Etymograph

English

strait

Strait comes from Old French estreit, from Latin strictus ‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘to twist’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-1‘to twist’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréngʰeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strengō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringō2‘compress, tighten’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrictus2‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’perfect passive participle of stringō
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estreit2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streit2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1577strait2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin stringo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English strait
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphael Holinshed, Holinshed’s Chronicles: “After Bardus, the Celtes […] were in short tyme,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-Wiktionary, Latin stringo‘to twist’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréngʰetiWiktionary, Latin stringoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strengōWiktionary, Latin stringoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringōWiktionary, English strait‘compress, tighten’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrictusWiktionary, English strait‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’perfect passive participle of stringō
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estreitWiktionary, English strait
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streitWiktionary, English strait
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1577straitWiktionary, English strait. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphael Holinshed, Holinshed’s Chronicles: “After Bardus, the Celtes […] were in short tyme,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘to twist’

strong, strength, string, 39 more

through Proto-Italic *strengō

31 more

through Latin stringō ‘compress, tighten’

district, stress, prestige, restriction, restrict, constraint, restrain, 38 more

through Latin strictus ‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’

strict, 3 more

Today it means

adj Narrow; restricted as to space or room; close.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “strait”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin stringo. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- / strait

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