Etymograph

English

straint

Straint may come from Middle French estrainte.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600estrainte1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590straint1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English straint
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, (please specify the book): “That with the straint o his weasand nigh he…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600estrainteWiktionary, English straintuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590straintWiktionary, English straint. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, (please specify the book): “That with the straint o his weasand nigh he…”

Every English word from Middle French estrainte

Today it means

noun Strain (tension of overexertion).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “straint”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle French estrainte / straint

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