Etymograph

English

stricture

Stricture comes from Late Latin strictūra ‘a contraction, compression, stricture’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to shear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-1‘to shear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strig-tó-s1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strigtos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringō1‘to tighten, compress’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrictus2‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEstrictūra2‘a contraction, compression, stricture’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604stricture2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin strictus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English stricture
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “a man of stricture and firm abstinence”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-Wiktionary, Latin strictus‘to shear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strig-tó-sWiktionary, Latin strictusreconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strigtosWiktionary, Latin strictusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringōWiktionary, Latin strictus‘to tighten, compress’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrictusWiktionary, English stricture‘tightened, compressed, having been tightened’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEstrictūraWiktionary, English stricture‘a contraction, compression, stricture’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604strictureWiktionary, English stricture. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “a man of stricture and firm abstinence”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to shear’

strike, stroke, streak, distress, restraint, stringent, 8 more

through Latin stringō ‘to tighten, compress’

district, stress, strain, prestige, restriction, restrict, constriction, constrictor, constrict, 36 more

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

strait, 3 more

Today it means

noun A rule restricting behaviour or action.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stricture”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin strictus. 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- / stricture

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