string 
A corruption of 
Stringy character 
W, B. Carpenter, 
stringer 
in tunini;, the string is tightened by turning the nut on 
the shauk of the stringer. 
3. In railiruii (.'ill/in., :i longitudinal timber on 
which a rail is fastened, an<l which rests on 
transverse sleepers. 4. In ship-lidtding, an in- 
side strake of plank or of plates, secured to the 
ribs and supporting the ends of the beams; a 
shelf. See cut under la-tim, 2 (</). 5. In i-nr/i. : 
(n) A horizontal timber connecting two posts 
in a framework. (6) Same as xtrin<i-lx>ard. 
6. A tie in a truss or a truss-bridge. 7f. A for- 
nicator; a wencher. 
A whoreson tyrant ! hath been an old ttritu/cr in his days 
I warrant him ! 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Burning Pestle, i. i. 
8. A small stick or switch used to string fish 
on by the gills. 
string-gage (striug'gaj), n. A gage, like a wire- 
gage, for measuring the size of a string for a 
musical instrument. 
string-halt (string 'halt), , 
spring-halt. 
stringiness (string'i-nes), . 
or condition; fibrousness. 
Micros., $ 360. 
Stringing (stringing), n. [Verbal n. of string, 
i-.] \. In xill,-- man uf., same &s glossing. 2. pi. 
Straight or curved inlaid lines in buhl-work, 
stringless (string'les), . [< string + -less.} 
Without strings. 
His tongue ia now a stringless instrument. 
Shut., Kich. II., ii. 1. 149. 
stringmant (string'man), n. A musician who 
plays upon a stringed instrument. 
Some use trumpetts, some shalmes, some small pipes, 
some are xtrinyemen. 
MSS. Hard. No. 610, in Collier's Eng. Dram. Poetry, 1. 32. 
String-minstrel (string'min''strel), n. A min- 
strel who accompanies himself on a stringed 
instrument. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 278. 
Stringopidae (string-gop'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Stringops + -idee.} Same as Strigopidse. 
Stringopinae (string-go-pi'ne), n. pi [NL.,< 
Stringops + -inse.} Same as Strigopinse. 
Stringops, Stringopsis (string'gops, string- 
gop'sis), n. [NL., < Or. or ply % (arpiyy-) (> L. 
strix, strig-), a screech-owl (< arpifctv, cry, 
squeak), + ui/>, face, eye.] Same as Strigops. 
string-orchestra ( string 'dr'kes-trii), . A 
string-band. 
String-Organ (string'6r // gan), n. A musical in- 
strument with a keyboard, characterized by a 
graduated set of vibrators or free reeds, which 
are severally connected by rods with a corre- 
sponding set of wires or strings in such a way 
that the vibrations of the reeds are communi- 
cated to the appropriate strings. The tones thus 
secured are sweet and pure, combining some of the ad- 
vantages of both the harmonium and the pianoforte. 
string-pea (string'pe), n. See peal, i. 
string-piece (8tring'pes),. A name of various 
parts in constructions of wood, (a) That part of a 
flight of stairs which forms its ceiling or sofiit. (6) Same 
as string-board, (c) A long piece of timber, especially one 
used to support a floor, (d) In a frame, a horizontal con- 
necting-piece, (e) A heavy horizontal piece of squared 
timber carried along the edge of the front of a wharf or 
of cribwork, to hold the timbers in place, and strengthen 
the whole. 
string-plate (strin^'plat), . In pianoforte- 
making, the metal plate which carries the 
string-block. It was originally made separate, 
but is now combined in a single casting with 
the entire frame. 
stringwood (string'wud), n. A small euphor- 
biaceous tree, Acalypiia rubra, formerly of St. 
Helena, now extinct. It wag a handsome tree, 
named from its pendent spikes of reddish male 
flowers. 
Stringy (string'i), a. [< string + -yl.} 1. 
Consisting of strings or small threads ; fibrous; 
filamentous : as, a stringy root. 
Power by a thousand tough and strinyy roots 
Fixed to the people's pious nursery-faith. 
Coleridge, tr. of Schiller's Piccolomini, iv. 4. 
2. Bopy; viscid; gluey; that may be drawn 
into a thread. 
5996 
and southern Australia, in Victoria fn>m its uivKiirioiu 
habit called messmate-tree (V\M-\\ set). A common stj incy- 
bark of Victoria and New south Walrs is /:. maerorrkyn- 
cha, a smaller tree, the wood of which is used for various 
purposes. Other stringy-barks are E. capitellata, E. cu- 
ttmada i: >. <r,,i,,,iin, /:, ; ,i,vr.v, ,-,/- <iu..,i]> known as 
tallmr-wtjml), K. iriperita (white Btringy-bark), anil K. mnyij. 
<h, linn ; the last two are also called jteiiirrmiitt I,. 
cut under Kiiralijjitm. Also called x<ri,i : i-lmrl, . 
Split ntrin;/-l,nrk timber is the usual material for fences 
in Australia, when procurable. A. I.. Gordon, 
2. In Australia, a post and rail fence. 
strinkle (itring'kl), <. t. and /.; pret. and pp. 
rtrtnWed, ppr. xtrink-lin<i. [< MK. stri,,l;tt;,. 
stri'iil.ii'ii, titrrnkrlni, frcq. of xtn-iiki-ii, sprinkle; 
origin uncertain. The resemblance to .v/ic/W,-/. 
is appar. accidental; but the word may be a 
var. of sprinkle, perhaps due to initial confor- 
mation with strew.} To strew or sprinkle spar- 
ingly. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
Strinkling (string'kling), . [Verbal n. of 
strtnl-le. r.] 1. The act of one who strinklcs. 
2. That which is strinklcd ; a small quantity. 
Men whose brains were seasoned with some strinkliiu/i 
at least of madness an' 1 ~' 
stripe 
libers. /.'. //. Knif/lil. 13. In lile-iiiiikiiiij. to 
They hoard up glue, whose clinging drops, 
Like pitch or bii ' ' 
up glue, whose clinging drops, 
I'inl linir. hang in stringy ropes. 
Addison, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, 
iv. 
3. Sinewy; wiry. [Colloq.] 
A stringy little man of about fifty. 
Jerrold, Men of Character, Job Pippins, iii. 
4. Marked by thread-like flaws on the surface : 
as. stringy glass ; stringy marble. Marble- 
worker. 8. 
Stringy-bark (string'i-bark), n. 1. One of a 
class of Australasian gum-trees (Knciili//i/nn) 
distinguished by a tenacious fibrous bark. The 
common stringy bark is /;. MUfiia, abounding in Tasmania 
Dr. H. More, On Godliness, xiv. ( 11. (Trench.) 
striolate (stri'o-lat), . [< NL. "striolatus, < 
"striola, dim. of L. stria, a furrow: see stria.} 
In hot., minutely striate. 
Striolet (stri'o-let), w. [< NL. "striola (dim. of 
L. stria) + -et.} In entoui., a short stria or im- 
pressed line. Kirbii. 
Strip 1 (strip), v. ; pret. and pp. stripped or stript, 
ppr. stripping, [(a) < ME. stripen, strecpen, 
strepen, strnpen (pret.strepte,striipte,f>V- strept, 
i-struped), < A8. "strypun, *strepini, in comp. 
be-strypa-n, rob, plunder, = MD. stroopen, rob, 
plunder, skin, strip, also bind, strain, etc., D. 
stroopen = MLG. stropen, plunder, strip, = 
OHG. stroufen, MHG. stroufen, G. streifen, strip, 
skin, flay; (6) cf. D. strippen, strip (leaves), 
whip, =LG. strepen, strip (leaves), etc., = MHG. 
striefen, skin, flay. The two sets of forms (to 
either of which the ME. stripen, strepen could 
be referred) are more or less confused with 
each other, and with the forms of strip 2 , stripe; 
but they appear to be orig. distinct. The two 
senses 'rob' or 'plunder' and 'skin' are not 
necessarily connected, though rob and reave 
supply a partial analogy.] I. trans. 1. To rob; 
plunder; despoil; deprive; divest; bereave: 
with of before the thing taken away : as, to 
strip a man of his possessions; to strip a tree 
of its fruit. 
Wherefore labour they to strip their adversaries of such 
furniture as doth not help? Hooker, Eccles. Polity, ii. 7. 
If such tricks . . . strip you out of your lieutenantry. 
Shak., Othello, ii. 1. 173. 
Like Thieves, when they have plundered and stript a 
man, leave him. Wycherley, Ep. Ded. to Plain Dealer. 
2. To deprive of covering; remove the skin or 
outer covering of; skin; peel: with of before 
the thing removed : as, to strip a beast of its 
skin; to strip a tree of its bark. 
The forward, backward falx, the mare, the turn, the trip, 
When stript into their shirts, each other they invade 
Within a spacious ring. Drayton, Polyolbion, i. 244. 
A simple view of the object, as it stands stripped of ev- 
ery relation, in all tin- nakedness and solitude of meta- 
physical abstraction. Burke, Rev. in France. 
3. To uncover; unsheathe. 
On, or strip your sword stark naked. 
Shak., T. N., iii. 4. 274. 
4. To unrig: as, to strip a ship. 5. To tear 
off the thread of: said of a screw or bolt: as, 
the screw was stripped. 6. To pull or tear 
off, as a covering or some adhering substance : 
as, to strip the skin from a beast; to strip the 
bark from a tree; to strip the clothes from a 
man's back : sometimes emphasized with off. 
And he stripped off his clothes also. 1 Sam. MX. 24. 
She stripp'd it from her arm. 
Shak., Cymbeline, ii. 4. 101. 
7. To milk dry; press all the milk out of: as, 
to strip a cow. 8. In fish-culture, to press or 
squeeze the ripe roe or milt out of (fishes). 
After the flshes are stripped the spawn of opposite sexes 
is mixed together; and after this artificial fecundation 
the eggs are hatched by artificial methods. 
9. In agri., to pare off the surface of in strips, 
and turn over the strips upon the adjoining 
surface. Imp. Diet. 10f. To separate; put 
away: with/row*. 
His . . . unkindness, 
That stripped her/rom his benediction. 
Shak., Lear, iv. 3. 45. 
11. In tonacco-mamif., to separate (the wings 
of the tobacco-leaf) from the stems. E. H. 
Knight. 12. In carding, to clean (the teeth of 
the various cylinders and top flats) from short 
. . . . . . 
cs lilr and draw-file (a die-blank) in order 
to bring it to accurate form and to clean the 
surface preliminary to grinding and cutting. 
14. In niiiiiiii/, to remove the overlying soil or 
detrital material from (any bed or mineral de- 
posit which it is desired to open and work). 
15. In i/ii/i-iini/,iii(/, to turn (the exterior of a 
gun-barrel) in a lathe in such manner that it*- 
longitudinal axis shall coincide with the axis 
of t he bore. 16t. To run past or beyond ; out- 
run; outstrip. See outstrip. 
Alnte we ran the deer, and through the lawnds 
Slrijijn/ itli our nags the lofty frolic buekt. 
Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay 
= 8yn. 2. To denude, lay bare. 
II. iiitrniif. 1. To take off the covering or 
clothes; uncover; undress. 2. To lose the 
thread, as a screw, or have the screw stripped 
off, as a screw-bolt. 3. To issue from a rifled 
gun without assuming the spiral turn: said of 
a projectile. Farrow. 4. To come off, as an 
outer covering (as bark); separate from an 
underlying surface. 5. To be stripped of milt 
or spawn. Compare I., 8. 
strip 2 (strip), n. [Another form of stripe: see 
xlriftf. Strip is to stripe as bit to bite, smit to 
smite. It is commonly referred to stripl,v.} 1. 
A narrow piece, comparatively long : as, a strip 
of cloth; a strip of territory. 2. An ornamen- 
tal appendage to women's dress, formerly worn : 
it is spoken of as worn on the neck and breast. 
When a plum'd fan may shade thy chalked face, 
And lawny strips thy naked bosom grace. 
Bp. Hall, Satires, IV. iv. 61. 
A stomacher upon her breast so bare. 
For strips and gorget were not then the weare. 
Dr. Smith, Penelope and Ulysses, 1. 1668. 
3. A stripling; a slip. George Eliot, Middle- 
march, xlvi. 4. In joinery, a narrow piece of 
board nailed over a crack or joint between 
planks. 5. In mining, one of a series of troughs 
forming a labyrinth, or some similar arrange- 
ment, through which the ore flows as it comes 
from the stamps, and in which the particles are 
deposited in the order of their equivalence. 
Strip 3 (strip), . [Sc. also strype, streape, dim. 
strypie; perhaps another use of strip 2 . Cf . strip- 
pet.} 1. A rill. [Scotch.] 2. Destruction of 
fences, buildings, timber, etc. ; waste. [U. 8.] 
Strip-armor (strip'ar"mor), n. Armor, espe- 
cially for the legs, used 'in the fourteenth and 
fifteenth centuries, and showing broad raised 
strips alternating with sunken bands. 
stripe (strip), H. [< ME. stripe (stripe, prob. 
also stripe, > E. strip?), < MD. strijpe, strepe, D. 
streep = MLG. stripe, LG. stride, a stripe or strip, 
= MHG. G. slreif= Dan. stribe (< D.). a stripe, 
strip ; cf. strip*, strip?.} 1. A streak of a dif- 
ferent color from that of the ground ; a long 
narrow division of something of a different 
color from the ground : as, a stripe of red on a 
green ground ; nence, any linear variation of 
color. Compare streak 2 , stria, striga. 2. Anar- 
row piece attached to something of a different 
color or texture: as, the red stripe on the leg 
of a soldier's trousers. 3. Generally, a strip or 
narrow piece. 
The whole ground that is sown, to the sandy ascent of 
the mountains, is but a narrow stripe of three quarters of 
a mile broad. Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 75. 
4. A long narrow discolored mark made on 
flesh by the stroke of a lash or rod; a wale; 
her. ^e, a stroke made with a lash, whip, rod. 
strap, or scourge. 
Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed. 
Deut. xxv. s. 
5t. A blow; a stroke. 
Euery one gyue but one suer stripe, & snerly ye iorney 
is ours. Hall, Chron., Kich. III., an. 8. 
But, when he could not quite it, with one rtripe 
Her lions clawes he from her feete away did wipe. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. xi. 27. 
6. Distinctive color; particular kind or char- 
acter; hence, distinguishing characteristic: as, 
a politician of the Republican stripe. 
I shall go on : and first in differing stripe 
The flood-god's speech thus tune an oaten pipe. 
W. Brmune, Britannia's Pastorals, I. 2. 
Various poems are of a democratic, liberal stripe, in- 
spired by the struggle then commencing over Europe. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 26. 
Bengal stripe, a kind of cotton cloth woven with col- 
ored stripes; gingham. Cirrus stripe, a long thin stripe 
of cirrus cloud, generally occurring in parallel rowswhicn, 
by the effect of perspective, usually appear to be conver- 
gent. The motion of these stripes is usually either broad- 
Bide forward, or oblique to their length. 
dime-stripes lie in regions of maximum pressure most 
often nearly perpendicular to the Isobar. 
Abmramby, Weather, p. 94. 
