Etymograph

English

streak

Streak comes from Proto-Germanic *strikiz ‘line’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *streyg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-1‘line’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strikiz1‘line’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150strica1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streke1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1851streak1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English streak
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, The Whale: “Though his entire back down to his side fins…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-Wiktionary, English streak‘line’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strikizWiktionary, English streak‘line’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150stricaWiktionary, English streak
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500strekeWiktionary, English streak
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1851streakWiktionary, English streak. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, The Whale: “Though his entire back down to his side fins…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘line’

strike, stroke, distress, stricken, restraint, stringent, stricture, 7 more

Today it means

noun An irregular line, as is left from smearing or motion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “streak”. 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 *streyg- / streak

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