Strike \Strike\, v. t. [imp. Struck; p. p. Struck,
Stricken(Stroock, Strucken, Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n.
Striking. Struck is more commonly used in the p. p. than
stricken.]
[OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS.
str[=i]can to go, proceed, akin to D. strijken to rub,
stroke, strike, to move, go, G. streichen, OHG. str[=i]hhan,
L. stringere to touch lightly, to graze, to strip off (but
perhaps not to L. stringere in sense to draw tight), striga a
row, a furrow. Cf. Streak, Stroke.]
1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or
with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either
with the hand or with any instrument or missile.
He at Philippi kept His sword e'en like a dancer;
while I struck The lean and wrinkled Cassius.
--Shak.
2. To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet
struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship
struck a reef.
3. To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a
force to; to dash; to cast.
They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the
two sideposts. --Ex. xii. 7.
Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.
--Byron.
4. To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike
coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint.
5. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in
the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep.
6. To punish; to afflict; to smite.
To punish the just is not good, nor strike princes
for equity. --Prov. xvii.
26.
7. To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or
notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve;
the drums strike up a march.
8. To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike
sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of
surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to
strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch.
9. To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect
sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind,
with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or
horror.
Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the
first view. --Atterbury.
They please as beauties, here as wonders strike.
--Pope.
10. To affect in some particular manner by a sudden
impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me
favorably; to strike one dead or blind.
How often has stricken you dumb with his irony!
--Landor.
1. To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a
stroke; as, to strike a light.
Waving wide her myrtle wand, She strikes a
universal peace through sea and land. --Milton.
12. To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match.
13. To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain.
Note: Probably borrowed from the L. f[oe]dus ferrire, to
strike a compact, so called because an animal was
struck and killed as a sacrifice on such occasions.
14. To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money.
[Old Slang]
15. To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by
scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the
level of the top.
16. (Masonry) To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the
face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a
strange word; they soon struck the trail.
18. To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck
a friend for five dollars. [Slang]
19. To lade into a cooler, as a liquor. --B. Edwards.
20. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.
Behold, I thought, He will . . . strike his hand
over the place, and recover the leper. --2 Kings v.
11.
1. To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past
participle. ``Well struck in years.'' --Shak.
To strike an attitude, To strike a balance. See under
Attitude, and Balance.
To strike a jury (Law), to constitute a special jury
ordered by a court, by each party striking out a certain
number of names from a prepared list of jurors, so as to
reduce it to the number of persons required by law.
--Burrill.
To strike a lead.
(a) (Mining) To find a vein of ore.
(b) Fig.: To find a way to fortune. [Colloq.]
To strike a ledger, or an account, to balance it.
To strike hands with.
(a) To shake hands with. --Halliwell.
(b) To make a compact or agreement with; to agree with.
To strike off.
(a) To erase from an account; to deduct; as, to strike
off the interest of a debt.
(b) (Print.) To impress; to print; as, to strike off a
thousand copies of a book.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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