Chapter CDXXXIV: Prologue (85)

STORK Stork, n. Etym: [AS. storc; akin to G. storch, OHG. storah, Icel. storkr, Dan. & Sw. stork, and perhaps to Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of large wading birds of the family Ciconidæ, having long legs and a long, pointed bill. They are found both in the Old World and in America, and belong to Ciconia and several allied genera. The European white stork (Ciconia alba) is the best known. It commonly makes its nests on the top of a building, a chimney, a church spire, or a pillar. The black stork (C. nigra) is native of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Black-necked stork, the East Indian jabiru. -- Hair-crested stork, the smaller adjutant of India (Leptoptilos Javanica). -- Giant stork, the adjutant. -- Marabou stork. See Marabou. -- Saddle-billed stork, the African jabiru. See Jabiru. -- Stork's bill (Bot.), any plant of the genus Pelargonium; -- so called in allusion to the beaklike prolongation of the axis of the receptacle of its flower. See Pelargonium.

STORK-BILLED Stork"-billed`, a.

Defn: Having a bill like that of the stork.

STORM Storm, n. Etym: [AS. storm; akin to D. storm, G. sturm, Icel. stormr; and perhaps to Gr. s to flow, to hasten, or perhaps to L. sternere to strew, prostrate (cf. Stratum). *166.]

1. A violent disturbance of the atmosphere, attended by wind, rain, snow, hail, or thunder and lightning; hence, often, a heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail, whether accompanied with wind or not. We hear this fearful tempest sing, Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm. Shak.

2. A violent agitation of human society; a civil, political, or domestic commotion; sedition, insurrection, or war; violent outbreak; clamor; tumult. I will stir up in England some black storm. Shak. Her sister Began to scold and raise up such a storm. Shak.

3. A heavy shower or fall, any adverse outburst of tumultuous force; violence. A brave man struggling in the storms of fate. Pope.

4. (Mil.)

Defn: A violent assault on a fortified place; a furious attempt of troops to enter and take a fortified place by scaling the walls, forcing the gates, or the like.

Note: Storm is often used in the formation of self-explained compounds; as, storm-presaging, stormproof, storm-tossed, and the like. Magnetic storm. See under Magnetic. -- Storm-and-stress period Etym: [a translation of G. sturm und drang periode], a designation given to the literary agitation and revolutionary development in Germany under the lead of Goethe and Schiller in the latter part of the 18th century. -- Storm center (Meteorol.), the center of the area covered by a storm, especially by a storm of large extent. -- Storm door (Arch.), an extra outside door to prevent the entrance of wind, cold, rain, etc.; -- usually removed in summer. -- Storm path (Meteorol.), the course over which a storm, or storm center, travels. -- Storm petrel. (Zoöl.) See Stormy petrel, under Petrel. -- Storm sail (Naut.), any one of a number of strong, heavy sails that are bent and set in stormy weather. -- Storm scud. See the Note under Cloud.

Syn. -- Tempest; violence; agitation; calamity. -- Storm, Tempest. Storm is violent agitation, a commotion of the elements by wind, etc., but not necessarily implying the fall of anything from the clouds. Hence, to call a mere fall or rain without wind a storm is a departure from the true sense of the word. A tempest is a sudden and violent storm, such as those common on the coast of Italy, where the term originated, and is usually attended by a heavy rain, with lightning and thunder. Storms beat, and rolls the main; O! beat those storms, and roll the seas, in vain. Pope. What at first was called a gust, the same Hath now a storm's, anon a tempest's name. Donne.

STORM Storm, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stormed; p. pr. & vb. n. Storming.] (Mil.)

Defn: To assault; to attack, and attempt to take, by scaling walls, forcing gates, breaches, or the like; as, to storm a fortified town.

STORM Storm, v. i. Etym: [Cf. AS. styrman.]

1. To raise a tempest. Spenser.

2. To blow with violence; also, to rain, hail, snow, or the like, usually in a violent manner, or with high wind; -- used impersonally; as, it storms.

3. To rage; to be in a violent passion; to fume. The master storms, the lady scolds. Swift.

STORM-BEAT Storm"-beat`, a.

Defn: Beaten, injured, or impaired by storms. Spenser.

STORMCOCK Storm"cock`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) The missel thrush. (b) The fieldfare. (c) The green woodpecker.

STORMFINCH Storm"finch`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The storm petrel.

STORMFUL Storm"ful, a.

Defn: Abounding with storms. "The stormful east." Carlyle. -- Storm"ful*ness, n.

STORMGLASS Storm"glass`, n.

Defn: A glass vessel, usually cylindrical, filled with a solution which is sensitive to atmospheric changes, indicating by a clouded appearance, rain, snow, etc., and by clearness, fair weather.

STORMILY Storm"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stormy manner.

STORMINESS Storm"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being stormy; tempestuousness; biosteruousness; impetuousness.

STORMING Storm"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Storm, v. Storming party (Mil.), a party assigned to the duty of making the first assault in storming a fortress.

STORMLESS Storm"less, a.

Defn: Without storms. Tennyson.

STORMWIND Storm"wind`, n.

Defn: A heavy wind; a wind that brings a storm; the blast of a storm. Longfellow.

STORMY Storm"y, a. [Compar. Stormier; superl. Stormiest.]

1. Characterized by, or proceeding from, a storm; subject to storms; agitated with furious winds; biosterous; tempestous; as, a stormy season; a stormy day or week. "Beyond the stormy Hebrides." Milton.

2. Proceeding from violent agitation or fury; as, a stormy sound; stormy shocks.

3. Violent; passionate; rough; as, stormy passions. Stormy chiefs of a desert but extensive domain. Sir W. Scott.

STORTHING Stor"thing, n. Etym: [Norw. storting; stor great + ting court, court of justice; cf. Dan. ting, thing.]

Defn: The Parliament of Norway, chosen by indirect election once in three years, but holding annual sessions.

STORVEN Stor"ven, obs.

Defn: p. p. of Starve. Chaucer.

STORY Sto"ry, n.; pl. Stories. Etym: [OF. estoré, estorée, built, erected, p.p. of estorer to build, restore, to store. See Store, v. t.]

Defn: A set of rooms on the same floor or level; a floor, or the space between two floors. Also, a horizontal division of a building's exterior considered architecturally, which need not correspond exactly with the stories within. [Written also storey.]

Note: A story comprehends the distance from one floor to another; as, a story of nine or ten feet elevation. The spaces between floors are numbered in order, from below upward; as, the lower, second, or third story; a house of one story, of two stories, of five stories. Story post (Arch.), a vertical post used to support a floor or superincumbent wall.

STORY Sto"ry, n. Etym: [OE. storie, OF. estoire, F. histoire, fr. L. historia. See History.]

1. A narration or recital of that which has occurred; a description of past events; a history; a statement; a record. One malcontent who did indeed get a name in story. Barrow. Venice, with its unique city and its Impressive story. Ed. Rev. The four great monarchies make the subject of ancient story. Sir W. Temple.

2. The relation of an incident or minor event; a short narrative; a tale; especially, a fictitious narrative less elaborate than a novel; a short romance. Addison.

3. A euphemism or child's word for "a lie;" a fib; as, to tell a story. [Colloq.]

STORY Sto"ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Storied; p. pr. & vb. n. Storying.]

Defn: To tell in historical relation; to make the subject of a story; to narrate or describe in story. How worthy he is I will leave to appear hereafter, rather than story him in his own hearing. Shak. It is storied of the brazen colossus in Rhodes, that it was seventy cubits high. Bp. Wilkins.

STORYBOOK Sto"ry*book`, n.

Defn: A book containing stories, or short narratives, either true or false.

STORY-TELLER Sto"ry-tell`er, n.

1. One who tells stories; a narrator of anecdotes,incidents, or fictitious tales; as, an amusing story-teller.

2. An historian; -- in contempt. Swift.

3. A euphemism or child's word for "a liar."

STORY-TELLING Sto"ry-tell`ing, a.

Defn: Being accustomed to tell stories. -- n.

Defn: The act or practice of telling stories.

STORY-WRITER Sto"ry-writ`er, n.

1. One who writes short stories, as for magazines.

2. An historian; a chronicler. [Obs.] "Rathums, the story-writer." 1 Esdr. ii. 17.

STOT Stot, n. Etym: [AS. stotte a hack, jade, or worthless horse; cf. Sw. stut a bull, Dan. stud an ox. Cf. Stoat.]

1. A horse. [Obs.] Chaucer. Thorold Rogers.

2. A young bull or ox, especially one three years old. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

STOTE Stote, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Stoat.

STOUND Stound, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Astound, Stun.]

Defn: To be in pain or sorrow. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

STOUND Stound, a. Etym: [See Stound, v. i.]

Defn: Stunned. [Obs.]

STOUND Stound, n.

1. A sudden, severe pain or grief; peril; alarm. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. Astonishment; amazement. [Obs.] Spenser. Gay.

STOUND Stound, n. Etym: [AS. stund; akin to D. stond, G. stunde, Icel. stund.]

1. Hour; time; season. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. A brief space of time; a moment. [Obs.] Chaucer. In a stound, suddenly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

STOUND Stound, n. Etym: [Cf. Stand.]

Defn: A vessel for holding small beer. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

STOUP Stoup, n. Etym: [See Stoop a vessel.]

1. A flagon; a vessel or measure for liquids. [Scot.]

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: A basin at the entrance of Roman Catholic churches for containing the holy water with which those who enter, dipping their fingers in it, cross themselves; -- called also holy-water stoup.

STOUR Stour, n. Etym: [OF. estour, estor, tumult, combat, of Teutonic origin. See Storm.]

Defn: A battle or tumult; encounter; combat; disturbance; passion. [Obs.] Fairfax. "That woeful stowre." Spenser. She that helmed was in starke stours [fierce conflicts]. Chaucer.

STOUR Stour, a. Etym: [See Stoor, a.]

Defn: Tall; strong; stern. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

STOUT Stout, a. [Compar. Stouter; superl. Stoutest.] Etym: [D. stout bold (or OF. estout bold, proud, of Teutonic origin); akin to AS. stolt, G. stolz, and perh. to E. stilt.]

1. Strong; lusty; vigorous; robust; sinewy; muscular; hence, firm; resolute; dauntless. With hearts stern and stout. Chaucer. A stouter champion never handled sword. Shak. He lost the character of a bold, stout, magnanimous man. Clarendon. The lords all stand To clear their cause, most resolutely stout. Daniel.

2. Proud; haughty; arrogant; hard. [Archaic] Your words have been stout against me. Mal. iii. 13. Commonly . . . they that be rich are lofty and stout. Latimer.

3. Firm; tough; materially strong; enduring; as, a stout vessel, stick, string, or cloth.

4. Large; bulky; corpulent.

Syn. -- Stout, Corpulent, Portly. Corpulent has reference simply to a superabundance or excess of flesh. Portly implies a kind of stoutness or corpulence which gives a dignified or imposing appearance. Stout, in our early writers (as in the English Bible), was used chiefly or wholly in the sense of strong or bold; as, a stout champion; a stout heart; a stout resistance, etc. At a later period it was used for thickset or bulky, and more recently, especially in England, the idea has been carried still further, so that Taylor says in his Synonyms: "The stout man has the proportions of an ox; he is corpulent, fat, and fleshy in relation to his size." In America, stout is still commonly used in the original sense of strong as, a stout boy; a stout pole.

STOUT Stout, n.

Defn: A strong malt liquor; strong porter. Swift.

STOUT-HEARTED Stout"-heart"ed, a.

Defn: Having a brave heart; courageous. -- Stout"-heart"ed*ness, n.

STOUTISH Stout"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat stout; somewhat corpulent.

STOUTLY Stout"ly, adv.

Defn: In a stout manner; lustily; boldly; obstinately; as, he stoutly defended himself.

STOUTNESS Stout"ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being stout.

Syn. -- Strength; bulk; courage; force; valor; lustiness; brawniness; boldness; fortitude; stubbornness.

STOVAIN; STOVAINE Sto"va*in, n. Also -ine. [Stove (a translation of the name of the discoverer, Fourneau + -in, -ine.] (Pharm.)

Defn: A substance, C14H22O2NCl, the hydrochloride of an amino compound containing benzol, used, in solution with strychnine, as a local anæsthetic, esp. by injection into the sheath of the spinal cord, producing anæsthesia below the point of introduction.

STOVE Stove,

Defn: imp. of Stave.

STOVE Stove, n. Etym: [D. stoof a foot stove, originally, a heated room, a room for a bath; akin to G. stube room, OHG. stuba a heated room, AS. stofe, Icel. stofa a room, bathing room, Sw. stufva, stuga, a room, Dan. stue; of unknown origin. Cf. Estufa, Stew, Stufa.]

1. A house or room artificially warmed or heated; a forcing house, or hothouse; a drying room; -- formerly, designating an artificially warmed dwelling or room, a parlor, or a bathroom, but now restricted, in this sense, to heated houses or rooms used for horticultural purposes or in the processes of the arts. When most of the waiters were commanded away to their supper, the parlor or stove being nearly emptied, in came a company of musketeers. Earl of Strafford. How tedious is it to them that live in stoves and caves half a year together, as in Iceland, Muscovy, or under the pole! Burton.

2. An apparatus, consisting essentially of a receptacle for fuel, made of iron, brick, stone, or tiles, and variously constructed, in which fire is made or kept for warming a room or a house, or for culinary or other purposes. Cooking stove, a stove with an oven, opening for pots, kettles, and the like, -- used for cooking. -- Dry stove. See under Dry. -- Foot stove. See under Foot. -- Franklin stove. See in the Vocabulary. -- Stove plant (Bot.), a plant which requires artificial heat to make it grow in cold or cold temperate climates. -- Stove plate, thin iron castings for the parts of stoves.

STOVE Stove, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stoved; p. pr. & vb. n. Stoving.]

1. To keep warm, in a house or room, by artificial heat; as, to stove orange trees. Bacon.

2. To heat or dry, as in a stove; as, to stove feathers.

STOVEHOUSE Stove"house`, n.

Defn: A hothouse.

STOVEPIPE Stove"pipe`, n.

Defn: Pipe made of sheet iron in length and angular or curved pieces fitting together, -- used to connect a portable stove with a chimney flue. Stovepipe hat, the common tall silk hat. [Slang, U.S.]

STOVER Sto"ver, n. Etym: [OE. estoveir, estovoir, necessity, provisions, properly an inf., "to be necessary." Cf. Estovers.]

Defn: Fodder for cattle, especially straw or coarse hay. Where live nibbling sheep, And flat meads thatched with stover them to keep. Shak. Thresh barley as yet but as need shall require, Fresh threshed for stover thy cattle desire. Tusser.

STOW Stow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stowing.] Etym: [OE. stowen, fr. stowe a place, AS. stow; cf. Icel. eldstoa fireplace, hearth, OFries. sto, and E. stand. *163.]

1. To place or arrange in a compact mass; to put in its proper place, or in a suitable place; to pack; as, to stowbags, bales, or casks in a ship's hold; to stow hay in a mow; to stow sheaves. Some stow their oars, or stop the leaky sides. Dryden.

2. To put away in some place; to hide; to lodge. Foul thief! where hast thou stowed my daughter Shak.

3. To arrange anything compactly in; to fill, by packing closely; as, to stow a box, car, or the hold of a ship.

STOWAGE Stow"age, n.

1. The act or method of stowing; as, the stowage of provisions in a vessel.

2. Room in which things may be stowed. Cook. In every vessel is stowage for immense treasures. Addison.

3. The state of being stowed, or put away. "To have them in safe stowage." Shak.

4. Things stowed or packed. Beau. & Fl.

5. Money paid for stowing goods.

STOWAWAY Stow"a*way`, n.

Defn: One who conceals himself board of a vessel about to leave port, or on a railway train, in order to obtain a free passage.

STOWBOARD Stow"board, n.

Defn: A place into which rubbish is put. [Written also stowbord.]

STOWCE Stowce, n. (Mining) (a) A windlass. (b) A wooden landmark, to indicate possession of mining land.

STOWING Stow"ing, n. (Mining)

Defn: A method of working in which the waste is packed into the space formed by excavating the vein.

STOWRE Stowre, a.

Defn: See Stour, a. [Obs.]

STOWRE Stowre, n.

Defn: See Stour, n. [Obs.] Spenser.

STRABISM Stra"bism, n. (Med.)

Defn: Strabismus.

STRABISMOMETER Stra`bis*mom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Strabismus + -meter.] (Med.)

Defn: An instrument for measuring the amount of strabismus.

STRABISMUS Stra*bis"mus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: An affection of one or both eyes, in which the optic axes can not be directed to the same object, -- a defect due either to undue contraction or to undue relaxation of one or more of the muscles which move the eyeball; squinting; cross-eye.

STRABOTOMY Stra*bot"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (Surg.)

Defn: The operation for the removal of squinting by the division of such muscles as distort the eyeball.

STRADDLE Strad"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Straddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Straddling.] Etym: [Freq. from the root of stride.]

1. To part the legs wide; to stand or to walk with the legs far apart.

2. To stand with the ends staggered; -- said of the spokes of a wagon wheel where they join the hub.

STRADDLE Strad"dle, v. t.

Defn: To place one leg on one side and the other on the other side of; to stand or sit astride of; as, to straddle a fence or a horse.

STRADDLE Strad"dle, n.

1. The act of standing, sitting, or walking, with the feet far apart.

2. The position, or the distance between the feet, of one who straddles; as, a wide straddle.

3. A stock option giving the holder the double privilege of a "put" and a "call," i. e., securing to the buyer of the option the right either to demand of the seller at a certain price, within a certain time, certain securities, or to require him to take at the same price, and within the same time, the same securities. [Broker's Cant]

STRADDLING Strad"dling, a.

Defn: Applied to spokes when they are arranged alternately in two circles in the hub. See Straddle, v. i., and Straddle, v. t., 3. Knight.

STRADOMETRICAL Strad`o*met"ric*al, a. Etym: [It. strada street or road + E. metrical.]

Defn: Of, or relating to, the measuring of streets or roads. [R.]

STRAGGLE Strag"gle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Straggled; p. pr. & vb. n. Straggling.] Etym: [Freq. of OE. straken to roam, to stroke. See Stroke, v. t.]

1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove; to stray; to wander from the line of march or desert the line of battle; as, when troops are on the march, the men should not straggle. Dryden.

2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble. The wolf spied out a straggling kid. L'Estrange.

3. To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth. Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out. Mortimer.

4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals. "Straggling pistol shots." Sir W. Scott. They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks. Sir W. Raleigh.

STRAGGLE Strag"gle, n.

Defn: The act of straggling. [R.] Carlyle.

STRAGGLER Strag"gler, n.

1. One who straggles, or departs from the direct or proper course, or from the company to which he belongs; one who falls behind the rest; one who rambles without any settled direction.

2. A roving vagabond. Shak.

3. Something that shoots, or spreads out, beyond the rest, or too far; an exuberant growth. Let thy hand supply the pruning knife, And crop luxuriant stragglers. Dryden.

4. Something that stands alone or by itself.

STRAGGLING Strag"gling, a. & n.

Defn: from Straggle, v.

STRAGGLINGLY Strag"gling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a straggling manner.

STRAGULUM Strag"u*lum, n.; pl. Stragula. Etym: [L., a spread or covering, from sternere to spread out.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The mantle, or pallium, of a bird.

STRAIGHT Straight, a.

Defn: A variant of Strait, a. [Obs. or R.] Egypt is a long country, but it is straight, that is to say, narrow. Sir J. Mandeville.

STRAIGHT Straight, a. [Compar. Straighter; superl. Straightest.] Etym: [OE. strei, properly p.p. of strecchen to stretch, AS. streht, p.p. of streccan to stretch, to extend. See Stretch.]

1. Right, in a mathematical sense; passing from one point to another by the nearest course; direct; not deviating or crooked; as, a straight line or course; a straight piece of timber. And the crooked shall be made straight. Isa. xl. 4. There are many several sorts of crooked lines, but there is only one which is straight. Dryden.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Approximately straight; not much curved; as, straight ribs are such as pass from the base of a leaf to the apex, with a small curve.

3. (Card Playing)

Defn: Composed of cards which constitute a regular sequence, as the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten-spot; as, a straight hand; a straight flush.

4. Conforming to justice and rectitude; not deviating from truth or fairness; upright; as, straight dealing.

5. Unmixed; undiluted; as, to take liquor straight. [Slang]

6. Making no exceptions or deviations in one's support of the organization and candidates of a political party; as, a straight Republican; a straight Democrat; also, containing the names of all the regularly nominated candidates of a party and no others; as, a straight ballot. [Political Cant, U.S.] Straight arch (Arch.), a form of arch in which the intrados is straight, but with its joints drawn radially, as in a common arch. -- A straight face, one giving no evidence of merriment or other emotion. -- A straight line. "That which lies evenly between its extreme points." Euclid. "The shortest line between two points." Chauvenet. "A line which has the same direction through its whole length." Newcomb. -- Straight-way valve, a valve which, when opened widely, affords a straight passageway, as for water. walk the straight and narrow.

STRAIGHT Straight, adv.

Defn: In a straight manner; directly; rightly; forthwith; immediately; as, the arrow went straight to the mark. "Floating straight." Shak. I know thy generous temper well; Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it, It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze. Addison. Everything was going on straight. W. Black.

STRAIGHT Straight, n. (Poker)

Defn: A hand of five cards in consecutive order as to value; a sequence. When they are of one suit, it is calles straight flush.

STRAIGHT Straight, v. t.

Defn: To straighten. [R.] A Smith.

STRAIGHTEDGE Straight"edge`, n.

Defn: A board, or piece of wood or metal, having one edge perfectly straight, -- used to ascertain whether a line is straight or a surface even, and for drawing straight lines.

STRAIGHTEN Straight"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Straighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Straighting.]

1. To make straight; to reduce from a crooked to a straight form.

2. To make right or correct; to reduce to order; as, to straighten one's affairs; to straighten an account. To straighten one's face, to cease laughing or smiling, etc., and compose one's features.

STRAIGHTEN Straight"en, v. t.

Defn: A variant of Straiten. [Obs. or R.]

STRAIGHTENER Straight"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, straightens.

STRAIGHTFORTH Straight"forth`, adv.

Defn: Straightway. [Obs.]

STRAIGHTFORWARD Straight`for"ward, a.

Defn: Proceeding in a straight course or manner; not deviating; honest; frank. -- adv.

Defn: In a straightforward manner. -- Straight`for"ward*ly, adv. -- Straight`for"ward*ness, n.

STRAIGHTHORN Straight"horn`, n. (Paleon.)

Defn: An orthoceras.

STRAIGHT-JOINT Straight"-joint`, a. (Arch.)

Defn: Having straight joints. Specifically: (a) Applied to a floor the boards of which are so laid that the joints form a continued line transverse to the length of the boards themselves. Brandle & C. (b) In the United States, applied to planking or flooring put together without the tongue and groove, the pieces being laid edge to edge.

STRAIGHT-LINED Straight"-lined`, a.

Defn: Having straight lines.

STRAIGHTLY Straight"ly, adv.

Defn: In a right line; not crookedly.

STRAIGHTLY Straight"ly, adv.

Defn: A variant of Straitly. See 1st Straight.

STRAIGHTNESS Straight"ness, n.

Defn: The quality, condition, or state, of being straight; as, the straightness of a path.

STRAIGHTNESS Straight"ness, n.

Defn: A variant of Straitness.

STRAIGHT-OUT Straight"-out`, a.

Defn: Acting without concealment, obliquity, or compromise; hence, unqualified; thoroughgoing. [Colloq. U.S.] Straight-out and generous indignation. Mrs. Stowe.

STRAIGHT-PIGHT Straight"-pight`, a.

Defn: Straight in form or upright in position; erect. [Obs.] Shak.

STRAIGHT-SPOKEN Straight"-spo`ken, a.

Defn: Speaking with directness; plain-spoken. [Colloq. U.S.] Lowell.

STRAIGHTWAY Straight"way`, adv.

Defn: Immediately; without loss of time; without delay. He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi. . . . And straightway the damsel arose. Mark v. 41,42.

STRAIGHTWAYS Straight"ways`, adv.

Defn: Straightway. [Obs.]

STRAIK Straik, n.

Defn: A strake.

STRAIN Strain, n. Etym: [See Strene.]

1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family. He is of a noble strain. Shak. With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigor and fertility to the offspring. Darwin.

2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition. Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation. Tillotson.

3. Rank; a sort. "The common strain." Dryden.

STRAIN Strain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strained; p. pr. & vb. n. Straining.] Etym: [OF. estraindre, estreindre, F. étreindre, L. stringere to draw or bind tight; probably akin to Gr. strike. Cf. Strangle, Strike, Constrain, District, Strait, a. Stress, Strict, Stringent.]

1. To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To strain his fetters with a stricter care." Dryden.

2. (Mech.)

Defn: To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as forces on a beam to bend it.

3. To exert to the utmost; to ply vigorously. He sweats, Strains his young nerves. Shak. They strain their warbling throats To welcome in the spring. Dryden.

4. To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in the matter of intent or meaning; as, to strain the law in order to convict an accused person. There can be no other meaning in this expression, however some may pretend to strain it. Swift.

5. To injure by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force; as, the gale strained the timbers of the ship.

6. To injure in the muscles or joints by causing to make too strong an effort; to harm by overexertion; to sprain; as, to strain a horse by overloading; to strain the wrist; to strain a muscle. Prudes decayed about may track, Strain their necks with looking back. Swift.

7. To squeeze; to press closely. Evander with a close embrace Strained his departing friend. Dryden.

8. To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained. Denham. The quality of mercy is not strained. Shak.

9. To urge with importunity; to press; as, to strain a petition or invitation. Note, if your lady strain his entertainment. Shak.

10. To press, or cause to pass, through a strainer, as through a screen, a cloth, or some porous substance; to purify, or separate from extraneous or solid matter, by filtration; to filter; as, to strain milk through cloth. To strain a point, to make a special effort; especially, to do a degree of violence to some principle or to one's own feelings. -- To strain courtesy, to go beyond what courtesy requires; to insist somewhat too much upon the precedence of others; -- often used ironically. Shak.

STRAIN Strain, v. i.

1. To make violent efforts. "Straining with too weak a wing." Pope. To build his fortune I will strain a little. Shak.

2. To percolate; to be filtered; as, water straining through a sandy soil.

STRAIN Strain, n.

1. The act of straining, or the state of being strained. Specifically: -- (a) A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles; as, he lifted the weight with a strain the strain upon a ship's rigging in a gale; also, the hurt or injury resulting; a sprain. Whether any poet of our country since Shakespeare has exerted a greater variety of powers with less strain and less ostentation. Landor. Credit is gained by custom, and seldom recovers a strain. Sir W. Temple. (b) (Mech. Physics)

Defn: A change of form or dimensions of a solid or liquid mass, produced by a stress. Rankine.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: A portion of music divided off by a double bar; a complete musical period or sentence; a movement, or any rounded subdivision of a movement. Their heavenly harps a lower strain began. Dryden.

3. Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, oration, book, etc.; theme; motive; manner; style; also, a course of action or conduct; as, he spoke in a noble strain; there was a strain of woe in his story; a strain of trickery appears in his career. "A strain of gallantry." Sir W. Scott. Such take too high a strain at first. Bacon. The genius and strain of the book of Proverbs. Tillotson. It [Pilgrim's Progress] seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains. Bunyan.

4. Turn; tendency; inborn disposition. Cf. 1st Strain. Because heretics have a strain of madness, he applied her with some corporal chastisements. Hayward.

STRAINABLE Strain"a*ble, a.

1. Capable of being strained.

2. Violent in action. Holinshed.

STRAINABLY Strain"a*bly, adv.

Defn: Violently. Holinshed.

STRAINED Strained, a.

1. Subjected to great or excessive tension; wrenched; weakened; as, strained relations between old friends.

2. Done or produced with straining or excessive effort; as, his wit was strained.

STRAINER Strain"er, n.

1. One who strains.

2. That through which any liquid is passed for purification or to separate it from solid matter; anything, as a screen or a cloth, used to strain a liquid; a device of the character of a sieve or of a filter; specifically, an openwork or perforated screen, as for the end of the suctionpipe of a pump, to prevent large solid bodies from entering with a liquid.

STRAINING Strain"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Strain. Straining piece (Arch.), a short piece of timber in a truss, used to maintain the ends of struts or rafters, and keep them from slipping. See Illust. of Queen-post.

STRAINT Straint, n. Etym: [OF. estrainte, estreinte, F. étrainte. See 2nd Strain.]

Defn: Overexertion; excessive tension; strain. [Obs.] Spenser.

STRAIT Strait, a.

Defn: A variant of Straight. [Obs.]

STRAIT Strait, a. [Compar. Straiter; superl. Straitest.] Etym: [OE. straight, streyt, streit, OF. estreit, estroit, F. étroit, from L. strictus drawn together, close, tight, p.p. of stringere to draw tight. See 2nd Strait, and cf. Strict.]

1. Narrow; not broad. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matt. vii. 14. Too strait and low our cottage doors. Emerson.

2. Tight; close; closely fitting. Shak.

3. Close; intimate; near; familiar. [Obs.] "A strait degree of favor." Sir P. Sidney.

4. Strict; scrupulous; rigorous. Some certain edicts and some strait decrees. Shak. The straitest sect of our religion. Acts xxvi. 5 (Rev. Ver.).

5. Difficult; distressful; straited. To make your strait circumstances yet straiter. Secker.

6. Parsimonious; niggargly; mean. [Obs.] I beg cold comfort, and you are so strait, And so ingrateful, you deny me that. Shak.

STRAIT Strait, adv.

Defn: Strictly; rigorously. [Obs.] Shak.

STRAIT Strait, n.; pl. Straits. Etym: [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See Strait, a.]

1. A narrow pass or passage. He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. Spenser. Honor travels in a strait so narrow Where one but goes abreast. Shak.

2. Specifically: (Geog.)

Defn: A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural; as, the strait, or straits, of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the strait, or straits, of Mackinaw. We steered directly through a large outlet which they call a strait, though it be fifteen miles broad. De Foe.

3. A neck of land; an isthmus. [R.] A dark strait of barren land. Tennyson.

4. Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits. For I am in a strait betwixt two. Phil. i. 23. Let no man, who owns a Providence, grow desperate under any calamity or strait whatsoever. South. Ulysses made use of the pretense of natural infirmity to conceal the straits he was in at that time in his thoughts. Broome.

STRAIT Strait, v. t.

Defn: To put to difficulties. [Obs.] Shak.

STRAITEN Strait"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Straitened; p. pr. & vb. n. Straitening.]

1. To make strait; to make narrow; hence, to contract; to confine. Waters, when straitened, as at the falls of bridges, give a roaring noise. Bacon. In narrow circuit, straitened by a foe. Milton.

2. To make tense, or tight; to tighten. They straiten at each end the cord. Pope.

3. To restrict; to distress or embarrass in respect of means or conditions of life; -- used chiefly in the past participle; -- as, a man straitened in his circumstances.

STRAIT-HANDED Strait"-hand`ed, a.

Defn: Parsimonious; sparing; niggardly. [R.] -- Strait"-hand`ed*ness, n. [R.]

STRAIT-JACKET Strait"-jack`et, n.

Defn: A dress of strong materials for restraining maniacs or those who are violently delirious. It has long sleeves, which are closed at the ends, confining the hands, and may be tied behind the back.

STRAIT-LACED Strait"-laced`, a.

1. Bound with stays. Let nature have scope to fashion the body as she thinks best; we have few well-shaped that are strait-laced. Locke.

2. Restricted; stiff; constrained. [R.] Fuller.

3. Rigid in opinion; strict in manners or morals.

STRAITLY Strait"ly, adv.

1. In a strait manner; narrowly; strictly; rigorously. Mark i. 43.

2. Closely; intimately. [Obs.]

STRAITNESS Strait"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or condition of being strait; especially, a pinched condition or situation caused by poverty; as, the straitnessof their circumstances.

STRAIT-WAISTCOAT Strait"-waist`coat, n.

Defn: Same as Strait-jacket.

STRAKE Strake, obs.

Defn: imp. of Strike. Spenser.

STRAKE Strake, n. Etym: [See Streak.]

1. A streak. [Obs.] Spenser."White strake." Gen. xxx. 37.

2. An iron band by which the fellies of a wheel are secured to each other, being not continuous, as the tire is, but made up of separate pieces.

3. (Shipbuilding)

Defn: One breadth of planks or plates forming a continuous range on the bottom or sides of a vessel, reaching from the stem to the stern; a streak.

Note: The planks or plates next the keel are called the garboard strakes; the next, or the heavy strakes at the bilge, are the bilge strakes; the next, from the water line to the lower port sill, the wales; and the upper parts of the sides, the sheer strakes.

4. (Mining)

Defn: A trough for washing broken ore, gravel, or sand; a launder.

STRALE Strale, n.

Defn: Pupil of the eye. [Prov. Eng.]

STRAM Stram, v. t. Etym: [Cf. LG. strammen to strain, straiten, stretch, D. stram strained, tight, G. stramm.]

Defn: To spring or recoil with violence. [Prov. Eng.]

STRAM Stram, v. t.

Defn: To dash down; to beat. [Prov. Eng.]

STRAMASH Stram"ash, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Stramazoun.]

Defn: To strike, beat, or bang; to break; to destroy. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

STRAMASH Stram"ash, n.

Defn: A turmoil; a broil; a fray; a fight. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Barham.

STRAMAZOUN Stram"a*zoun, n. Etym: [F. estramaçon, It. stramazzone.]

Defn: A direct descending blow with the edge of a sword. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

STRAMINEOUS Stra*min"e*ous, a. Etym: [L. stramineus, fr. stramen straw, fr. sternere, stratum, to spread out, to strew.]

1. Strawy; consisting of straw. Robinson.

2. Chaffy; like straw; straw-colored. Burton.

STRAMONIUM Stra*mo"ni*um, n. Etym: [NL.; Cf. F. stramoine.] (Bot.)

Defn: A poisonous plant (Datura Stramonium); stinkweed. See Datura, and Jamestown weed.

STRAMONY Stram"o*ny, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Stramonium.

STRAND Strand, n. Etym: [Probably fr. D. streen a skein; akin to G. strähne a skein, lock of hair, strand of a rope.]

Defn: One of the twists, or strings, as of fibers, wires, etc., of which a rope is composed.

STRAND Strand, v. t.

Defn: To break a strand of (a rope).

STRAND Strand, n. Etym: [AS. strand; akin to D., G., Sw., & Dan. strand, Icel. strönd.]

Defn: The shore, especially the beach of a sea, ocean, or large lake; rarely, the margin of a navigable river. Chaucer. Strand birds. (Zoöl.) See Shore birds, under Shore. -- Strand plover (Zoöl.), a black-bellied plover. See Illust. of Plover. -- Strand wolf (Zoöl.), the brown hyena.

STRAND Strand, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stranded; p. pr. & vb. n. Stranding.]

Defn: To drive on a strand; hence, to run aground; as, to strand a ship.

STRAND Strand, v. i.

Defn: To drift, or be driven, on shore to run aground; as, the ship stranded at high water.

STRANG Strang, a. Etym: [See Strong.]

Defn: Strong. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

STRANGE Strange, a. [Compar. Stranger; superl. Strangest.] Etym: [OE. estrange, F. étrange, fr. L. extraneus that is without, external, foreign, fr. extra on the outside. See Extra, and cf. Estrange, Extraneous.]

1. Belonging to another country; foreign. "To seek strange strands." Chaucer. One of the strange queen's lords. Shak. I do not contemn the knowledge of strange and divers tongues. Ascham.

2. Of or pertaining to others; not one's own; not pertaining to one's self; not domestic. So she, impatient her own faults to see, Turns from herself, and in strange things delights. Sir J. Davies.

3. Not before known, heard, or seen; new. Here is the hand and seal of the duke; you know the character, I doubt not; and the signet is not strange to you. Shak.

4. Not according to the common way; novel; odd; unusual; irregular; extraordinary; unnatural; queer. "He is sick of a strange fever." Shak. Sated at length, erelong I might perceive Strange alteration in me. Milton.

5. Reserved; distant in deportment. Shak. She may be strange and shy at first, but will soon learn to love thee. Hawthorne.

6. Backward; slow. [Obs.] Who, loving the effect, would not be strange In favoring the cause. Beau. & Fl.

7. Not familiar; unaccustomed; inexperienced. In thy fortunes am unlearned and strange. Shak.

Note: Strange is often used as an exclamation. Strange! what extremes should thus preserve the snow High on the Alps, or in deep caves below. Waller. Strange sail (Naut.), an unknown vessel. -- Strange woman (Script.), a harlot. Prov. v. 3. -- To make it strange. (a) To assume ignorance, suspicion, or alarm, concerning it. Shak. (b) To make it a matter of difficulty. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To make strange, To make one's self strange. (a) To profess ignorance or astonishment. (b) To assume the character of a stranger. Gen. xlii. 7.

Syn. -- Foreign; new; outlandish; wonderful; astonishing; marvelous; unusual; odd; uncommon; irregular; queer; eccentric.

STRANGE Strange, adv.

Defn: Strangely. [Obs.] Most strange, but yet most truly, will I speak. Shak.

STRANGE Strange, v. t.

Defn: To alienate; to estrange. [Obs.]

STRANGE Strange, v. i.

1. To be estranged or alienated. [Obs.]

2. To wonder; to be astonished. [Obs.] Glanvill.

STRANGELY Strange"ly, adv.

1. As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange. [Obs.] Shak.

2. In the manner of one who does not know another; distantly; reservedly; coldly. You all look strangely on me. Shak. I do in justice charge thee . . . That thou commend it strangely to some place Where chance may nurse or end it. Shak.

3. In a strange manner; in a manner or degree to excite surprise or wonder; wonderfully. How strangely active are the arts of peace! Dryden. It would strangely delight you to see with what spirit he converses. Law.

STRANGENESS Strange"ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being strange (in any sense of the adjective).

STRANGER Stran"ger, n. Etym: [OF. estrangier, F. étranger. See Strange.]

1. One who is strange, foreign, or unknown. Specifically: -- (a) One who comes from a foreign land; a foreigner. I am a most poor woman and a stranger, Born out of your dominions. Shak.

(b) One whose home is at a distance from the place where he is, but in the same country. (c) One who is unknown or unacquainted; as, the gentleman is a stranger to me; hence, one not admitted to communication, fellowship, or acquaintance. Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear, And strangers to the sun yet ripen here. Granville. My child is yet a stranger in the world. Shak. I was no stranger to the original. Dryden.

2. One not belonging to the family or household; a guest; a visitor. To honor and receive Our heavenly stranger. Milton.

3. (Law)

Defn: One not privy or party an act, contract, or title; a mere intruder or intermeddler; one who interferes without right; as, actual possession of land gives a good title against a stranger having no title; as to strangers, a mortgage is considered merely as a pledge; a mere stranger to the levy.

STRANGER Stran"ger, v. t.

Defn: To estrange; to alienate. [Obs.] Shak.

STRANGLE Stran"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Strangling.] Etym: [OF. estrangler, F. étrangler, L. strangulare, Gr. string, n. Cf. Strain, String.]

1. To compress the windpipe of (a person or animal) until death results from stoppage of respiration; to choke to death by compressing the throat, as with the hand or a rope. Our Saxon ancestors compelled the adulteress to strangle herself. Ayliffe.

2. To stifle, choke, or suffocate in any manner. Shall I not then be stifled in the vault, . . . And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes Shak.

3. To hinder from appearance; to stifle; to suppress. "Strangle such thoughts." Shak.

STRANGLE Stran"gle, v. i.

Defn: To be strangled, or suffocated.

STRANGLEABLE Stran"gle*a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being strangled. [R.] Chesterfield.

STRANGLE HOLD Stran"gle hold.

Defn: In wrestling, a hold by which one's opponent is choked. It is usually not allowed.

STRANGLER Stran"gler, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, strangles. "The very strangler of their amity." Shak.

STRANGLES Stran"gles, n.

Defn: A disease in horses and swine, in which the upper part of the throat, or groups of lymphatic glands elsewhere, swells.

STRANGULATE Stran"gu*late, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Strangulated.

STRANGULATED Stran"gu*la`ted, a.

1. (Med.)

Defn: Having the circulation stopped by compression; attended with arrest or obstruction of circulation, caused by constriction or compression; as, a strangulated hernia.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Contracted at irregular intervals, if tied with a ligature; constricted. Strangulated hernia. (Med.) See under Hernia.

STRANGULATION Stran"gu*la`tion, n. Etym: [L. strangulatio: cf. F. strangulation. See Strangle.]

1. The act of strangling, or the state of being strangled.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Inordinate compression or constriction of a tube or part, as of the throat; especially, such as causes a suspension of breathing, of the passage of contents, or of the circulation, as in cases of hernia.

STRANGURIOUS Stran*gu"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. stranguriosus.] (Med.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to strangury. Cheyne.

STRANGURY Stran"gu*ry, n. Etym: [L. stranguria, Gr. strangurie. See Strangle, and Urine.]

1. (Med.)

Defn: A painful discharge of urine, drop by drop, produced by spasmodic muscular contraction.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A swelling or other disease in a plant, occasioned by a ligature fastened tightly about it.

STRANY Stra"ny, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The guillemot. [Prov. Eng.]

STRAP Strap, n. Etym: [OE. strope, AS. stropp, L. stroppus, struppus, perhaps fr. Gr. Strophe). Cf. Strop a strap, a piece of rope.]

1. A long, narrow, pliable strip of leather, cloth, or the like; specifically, a strip of thick leather used in flogging. A lively cobbler that . . . had scarce passed a day without giving her [his wife] the discipline of the strap. Addison.

2. Something made of such a strip, or of a part of one, or a combination of two or more for a particular use; as, a boot strap, shawl strap, stirrup strap.

3. A piece of leather, or strip of wood covered with a suitable material, for sharpening a razor; a strop.

4. A narrow strip of anything, as of iron or brass. Specifically: -- (a) (Carp. & Mach.)

Defn: A band, plate, or loop of metal for clasping and holding timbers or parts of a machine. (b) (Naut.)

Defn: A piece of rope or metal passing around a block and used for fastening it to anything.

5. (Bot.) (a) The flat part of the corolla in ligulate florets, as those of the white circle in the daisy. (b) The leaf, exclusive of its sheath, in some grasses.

6. A shoulder strap. See under Shoulder. Strap bolt, a bolt of which one end is a flat bar of considerable length. -- Strap head (Mach.), a journal box, or pair of brasses, secured to the end of a connecting rod by a strap. See Illust. of Gib and key, under Gib. -- Strap hinge, a hinge with long flaps by which it is fastened, as to a door or wall. -- Strap rail (Railroads), a flat rail formerly used.

STRAP Strap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Strapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Strapping.]

1. To beat or chastise with a strap.

2. To fasten or bind with a strap. Cowper.

3. To sharpen by rubbing on a strap, or strop; as, to strap a razor.

STRAPPADO Strap*pa"do, n.; pl. Strappadoes. Etym: [It. strappata a pull, the strappado, from strappare to pull, from Prov. G. strapfen: cf. G. straff tense, stretched.]

Defn: A military punishment formerly practiced, which consisted in drawing an offender to the top of a beam and letting him fall to the length of the rope, by which means a limb was often dislocated. Shak.

STRAPPADO Strap*pa"do, v. t.

Defn: To punish or torture by the strappado. Milton.

STRAPPER Strap"per, n.

1. One who uses strap.

2. A person or thing of uncommon size. [Colloq.]

STRAPPING Strap"ping, a.

Defn: Tall; strong; lusty; large; as, a strapping fellow. [Colloq.] There are five and thirty strapping officers gone. Farquhar.

STRAPPLE Strap"ple, v. t.

Defn: To hold or bind with, or as with, a strap; to entangle. [Obs.] Chapman.

STRAP-SHAPED Strap"-shaped`, a.

Defn: Shaped like a strap; ligulate; as, a strap-shaped corolla.

STRAPWORK Strap"work`, n. (Arch.)

Defn: A kind of ornament consisting of a narrow fillet or band folded, crossed, and interlaced.

STRASS Strass, n. Etym: [So called from its inventor, a German jeweler: cf. F. stras.] (Chem.)

Defn: A brilliant glass, used in the manufacture of artificial paste gems, which consists essentially of a complex borosilicate of lead and potassium. Cf. Glass.

STRATA Stra"ta, n.,

Defn: pl. of Stratum.

STRATAGEM Strat"a*gem, n. Etym: [F. stratagème (cf. Sp. estratagema, It. stratagemma), L. strategema, Gr. Stratum) + Agent.]

Defn: An artifice or trick in war for deceiving the enemy; hence, in general, artifice; deceptive device; secret plot; evil machination. Fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. Shak. Those oft are stratagems which error seem, Nor is it Homer nods, but we that dream. Pope.

STRATAGEMICAL Strat`a*gem"ic*al, a.

Defn: Containing stratagem; as, a stratagemical epistle. [R.] Swift.

STRATARITHMETRY Strat`a*rith"me*try, n. Etym: [Gr. -metry.] (Mil.)

Defn: The art of drawing up an army, or any given number of men, in any geometrical figure, or of estimating or expressing the number of men in such a figure.

STRATEGETIC; STRATEGETICAL Strat`e*get"ic, Strat`e*get"ic*al, a.

Defn: Strategic.

STRATEGETICS Strat`e*get"ics, n.

Defn: Strategy.

STRATEGIC; STRATEGICAL Stra*te"gic, Stra*te"gic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. stratégique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to strategy; effected by artifice. -- Stra*te"gic*al*ly, adv. Strategic line (Mil.), a line joining strategic points. -- Strategic point (Mil.), any point or region in the theater or warlike operations which affords to its possessor an advantage over his opponent, as a mountain pass, a junction of rivers or roads, a fortress, etc.

STRATEGICS Stra*te"gics, n.

Defn: Strategy.

STRATEGIST Strat"e*gist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stratégiste.]

Defn: One skilled in strategy, or the science of directing great military movements.

STRATEGUS Stra*te"gus, n.; pl. Strategi. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Stratagem.] (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: The leader or commander of an army; a general.

STRATEGY Strat"e*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. stratégie. See Stratagem.]

1. The science of military command, or the science of projecting campaigns and directing great military movements; generalship.

2. The use of stratagem or artifice.

STRATH Strath, n. Etym: [Gael. srath.]

Defn: A valley of considerable size, through which a river runs; a valley bottom; -- often used in composition with the name of the river; as, Strath Spey, Strathdon, Strathmore. [Scot.] The long green strath of Napa valley. R. L. Stevenson.

STRATHSPEY Strath"spey`, n. Etym: [So called from the district of Strath Spey in Scotland.]

Defn: A lively Scottish dance, resembling the reel, but slower; also, the tune.

STRATICULATE Stra*tic"u*late, a. Etym: [Dim. Fr. stratum.] (Min.)

Defn: Characterized by the presence of thin parallel strata, or layers, as in an agate.

STRATIFICATION Strat`i*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stratification.]

1. The act or process of laying in strata, or the state of being laid in the form of strata, or layers.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The deposition of material in successive layers in the growth of a cell wall, thus giving rise to a stratified appearance.

STRATIFIED Strat"i*fied, a.

Defn: Having its substance arranged in strata, or layers; as, stratified rock.

STRATIFORM Strat"i*form, a.

Defn: Having the form of strata.

STRATIFY Strat"i*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stratified; p. pr. & vb. n. Stratifying.] Etym: [Stratum + -fy: cf. F. stratifier.]

Defn: To form or deposit in strata, or layers, as substances in the earth; to arrange in strata.

STRATIGRAPHIC; STRATIGRAPHICAL Strat`i*graph"ic, Strat`i*graph"ic*al, a. (Geol.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or depended upon, the order or arrangement of strata; as, stratigraphical evidence. -- Strat`i*graph"ic*al*ly, adv.

STRATIGRAPHIC; STRATIGRAPHICAL Strat`i*graph"ic, -ic*al, a. (Mil.)

Defn: See Stratographic.

STRATIGRAPHY Stra*tig"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Stratum + -graphy.]

Defn: That branch of geology which treats of the arrangement and succession of strata.

STRATO-CIRRUS Stra`to-cir"rus, n. [Stratus + cirrus.] (Meteor.)

Defn: An alto-stratus cloud.

STRATOCRACY Stra*toc"ra*cy, n. Etym: [Gr. -cracy, as in democracy: cf. F. stratocratie.]

Defn: A military government; government by military chiefs and an army.

STRATO-CUMULUS Stra`to-cu"mu*lus, n. [Stratus + cumulus.] (Meteor.)

Defn: Large balls or rolls of dark cloud which frequently cover the whole sky, esp. in winter, and give it at times an undulated appearance.

STRATOGRAPHIC; STRATOGRAPHICAL Strat`o*graph"ic, Strat`o*graph"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to stratography.

STRATOGRAPHY Stra*tog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: A description of an army, or of what belongs to an army.

STRATONIC Stra*ton"ic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to an army. [R.]

STRATOTIC Stra*tot"ic, a.

Defn: Warlike; military. [R.]

STRATUM Stra"tum, n.; pl. E. Stratums, L. Strata. The latter is more common. Etym: [L., from sternere, stratum, to spread; akin to Gr. Strew, and cf. Consternation, Estrade, Prostrate, Stratus, Street.]

1. (Geol.)

Defn: A bed of earth or rock of one kind, formed by natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of layers, which form a rock as it lies between beds of other kinds. Also used figuratively.

2. A bed or layer artificially made; a course.

STRATUS Stra"tus, n. Etym: [L. stratus a spreading out, scattering, from sternere, stratum, to spread.] (Meteor.)

Defn: A form of clouds in which they are arranged in a horizontal band or layer. See Cloud.

STRAUGHT Straught, obs.

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Stretch.

STRAUGHT Straught, v. t.

Defn: To stretch; to make straight. [Written also straucht.] [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

STRAW Straw, v. t.

Defn: To spread or scatter. See Strew, and Strow. Chaucer.

STRAW Straw, n. Etym: [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. streáw, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. stre, D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. stro, Icel. stra, Dan. straa, Sw. strå. *166. See Strew.]

1. A stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc., especially of wheat, rye, oats, barley, more rarely of buckwheat, beans, and pease.

2. The gathered and thrashed stalks of certain species of grain, etc.; as, a bundle, or a load, of rye straw.

3. Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. I set not a straw by thy dreamings. Chaucer.

Note: Straw is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, straw-built, straw-crowned, straw-roofed, straw- stuffed, and the like. Man of straw, an effigy formed by stuffing the garments of a man with straw; hence, a fictitious person; an irresponsible person; a puppet.set up a straw man; -- used in disputation. Typically, one party accuses an opponent of setting up a straw man, meaning that the opponent is distorting his true opinion in order to make it look absurd. -- Straw bail, worthless bail, as being given by irresponsible persons. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Straw bid, a worthless bid; a bid for a contract which the bidder is unable or unwilling to fulfill. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Straw cat (Zoöl.), the pampas cat. -- Straw color, the color of dry straw, being a delicate yellow. -- Straw drain, a drain filled with straw. -- Straw plait, or Straw plat, a strip formed by plaiting straws, used for making hats, bonnets, etc. -- To be in the straw, to be brought to bed, as a pregnant woman. [Slang]