strand

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /stɹænd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /stɹænd/,

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænd

Etymology 1

• From Middle English strand, strond, from Old English strand (“strand, sea-shore, shore”), from Proto-West Germanic *strand, from Proto-Germanic *strandō (“edge, rim, shore”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)trAnt- (“strand, border, field”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“to broaden, spread out”). Cognate with West Frisian strân, Dutch strand, German Strand, Danish strand, Swedish strand, Norwegian Bokmål strand, Icelandic strönd.
• (street): Perhaps from the similarity of shape.

Noun

strand (plural strands)

1. The shore or beach of the sea or ocean.

   Grand Strand

   • 1557 July 1, Virgil, “The Second Boke of Virgiles Aenæis”, in Henry [Howard, Earl] of Surrey, transl., edited by William Bolland, Certain Bokes of Virgiles Aenaeis, Turned into English Meter ([Roxburghe Club Publications; I]), London: A J Valpy, , published 1814, →OCLC:

     A woman that wandring in our coaſtes hath bought / A plot for price: where ſhe a citie ſet: / To whom we gaue the ſtrond for to manure.

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Sets out as Captain of a Ship. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume II, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 159:

     They rowed about a League; and then ſet me down on a Strand.

2. (poetic, archaic or regional) The shore or beach of a lake or river.
3. A small brook or rivulet.
4. (British dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A passage for water; gutter.
5. A street.

Alternative forms

• strond (obsolete)

Translations

Verb

strand (third-person singular simple present strands, present participle stranding, simple past and past participle stranded)

1. (transitive, nautical) To run aground; to beach.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To leave (someone) in a difficult situation; to abandon or desert.
3. (transitive, baseball) To cause the third out of an inning to be made, leaving a runner on base.

   Jones pops up; that's going to strand a pair.

Synonyms

• (run aground): beach
• (leave someone in a difficult situation): abandon, desert

Translations

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain. Cognate with Scots stran, strawn, strand (“strand”). Perhaps the same as strand ("rivulet, stream, gutter"; see Etymology 1 above); or from Middle English *stran, from Old French estran (“a rope, cord”), from Middle High German stren, strene (“skein, strand”), from Old High German streno, from Proto-West Germanic *strenō, from Proto-Germanic *strinô (“strip, strand”), from Proto-Indo-European *strēy-, *ster- (“strip, line, streak, ray, stripe, row”); related to Dutch streen (“skein, hank of thread, strand, string”), German Strähne (“skein, hank of thread, strand of hair”). Compare also Old High German stranga (“strand of hair”), modern German Strang (“strand, thread, cord”).

Noun

strand (plural strands)

1. Each of the strings which, twisted together, make up a yarn, rope or cord.
2. A string.
3. An individual length of any fine, string-like substance.

   strand of spaghetti

   strand of hair

4. (electronics) A group of wires, usually twisted or braided.
5. (broadcasting) A series of programmes on a particular theme or linked subject.
   • 2020, Nichola Dobson, Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons, page 45:

     By 1985, the children's strand had been renamed Children's BBC (CBBC by the mid-1990s), which continued to show animation among other programming in a dedicated time slot.

6. (figurative) An element in a composite whole; a sequence of linked events or facts; a logical thread.

   strand of truth

   • 2004, David Wray, Literacy: Major Themes in Education, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 78:

     She responds to both questions in writing and checks her answer on the fact question. Her suspicions confirmed about the importance of the two names, Miranda vows to pay close attention to this strand of the story as she continues to read.

7. (genetics) A nucleotide chain.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:string

Derived terms

Translations

Note: many languages have particular words for “a strand of <substance>” that are different for each substance. The translations below refer to strands in general. You might find a more appropriate translation under the word for the substance itself.

Verb

strand (third-person singular simple present strands, present participle stranding, simple past and past participle stranded)

1. (transitive) To break a strand of (a rope).
2. (transitive) To form by uniting strands.

Translations

Anagrams

• Arndts, drants

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch strand, from Middle Dutch strant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strant/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

strand (plural strande, diminutive strandjie)

1. beach

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse strǫnd.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stran/,

Noun

strand c (singular definite stranden, plural indefinite strande)

1. beach
2. shore, seashore
3. seaside

Inflection

Derived terms

Verb

strand

1. imperative of strande

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strɑnt/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: strand
• Rhymes: -ɑnt
• Homophone: Strand

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch strant. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

strand n (plural stranden, diminutive strandje n)

1. beach, strand

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: strand

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

strand

1. inflection of stranden:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

Hungarian

Etymology

From German Strand.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ɒnd

Noun

strand (plural strandok)

1. beach (a sandy shore of a body of water used for summertime leisure, swimming, suntanning)
2. pool, swimming pool (an urban open-air facility with lawns, trees and several artificially constructed pools, used for summertime leisure)

Declension

Derived terms

• strandol
• strandos

(Compound words):

• strandcipő
• strandpapucs
• strandtáska

References

Further reading

• strand in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Icelandic

Etymology

From stranda (“to run aground”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strant/
• Rhymes: -ant

Noun

strand n (genitive singular strands, nominative plural strönd)

1. running aground, stranding

Declension

Middle English

Alternative forms

• strande
• stround, stronde, strond

Etymology

From Old English strand, from Proto-Germanic *strandō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strand/, /strɔːnd/

Noun

strand (plural strandes)

1. (chiefly Northern) beach, shoreline

Descendants

• English: strand
• Scots: strand
• Yola: sthroane, sthroan, sthrone, stronde

References

• “strō̆nd(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

strand

Wikipedia ^no

Etymology 1

From Old Norse strǫnd.

Noun

strand f or m (definite singular stranda or stranden, indefinite plural strender, definite plural strendene)

1. a beach or shore

Derived terms

• nakenstrand
• sandstrand
• strande
• strandlinje

Etymology 2

Verb

strand

1. imperative of strande

References

• “strand” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

strand

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Etymology

From Old Norse strǫnd. Akin to English strand.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strɑnd/, /strɑnː/

Noun

strand f (definite singular stranda, indefinite plural strender, definite plural strendene)

1. a beach or shore

Declension

Derived terms

• nakenstrand
• sandstrand
• strande
• strandlinje

References

• “strand” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *strandō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /strɑnd/

Noun

strand n

1. beach
2. shore
   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, "Gospel of Saint John", chapter 21, verse 4

     Witodlīce on ǣrne merġen sē Hǣlend stōd on þām strande; ne ġecnēowon þēah ðā leorningcnihtas þæt hit sē Hǣlend wæs.

     Certainly at early morning the Healer (Jesus) stood at the shore; Though the disciples did not recognise that it was the Healer (Jesus).

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: strand, strande; stround, stronde, strond
  • English: strand
  • Scots: strand
  • Yola: sthroane, sthroan, sthrone, stronde
• → Old French: estrande, estran

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish strand, from Old Norse strǫnd, from Proto-Germanic *strandō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)trAnt-.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

strand c

1. beach (not necessarily sandy)
2. shore

Usage notes

More strongly associated with beaches compared to English shore, but works as a general word for shore when context is provided. Swedish often prefers phrases with land (“land”) instead, for example "Vi seglade mot land" (We sailed toward the shore) and "in mot land" (into shore – "in toward land"). See also for example i land (“ashore”).

Declension

Related terms

References

• strand in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• strand in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• strand in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)