strait
- strait
straight, strait
1. Straight is a Middle English past participle of the verb stretch and has many meanings in modern English, primarily ‘extending uniformly in the same direction without a curve or bend’. Strait, which has the basic meaning ‘tight, narrow’, is used as a noun meaning ‘a narrow passage of water connecting two seas’, in the plural as in dire straits, and in combinations such as strait-laced and straitjacket (straightjacket is also used but the better spelling is strait-).
2. Straight is now the normal form in the phrase
the straight and narrow (‘the honest course of action’), it being understood in the sense ‘honest, morally correct’; the older form
strait and narrow, in which
strait itself means ‘narrow’ (thereby producing a
hendiadys similar to
nice and easy), has largely gone out of use. The morphological issue is somewhat complicated by the existence of
straight as a variant of
strait; the two words are therefore not completely distinct. For more historical information, see the
OED entry for
straight (
adj.) 3.
Modern English usage.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Strait — Strait, n.; pl. {Straits}. [OE. straight, streit, OF. estreit, estroit. See {Strait}, a.] 1. A narrow pass or passage. [1913 Webster] He brought him through a darksome narrow strait To a broad gate all built of beaten gold. Spenser. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, a. [Compar. {Straiter}; superl. {Straitest}.] [OE. straight, streyt, streit, OF. estreit, estroit, F. [ e]troit, from L. strictus drawn together, close, tight, p. p. of stringere to draw tight. See 2nd {Strait}, and cf. {Strict}.] 1.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strait — n 1 Strait, sound, channel, passage, narrows can all denote a long and comparatively narrow stretch of water connecting two larger bodies. Strait, often as the plural straits with either singular or plural construction, denotes a relatively short … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Strait — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: George Strait (* 1952), US amerikanischer Musiker George Strait Jr. (George „Bubba“ Strait Jr.; * 1981), US amerikanischer Country Sänger, Songwriter und Rodeocowboy Horace B. Strait (1835–1894), US… … Deutsch Wikipedia
strait — strait·en; strait·ly; strait·ness; strait; strait·laced·ly; strait·laced·ness; … English syllables
strait — [streıt] n [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: strait narrow (13 20 centuries), from Old French estreit, from Latin strictus; STRICT] 1.) also straits [plural] a narrow passage of water between two areas of land, usually connecting two seas ▪ the Bering… … Dictionary of contemporary English
strait — (n.) mid 14c., narrow, confined space or place, specifically of bodies of water from late 14c., noun use of adj. strait narrow, strict (late 13c.), from O.Fr. estreit (Fr. étroit) tight, close, narrow (also used as a noun), from L. strictus, pp.… … Etymology dictionary
Strait — Strait, a. A variant of {Straight}. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, adv. Strictly; rigorously. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Strait — Strait, v. t. To put to difficulties. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strait — [n1] crisis, difficulty bewilderment, bind, bottleneck*, choke point*, contingency, crossroad, dilemma, distress, embarrassment, emergency, exigency, extremity, hardship, hole*, mess*, mystification, pass, perplexity, pinch*, plight, predicament … New thesaurus
