful in the perfection of every letter, and very neat in every stroke. 1885Sweet O.E. Texts 132 The various readings are separated by a stroke, and come in the following order.
b. a stroke above: = ‘a cut above’ (cut n. 17). colloq. rare.
1856W. Collins Wreck Golden Mary ii. Househ. Words Christm. No. 14/2 She had had her schooling up in London..so it was but nature she should be a stroke above the girls of the place. 1914Joyce Dubliners 153, I don't say Hynes.—No, damn it, I think he's a stroke above that.
c. Bacteriology. A line formed by drawing the point of an infected wire over the surface to be inoculated. Cf. stroke-culture, etc. in 26.
1893M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 63 The colonies may confine themselves to the actual inoculating stroke, or they may spread themselves out.., until the whole surface of the nutrient medium is covered right up to the sides of the test-tube.
d. In Telegraphy, the name of the signal for an oblique stroke. Now usu. colloq., a spoken representation of a solidus. Freq. used as conj. to indicate or stress alternatives: or else, alternatively.
1884W. Lynd Pract. Telegraphist i. 27 The oblique stroke is to be signalled ‘stroke’, thus—‘FI three stroke five FF’, meaning 3/5 (three shillings and fivepence). 1965M. Allingham Mind Readers xv. 153, I have my own feel, of course, which would be ‘glad stroke laughingat’ in his case. 1971J. Yardley Kiss a Day keeps Corpses Away ii. 39 The Truman stroke Eisenhower regime. 1974G. Markstein Cooter xlvii. 171 ABPQ stroke 113 stroke 1. Ah yes. Is that your national registration number? 1977N. J. Crisp Odd Job Man iii. 28 One dozen cardigans, stroke thirty-three, blue, for knitwear.
e. spec. in Logic = Sheffer('s) stroke s.v. Sheffer.
1925Whitehead & Russell Principia Math. (ed. 2) I. p. xvi, The symbol ‘p/q’ is pronounced: ‘p stroke q’... All the usual truth-functions can be constructed by means of the stroke. 1952R. L. Wilder Introd. Found. Math. ix. 220 Since P[rincipia] M[athematica] was first published, with its two undefined symbols (or ‘logical constants’)..it has been shown that one undefined symbol..[is] sufficient. The symbol referred to is / and is called ‘stroke’. 1975P. K. Bastable Logic 189 Later he [sc. Russell] preferred to become acquainted with implication through defining it as ‘Either not p or q’ or, like Sheffer and Nicod, in terms of the stroke functor.
†18.
a. Lineament, line of a face or form. Obs.
1635–56Cowley Davideis iv. 526 Not bright Ahin'oam..Had sweeter strokes, Colours more fresh and fair. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 21 They..content themselves with the Imitation of visible things, following stroke after stroke.
†b. fig. A constituent feature; a characteristic; a trait of character. Obs.
1666S. Parker Platonic Philos. 41 In its main strokes it [sc. Plato's ‘physiology’] accords with the Aristotelean Philosophie. 1710Felton Diss. Classics (1718) 49 Give me Leave, my Lord, to..draw out..some of the chief Strokes, some of the principal Lineaments, and fairest Features of a just and beautiful Style. 1729Law Serious C. xvi. (1732) 303 He is so very quick sighted that he discovers in almost every body, some Strokes of vanity. 1734tr. Rollin's Rom. Hist. vi. (1827) III. 241 Two or three principal strokes of his character. 1780A. Young Tour Irel. ii. 75 Many strokes in their character are evidently to be ascribed to the extreme oppression under which they live.
c. fig. A felicitous or characteristic expression or thought in literary composition; a ‘touch’ of description, satire, pathos, or the like. Cf. 15.
1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. Pref., But when Action or Persons are to be described..how bold, how masterly, are the strokes of Virgil! 1697C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 88 He wrote a Comedy which everybody likes, and the Queen..found therein such moving and delicate Stroaks in it, that she would act a part in it herself. 1706Prior Ode to Queen Pref., I have endeavor'd to imitate all the great Strokes of that Ode. 1725Cotes tr. Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 17th C. I. ii. iii. 35 Not to mention many satyrical Strokes which are scatter'd throughout his History. 1770Jortin Erasmus II. 170 One can hardly excuse Erasmus intirely, for having put into the mouth of Folly some strokes, which seem to confound religious Truth with Folly. 1831Mackintosh Hist. Eng. II. 16 A few strokes of Comines throw a more clear and agreeable light over our story than the scanty information of our own meagre and unskilful writers. 1876Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. xi. 226 Macaulay..thought..nothing whatever of reconstructing a paragraph for the sake of one happy stroke or apt illustration.
†19. to have a good stroke (at eating): to have a hearty appetite. (Cf. twist n.1 18.) Obs.
1699W. Dampier Voy. II. iv. 71 Neither can any man be entertain'd as a Soldier, that has not a greater stroke than ordinary at eating. 1731–8Swift Polite Conv. ii. 150 Lady Answ. God bless you, Colonel; you have a good Stroke with you. Col. O Madam; formerly I could eat all, but now I leave nothing.
†20. A cut, slice (of meat). Obs.
1581A. Hall Iliad ix. 157 Down he layes the spit, Wheron the strokes of flesh were brotcht.
21. Agric. (See quot. 1891.)
1765Museum Rust. IV. 6 Give the land a stroke with the great harrow, and roll it as before. 1847Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. ii. 449 When the seed is sown, it should be covered by two strokes of the light seed-harrow. 1891Malden Tillage Gloss. s.v., Each time land is crossed with harrows it is said to have received a stroke or tine.
†22. = transom 2. Obs. rare—1.
1684Sturmy Mariner's Mag. vii. xix. (ed. 2) 140 Chuse a convenient place in the Transum or Stroke of the Window.
23. A denomination of dry measure, varying in capacity according to locality: = strike n. 4.
1532Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 34 To have one stroke of peese. 1569Richmond Wills (Surtees) 218, xxti stroke wheate, iiij li. 1681O. Heywood Diaries (1881) II. 286 A stroke of shilling [= shelled oats] standing on the table. 1744MS. Parish Bk. Pannal, Yorks., A strooke of Pottatoes 5 d. 1790Grose Prov. Gloss. (ed. 2) Suppl., Stroke, half a bushel. 1814W. S. Mason Statist. Acc. Irel. I. 339 The measure, or stroke of potatoes 2 Bushels. 1862C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds 424 Stroke, a half-bushel, or two pecks; so called from the measure (when upheaped) being stroked off with a thin piece of wood.
24. Geol. = strike n. 8. rare.
1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 113 The stroke of the slates varies from north 25° west, south 25° east, to north 45° west, south 45° east.
25. Basket-making. A single movement analogous to a stitch in sewing or knitting; the result of this.
1912T. Okey Art of Basket-Making vii. 59 Where an even number of pairs of leagues or sticks is used, the centre strokes lie alternate, and not side by side. Ibid. 154 Stroke, any complete movement in basket-work: analogous to a stitch in needlework. 1960E. Legg Country Baskets iii. 29 And now for the strokes, which are comparable with ‘stitches’ in knitting... The strokes are indeed simple and few.
26. attrib.
a. Golf, in terms relating to the method of scoring by strokes (sense 1 d) instead of by holes, as stroke-competition, stroke-game, stroke-play;
b. Bacteriology (sense 17 c), as stroke-cultivation, stroke-culture, stroke-inoculation;
c. special combinations, † stroke-bias, an obsolete game resembling ‘prisoners' base’; † stroke engraving, a line engraving; stroke-haul, an apparatus used for illegal capture of fish, formed of three hooks joined back to back, and weighted with lead; hence stroke-haul v., stroke-hauling vbl. n.; stroke-maker Cricket, a batsman who plays attractive, attacking strokes; hence stroke-making; stroke-oar, (a) the oar nearest the stern of a rowing-boat; (b) the rower who handles this oar (= sense 13 d); stroke-oarsman = sense 13 d; stroke-ornamented a. Archæol. (see quot. 1970); strokeplay Cricket, the playing of attractive, attacking strokes; hence stroke-player; stroke-side, the side of a rowing-boat on which the stroke-oarsman sits; stroke-stitch Needlework (see quot.).
1700J. Brome Trav. Eng. 264 The Kentish Men have a peculiar Exercise,..'tis called *Stroke-Biass. [Description follows.]
1904in H. Vardon Compl. Golfer (1905) 274 Special Rules for *Stroke Competitions.
1890W. W. Cheyne tr. Flügge's Micro-organisms 177 *Stroke cultivations.
1893M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 62 For the *stroke cultures we use the test-tubes.
1793Thomson in Burns' Wks. (1800) IV. 33 We intend presenting the subscribers with two beautiful *stroke engravings.
1896Westm. Gaz. 8 Apr. 5/3 The match..consists of the *stroke game to-day and play by holes to-morrow.
1850Act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 88 §40 That it shall not be lawful..to use for the Purpose of taking Fish any Otter, Lyster, Spear, *Strokehaul, Dree Draw, or Gaff.
1912London Mag. Sept. 97/2 They *stroke-hauled them in couples in the moonlight.
1860C. Simeon Stray Notes Fishing 37 This plan, with a large weighted treble hook, is sometimes adopted with destructive effect by poachers for salmon..it is then called ‘*stroke-hauling’.
1893M. Campbell tr. Migula's Introd. Pract. Bacteriol. iv. 62 The *stroke inoculation being completed.
1927Observer 5 June 21/5 A beautiful *stroke-maker, he [sc. H. W. Austin] is pleasant to watch. 1976J. Snow Cricket Rebel 84 Nurse could be a brilliant and savage stroke-maker on his day, but could graft when necessary.
1956R. Alston Test Commentary iii. 23 One of the features of the morning's play was the *stroke-making of..Van Geloven. 1977World of Cricket Monthly June 87/1 He impressed the Lord's gathering with his crisp stroke-making.
1835Dickens Sk. Boz, River, After a great deal of changing and fidgeting, consequent upon the election of a *stroke-oar. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xi, At College he pulled stroke-oar in the Christchurch boat. 1865Kingsley Herew. xx, Winter steered the boat and Gwenoch took the stroke-oar.
1838J. F. Cooper Excurs. Italy I. xvi. 302 The *stroke-oarsman of the boat advised me to pull in under the promontory. 1894Daily News 3 July 8/3 One of the finest stroke oarsmen in England.
1925V. G. Childe Dawn Europ. Civilization xii. 172 The second ware may..be called *stroke-ornamented pottery. Its forms are rather more angular than those of spiral-meander pottery. Ibid. xviii. 272 Hut foundations..yielded sherds with curvilinear decoration and others recalling the Danubian stroke-ornamented ware. 1970Bray & Trump Dict. Archaeol. 222/1 Stroke-ornamented ware, pottery with zigzag patterns made by a series of distinct jabs rather than continuous lines. It was current during the centuries after 4000 BC in Bohemia, west Poland, Bavaria and central Germany.
1905Daily Chron. 20 July 3/1 The old golf was Scotch, and was a match game. The new, English game, is *stroke play, with oneself as one's hardiest opponent. 1930C. G. Macartney My Cricketing Days ii. 14 Perhaps this sort of cricket was an aid to stroke play, perhaps not, but as far as I can see, it never did me any harm. 1979Daily Tel. 19 May 29/1 Any doubts about his form or fitness were violently dismissed in a morning of rich strokeplay.
1935Times 20 July 13/5 Some of the English cricketers now getting past their prime are still *stroke-players. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 x. 183 There were, on the England side, three stroke-players capable of enhancing any Test, on the Australian side two.
1862W. P. Lennox Recreat. Sportsm. I. 197 The terms in boating are as follows:—..*stroke side, the port, or right side. 1909Blackw. Mag. May 613/2 Tell Jerry to get down a new strokeside oar, with a good six-inch blade.
1900L. F. Day & Mary Buckle Art in Needlework ii. (1901) 16 The mere work line—or ‘*stroke-stitch’, not crossed, is a perfectly fair way of getting a delicate effect.
▪ II. stroke, n.2
Also 7–8 stroak.
[f. stroke v.1]
1. A stroking movement of the hand, esp. for purposes of healing. Also, an act of stroking, esp. by way of caress.
1631B. Jonson New Inn iv. ii, Tip. Hee'll borrow money on the stroke of his beard! Or turne off his Mustaccio. 1665Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux title-p., Who Cureth all manner of Diseases with a stroak of his hand and Prayer. 1666H. Stubbe Mirac. Conformist 6 Having..stopped the paine and effusion of blood by some strokes of his hand, he bad her put nothing to it but a linnen Cloth. 1697Dryden æneis x. 1229 Soothing his Courage with a gentle Stroke, The Steed seem'd sensible, while thus he spoke. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Stroaking, But as to the particular Efficacy of the Stroak of particular Persons; we see little Foundation for it in Nature. 1953H. E. Bates Nature of Love iv. 36 She gave her hair a long deep casual stroke with the brush.
2. An act of copulation. slang. rare.
1785Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue s.v., Stroke. To take a stroke, to take a bout with a woman. 1976P. Cave High Flying Birds ii. 19, I happened to be engaged upon a variation of the sexual act known as the ‘Birmingham Stroke’ at the time our little love-nest started rolling.
3. A comforting gesture of approval or congratulation (see also quot. 1964). Hence, a flattering or friendly remark, etc., esp. one made in order to help or manipulate another. Cf. stroke v.1 1 e. Now chiefly U.S. colloq.
1964E. Berne Games People Play 15 By an extension of meaning, ‘stroking’ may be employed colloquially to denote any act implying recognition of another's presence. Hence a stroke may be used as the fundamental unit of social action. An exchange of strokes constitutes a transaction, which is the unit of social intercourse. 1969T. A. Harris I'm OK, You're OK iii. 45 The Adult has something to work on: what must I do to gain their strokes, or their approval? 1973Houston (Texas) Chron. Texas Mag. 14 Oct. 4/1 The popular saying around PDAP [sc. The Palmer Drug Abuse Program] is ‘different strokes for different folks’, and that's the basis of the program. 1978M. Puzo Fools Die xi. 122 He started off dishing out some nice strokes. With an admiring smile he told me how smart I was, how honest, so absolutely reliable. 1981TV Picture Life Mar. 12/3 Let's face it, everybody needs their strokes and that would be very ego-satisfying.
4. Special combinations: stroke book, a pornographic book; stroke house U.S., a cinema where pornographic films are shown.
1972Pussycat XXXIII. lix. 10/1 For a stroke book, the quality of writing is astonishingly good. 1978T. Gifford Glendower Legacy (1979) 73 I'm just going to pig out at home, look at a stroke book... As a matter of fact, I've taken to writing for stroke books.
1971Atlantic Monthly July 52 He would camp in the 42nd Street stroke houses and come back with tales of what they were getting away with now.
▪ III. † stroke, n.3 ? Anglo-Irish. Obs. rare—1.
(Sense obscure.)
Perh. a misprint for noke, nook n. (where see senses 3 d, e).
1571E. Campion Hist. Irel. 14/2 in Holinshed (1577), Styll erecting Castelles..so to mayster the Irishe, that with such maner of strengthes of Walles..had not as yet beene acquaynted, for tyll those dayes they knewe no defence but Woods, Bogs, or strokes.
▪ IV. stroke, n.4 Obs. exc. dial.|strəʊk|
Also 8 stroak.
[Altered form of strake n.1]
= strake n.1 1 a.
1688Holme Armory iii. 332/1 The parts of a Wheel. The Nave,..The Stroke, is the Iron Rim about the Felloes. 1773W. Emerson Princ. Mech. (ed. 3) 283 Stroaks or straiks, the iron going round the circumference of carriage wheels. 1904Eng. Dial. Dict.
▪ V. stroke, v.1|strəʊk|
Pa. tense and pa. pple. stroked |strəʊkt|. Forms: α. 1 strácian, 6–7 stroake, 6–8 stroak, 7 strocke, strooke, 8–9 dial. strock, 3– stroke. β. Sc. and north. 5–6, 9 strake, 6 straik(e, strayk(e, 8–9 straik.
[OE. strácian, corresp. to MLG., MDu. strêken (mod.Du. streeken), OHG. streihhôn (MHG., mod.G. streichen, which coalesced with streichen:—OHG. strîhhan strike v.), f. Teut. *straik-, ablaut-var. of *strī̆k-: see strike v.]
1. a. trans. To rub (a surface) softly with the hand or some implement; esp. to pass the hand softly in one direction over (the head, body, hair, of a person or animal) by way of caress or as a method of healing (cf. stroke n.2, stroker, also strike v. 4 b).
αc897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xli. 303 Swa [swa] wildu hors, ðonne we h[ie] æresð ᵹefangnu habbað, we hie ðacciað & straciað mid bradre handa. c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 134 Myd swyþe driᵹeon handum straca ᵹeornlice þane innoþ. c1290St. Francis 367 in S. Eng. Leg. 64 He..strokede heom [birds] with is longue sleue. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 334 He stroked his berde. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xcvi. (1495) 842 Tame apes haue lykyng to be strokyd. 1530Palsgr. 741/1, I stroke ones heed, as we do a chyldes by flatterynge, or whan he dothe well. 1575Turberv. Falconrie 100 Then muste you haue a little rownde stycke..with the whiche you shall oftentymes stroke and handle your Falcon. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 302 Oftentimes stroking his white beard, as his manner was when he was thorowly angry. 1619Wonderf. Discov. Witchcrafts Marg. Flower etc. (1837) 22 Wherevpon she brought downe a gloue and deliuered the same to her mother, who stroked Rutterkin her Cat with it. 1655J. S. Bonarelli's Filli di Sciro ii. i. 28 As they had Learnt to strooke each others cheekes. 1662W. Faithorne Graving & Etching xxv. 41 Then take a piece of the whitest Virgin-wax and spread it thin over the plate, and with a smooth feather gently stroak it all over, to the end it may lie the more even and smooth. 1665Wonders if not Miracles V. Gertrux 7 He likewise cures the Convulsion fits only by stroaking the persons afflicted with his hand. a1700Evelyn Diary 6 July 1660, The Chirurgeons cause the sick to be brought or led up to the throne, where they kneeling, the King strokes their faces or cheekes with both his hands at once. 1788Gibbon Decl. & F. l. V. 183 His only gesture is that of stroking his beard. 1911Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson xvi. 241 Softly she stroked the carpet with the palms of her hands.
β1786Burns Epist. J. Rankine viii, The poor wee thing was little hurt; I straiket it a wee for sport.
b. said of an animal.
1621Quarles Hadassa Introd. B 4 b, This [steed] stroaks the ground, that skorn's it with his heele. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 56 It [the guinea-pig] strokes its head with the fore feet like the rabbit. 1913Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 4 June 948/2 The male Amauris egialea stroking the brands of the hind wings with its anal tufts.
c. absol. (Proverbially contrasted with strike.)
c897ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxvi. 187 Sua se læce grapað, & stracað,..ærðonðe he stingan wille. 1612J. Davies (Heref.) Muse's Sacrif. (Grosart) 51/1 So, with remorse, reuenge to execute; So, stroke and strike at once. 1675H. Woolley Gentlew. Comp. 128 When you have laid three or four layers one on the other, wet a feather in Rosewater and Musk, and stroke over it. 1699Thoresby in Phil. Trans. XXI. 334 Where he stroked for Pains, he used nothing but his dry Hand. 1750Berkeley Patriotism §19 Wks. 1871 III. 456 A good groom will rather stroke than strike. 1757W. Wilkie Epigoniad iv. 95 His weighty hands he laid On their soft backs, and, stroaking gently, said [etc.].
d. to stroke against the hair, stroke the wrong way (of the hair): to rub (an animal) in the direction opposite to the natural lie of its hair; fig. to irritate, ruffle, cross (a person). Similarly to stroke with the hair, to soothe (Sc.).
c1590Montgomerie Sonn. xxxiii. 6 In hir vnhappy hands sho held my heed, And straikit bakuard wodershins my hair. 1786Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer xviii, For God-sake, Sirs! then speak her fair, An' straik her cannie wi' the hair. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf viii, I'll speak him fair..and stroke him wi' the hair. 1844W. Cross Disruption xi. (1846) 113, I hae a good deal o' the cuddy in me, when I'm straikit against the hair. 1860Trollope Castle Richmond I. xiii. 260 Somebody's been stroking him the wrong way of the 'air.
e. transf. and fig. † Formerly often, = to soothe, flatter, ‘tickle’; also, to treat indulgently, cocker, make much of (cf. L. mulcere). Sometimes contrasted with strike. In recent use, to reassure (a child, etc.) by approval or congratulation (see also quot. 1964). Hence, to manipulate (another) by means of flattery, persuasion, etc.; to compliment. Cf. stroke n.2 3. Now chiefly U.S. colloq., esp. in political contexts.
1513Douglas æneis iv. Prol. 189 Venus henvifis..That strakis thir wenchis hedis thaim to pleis. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. ii. i. §2 (1562) 70 There is nothing that mannes nature more coueteth, than to be stroked with flattery. 1600Edmonds Observ. Cæsar's Comm. vii. (1604) 126 If it be demaunded, what became of these great Princes and personages after the triumph, it will appeare that they did not stroke their heads, or make more of them then of miserable captiues. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 333 When thou cam'st first Thou stroakst me, & made much of me. 1616B. Jonson Epigr. lxi, Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike, One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike. a1637― Underwoods, Eupheme iv, The voice so sweet, the words so fair, As some soft chime had stroked the air. 1629Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 145 With these faire Promises he stroked the Senators. 1675Traherne Chr. Ethics To Rdr., The design of this treatise is, not to stroak and tickle the fancy, but to elevate the soul. 1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 2175 Sleep's dewy wand Has strok'd my drooping lids. 1898Hardy Wessex Poems 94 They parted there as morning stroked the panes. 1964[see stroke n.2 3]. 1969T. A. Harris I'm OK, You're OK iii. 48 If a two-year-old concludes I'm OK, does this mean his OK is the product of ‘self-stroking’ and, if so, how does a small child stroke himself? 1973T. C. Huston in L. Chester et al. Watergate iv. 43 Mr. Hoover should be called in privately for a stroking session at which the President [sc. Nixon] explains the decision he had made. 1975Atlantic Monthly Mar. 44 It's Show Biz, man—a bunch a' egomaniacal people using a captive audience to stroked themselves. 1977Time 17 Oct. 20/1 Carter also stroked the Jerusalem government by promising that the U.S. would never attempt to impose a Middle East settlement. 1978New Yorker 9 Jan. 41 He tells his client, ‘It's looking pretty good. We'll stay on top of it.’ This is what is known as ‘stroking’ the client. 1981Observer 11 Jan. 6/5, I think he's still a little kid from Hoboken, who likes to be stroked by Presidents.
f. to stroke over: = perstringe v.2
1822Byron To Murray 25 Dec., Since I have read the Quarterly, I shall erase two or three passages in the latter six or seven cantos, in which I had lightly stroked over two or three of your authors.
g. With adv. or similar extension: To bring into a specified position, condition, etc. by stroking. Also fig.
1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 73 Hee would take occasion to stroke vp his haire, and turne vp his mustachios twice or thrice ouer. 1615Crooke Body of Man 81 The Midwife after she haue stroaked down the bloud to nourish the Babe. 1639Fuller Holy War ii. viii. (1640) 54 The Pope..stroked the angry Patriarch of Antioch into gentlenesse with good language. 1666H. Stubbe Mirac. Conformist 29 Such consequents are usuall, when the Disease is not stroked out. 1675South Serm. Judges viii. 34, 35 (1692) 581 He..sees the folly of Endeavouring to stroke a Tyger into a Lamb. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. xv. 407 Letting it [their hair] grow very long, and stroking it back with their Hands curiously. 1764Gray Jemmy Twitcher 22 She strok'd up her belly, and strok'd down her band. 1770Luckombe Hist. Printing 360 With the back sides of the nails of his fingers to draw or stroke it [i.e. the paper to be printed] over the Point. 1859Habits of Gd. Society xiv. 359 With his hands so full that he cannot even stroke out his splendid whiskers.
h. To express or testify by stroking. rare.
1648J. Beaumont Psyche xix. cclxxiii, And then she prais'd the steeds unwearied Pains, Stroking her thanks upon their ruffled Mains.
i. To pass (one's hand) gently over a surface.
1697C. Leslie Snake in Grass (ed. 2) 114 Stroaking his Hand over their Faces (as his Custom was) who kneel'd or fell prostrate before him.
2. To draw (a cutting instrument) along a surface in order to sharpen or whet it. Cf. strake v.3 1 and G. streichen. Obs. or arch.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 416 ‘..Ta now þy grymme tole to þe, & let se how þou cnokez.’ ‘Gladly sir, for soþe’, Quod Gawan; his ax he strokes. a1800Bonny Birdy xv. in Child Ballads II. 261 Then out the knight has drawn his sword, An straiked it oer a strae. 1885–94Bridges Eros & Psyche July xv, She..laid the knife, to mortal keenness stroked, Within her reach, where she was wont to lie.
†3. fig. To plight (one's troth). Obs. Cf. strike v. 69.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 3192 Þire traitours on þis trechoure trowthis has strakid [Dublin MS. han stroken]. a1776Sweet William's Ghost ix. in Child Ballads II. 230 Up she has tain a bright long wand, And she has straked her trouth thereon.
4. To milk (a cow); esp. to draw the last milk from (a cow) by pressing the teat. Also fig. Cf. stroking vbl. n.; also strap v.2, strip v.3 1.
1538Elyot Dict., Mulgeo, to mylke or stroke. 1639Fuller Holy War iv. xvii. (1640) 198 Some say..that this onely was a trick to stroke the skittish cow to get down her milk. a1658Lovelace Lucasta, Posth. Poems (1659) 83 No wonder if a Drawer Verses Rack,..Whilst the Fair Barmaid stroaks the Muses teat, For milk to make the Posset up compleat. 1675H. Woolley Gentlew. Comp. 215 When you milk your Cattel, stroke them well, and in the Summer-time save those strokings by themselves, to put into your morning-Milk-cheese. 1746Exmoor Scolding 47 Nif tha dest bet go down into the Paddick, to stroak the Kee. Ibid. 110 Thee hast a let the Kee go zoo vor Want o' strocking. 1886W. Somerset Word-bk., Stroke, to take part of the milk; to milk gently.
5. ? To whip (cream, a syllabub).
a1639Wotton Descr. Spring 18, Reliq. W. (1651) 524 And now She trips to milk the Sand-red Cow; Where, for some sturdy foot-ball Swaine, Jone strokes a sillibub, or twaine. 1908Daily Chron. 12 June 9/6 Chocolate Hands. —Wanted cream coverers, used to curl and stroke.
6. To smear (something) over a surface. Obs. exc. Sc. (Cf. strake v.3 2.)
1586Lupton 1000 Notable Things (1675) 88 Let..the water thereof be dropped and stroaked about the Eyes. 1883J. Kennedy in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets VI. 218 Now she's prappit near the ceiling, Straikin' whitening on the wa'. 1888A. G. Murdoch Sc. Readings Ser. ii. (ed. 2) 33 Johnny himself was busy ‘straiking’ the melted solution roun' the inner edge of the rim of his hat with the point of his right fore finger.
7. Masonry. To work the face of (a stone) in such a manner as to produce a sort of fluted surface (Ogilvie 1850).
1842Gwilt Archit. §1911 In London, the squared stone used for facing buildings is usually stroked, tooled, or rubbed. 1910[see stroked ppl. a.1].
8. Needlework. To dispose (small gathers) in regular order and close succession by drawing the point of a blunt needle from the top of each gather downwards.
1875[Mrs. Floyer] Plain Needlework 21 The top of the gathers above the thread should be stroked, to give them an even appearance. 1880― Plain Hints Needlework 48 Gather, stroke, and set in. 1909Even. Standard 2 Aug. 11/4 In stroking gathers, the needle should be held in a sloping direction.
9. Printing. To move (a sheet) into place by a stroking-movement of the hand. Also to stroke in.
1888[see stroker 1 b].
10. To level (grain) in a measure; = straik v.
1887Hall Caine Deemster v. 30 The bushel of the poor man was not to be stroked, but left in heaped-up measure.
Hence stroked, ppl. a.1, ˈstroking ppl. a.
1619B. Jonson Masques, Pleas. reconciled to Virtue (1640) 28 But with a minde as gentle as the stroaking winde runs ore the gentler flowers. 1620Quarles Feast for Worms G 3, A Yongling..(Scarce weaned from his dandling mothers tet, Where he was cockerd with a stroking hand). 1693Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 891 They stroke her Neck; the gentle Heyfar stands, And her Neck offers to their stroking Hands. 1890Nature 9 Oct. 578/2 The method adopted..consisted in determining the velocity of sound in the vapour by Kundt's dust-figures, from observation of the wave-length and the pitch of the note emitted by the stroked tube containing the vapour. 1898A. Lang Making of Relig. i. 4 Such phenomena science has ignored, as it so long ignored the sparks from the stroked deer-skin. 1910C. H. Gregory Gloss. Build. Constr. 38 Striped or Stroked Work. Chisel marks made across a stone at an angle of 45°.
Add:11. To play (a plucked or keyboard instrument, or its keys or strings) with a light or gentle touch.
1969W. F. Nolan Dashiell Hammett viii. 82 Director Howard Hawks, listening with sad eyes as George Antheil stroked the piano. 1972[see oud n.]. 1981N.Y. Times 20 Oct. c12/1 You can look at the pictures and eat your dinner to the accompaniment of harp music. Alyssa Hess strokes the instrument to bring out light classics and show tunes that mellifluously flood the room from 7 to 10 P.M. 1985Ibid. 3 Feb. ii. 21/2 You can't test the patented pedal because it's under glass, but you can see the keys that fingers of genius stroked.
▪ VI. stroke, v.2|strəʊk|
[f. stroke n.1]
I.
1. trans. To mark with streaks or stripes. So stroked ppl. a.2, striped. rare. Cf. strake v.4, straked ppl. a.
1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 31/4 Those [leeches] which have the backes stripped, stroked with gouldeyellow strokes. 1896W. Harvey Kennethcrook 35 (E.D.D.) If there's siccan things as spottit horses, what ails ye at strokit anes?
†2. To depict with strokes of the brush. Obs.
1624Wotton Elem. Archit. ii. 84 Such a seeming softnesse in the Limbes, as if not a Chissell has hewed them out of Stone,..but a Pensill had drawne and stroaked them in Oyle.
3. To draw the horizontal line across the upright of (the letter t); to cross. Also fig.: cf. T 1 b.
1894M. Pemberton Sea Wolves xi. (1901) 51 What I can spell right here is thirst, and stroke the t's, too! 1897Bookman Jan. 120/1 So Landor dotted the i's, stroked the t's, put in qualifying words, and flat contradictions.
4. With out or through: To cancel by drawing a line or lines across; to cross out.
1885E. D. Gerard Waters of Hercules xxv, Half of what I had written was stroked through. 1910G. Stevenson Suppl. Montgomerie's Poems (S.T.S.) 247 note, The name ‘hay’ has been stroked out.
5. Of a bell: to chime the strokes of (the hour, etc.). poet. rare—1.
1902Hardy Poems of Past & Present 132 As the hope-hour stroked its sum, You did not come.
† II. 6. nonce-use. To throw into (a palsy). Cf. stroke n.1 5.
1647J. Hall Poems ii. 78 In thine Eye Carrying an all⁓enraged Majesty; That shall the Earth into a Palsie stroke, And make the Clouds sigh out themselves in smoake.
III. 7. a. To row stroke in (a boat); to act as stroke to (a crew).
1866Morn. Star 14 Feb., They are alternately stroked by Messrs. Brown and Senhouse. 1874Shotover Papers I. No. xi. 172 They wanted Jones to stroke the Varsity boat. 1899Daily News 16 Feb. 7/2 In the last two races he had the satisfaction of stroking his side to victory.
b. Of an oarsman or crew: to row at (a certain number of strokes per minute).
1928Times 11 Aug. 5 The winner stroked an average of 28 to Gunther's 30. 1976C. Freud in Webster's Sports Dict. 431/1 With 500 yards to go, the Cairo Police, stroking 38, edged past Oxford.
8. Sport. To hit or kick (the ball) smoothly and elegantly; to score in this manner.
1960J. Fingleton Four Chukkas to Australia xvi. 136 He..raved of the manner in which Cowdrey stroked the ball. 1962[see cross n. 22 e]. 1972Even. Telegram (St. John's, Newfoundland) 24 June 1/1 Bernie Allen stroked his first home run of the season. 1976Wymondham & Attleborough Express 3 Dec. 27/4 Wortwell fought back and were awarded a spot kick only for Webb to stroke the ball straight to the keeper.
Sense 8 in Dict. becomes 9. Add: 8. a. intr. To swim by making strokes.
1938M. K. Rawlings Yearling iv. 35 When he dropped into the water, stroking with his free arm, the current picked him up. 1981S. Strutt On Edge of Love iii. 57 Dulcie slipped into the rhythm of a long, even crawl, revelling in the use of unused muscles as she stroked the length of the full-sized pool. 1987Washington Post 19 May b3/1 He was stroking for about 25 to 30 feet then he turned on his back.
b. trans. To strike or push back (the water) by performing swimming strokes.
1980N.Y. Times 13 July v. 2/6 You'll need both hands later when you start stroking the water. 1984Ibid. 1 Sept. i. 27/3 The 23-year-old college student, whose hands were bandaged because she stroked the water ‘wrong’.
▪ VII. stroke, v.3 rare.
Also 9 Sc. straik.
[? related to strake v.1]
intr. To go quickly; to travel.
1735Somerville Chase iii. 445 The gen'rous Steed, that strokes along O'er rough, o'er smooth. 1823Tennant Card. Beaton i. iii. 28 We'el better slip awa' soon to our beds the night, that we may rise wi' the day-daw, if we're to straik down to the coast.
▪ VIII. stroke, v.4 rare—1.
[? An artificial anglicizing of straik, Sc. form of streek v.]
trans. To lay out (a corpse). Also with out.
1898N. Munro John Splendid i. 4 My dear cousin, stroked out and cold under foreign clods at Velshiem. Ibid. xi. 116 We gathered and stroked our dead.
▪ IX. stroke, stroken
see strike v. |