strath en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /stræh/ (Ireland)
- (General-American) audio
- /stɹæθ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish srath and Scottish Gaelic srath (“wide, flat river valley, strath; floor of river valley; river meadow”), both from Old Irish srath (“grass, sward; river valley; floor of river valley; river meadow”), from Proto-Celtic *stratos (“valley”), from Proto-Indo-European *str̥h₃tós (“spread; stretched”, adjective), from *sterh₃- (“to extend, spread, stretch out”). The meaning was likely influenced by a Cumbric/Pictish cognate; compare Welsh ystrad. Doublet of stratus.
Meanings
-
(Ireland, Scotland) A wide, flat river valley.
[T]he other stream, which had its source among the mountains on the left hand of the strath, seemed to issue from a very narrow and dark opening betwixt two large rocks.
1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], “Highland Minstrelsy”, in Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 334:[T]hoſe fair Straths that vvater’d are / VVith Tay and Tvveed’s ſmooth Streams, / VVhich gentily and daintily / Eat dovvn the flovvry Braes; / As greatly and quietly / They vvimple to the Seas.
1720, Allan Ramsay, “The Poet’s Wish: An Ode”, in Poems, Edinburgh: Printed for the author […] [and sold by T. Jauncy […]], →OCLC, page 359:The place of exit from the hills of one or other of the Punjab rivers could generally be pointed out to me; the straths and gorges that opened upon the plains would often afford a peep into the interior of the mountains, and the snowy ranges would be seen at the end of them.
1874, Bayard Taylor, compiler, “[Godfrey Thomas] Vigne’s Journey to Cashmere”, in Central Asia. Travels in Cashmere, Little Tibet, and Central Asia (Illustrated Library of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure), New York, N.Y.: Scribner, Armstrong, and Company, →OCLC, pages 50–51:Agatha and Inga rode their horses with style across the strath.
1972, George Mackay Brown, chapter VI, in Greenvoe […], London: The Hogarth Press, published 1975, →ISBN, page 273:
-
(Ireland, Scotland) A piece of flat land beside a body of water.
[T]he place is pretty pleasant, close by Forth waterside, att the foot of Craigmor, betwixt which and the watar there is a strath very proper for walking: […]
1699 May 24 (date written; Gregorian calendar), George Turnbull, “The Diary of the Rev. George Turnbull, Minister of Alloa and Tyninghame, 1657–1704 […]”, in Robert Paul, editor, Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, volume I, Edinburgh: Printed at the University Press by T[homas] and A[rchibald] Constable for the Scottish History Society, published 1893, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 383:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| straths | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Relateds
Strathisla · Strathspey · Strathearn · Strathclyde · Strathallan · Strathcona · Strathmore · Strathtay
Translations (10)
de Strath (wide, flat river valley) · vi strath (wide, flat river valley) · it strath (wide, flat river valley) · sga srath (wide, flat river valley) · ga srath (wide, flat river valley) · gd srath (wide, flat river valley) · fi laakea jokilaakso (wide, flat river valley) · id strath (wide, flat river valley) · fr strath (wide, flat river valley) · fi rantatasanne (piece of flat land beside a body of water)