Etymograph

English

stroy

Stroy comes from Middle English stroyen ‘to demolish or damage’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stroyen1‘to demolish or damage’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1557stroy1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English stroy
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “Dig garden, stroy mallow, Set willow and sallow”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stroyenWiktionary, English stroy‘to demolish or damage’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1557stroyWiktionary, English stroy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “Dig garden, stroy mallow, Set willow and sallow”

Today it means

verb To destroy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stroy”. 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 English stroyen / stroy