- strew
- \ \ see STRAW
Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
strew
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Strew — Strew, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Strewed}; p. p. {strewn}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Strewing}.] [OE. strewen, strawen, AS. strewian, stre[ o]wian; akin to Ofries. strewa, OS. strewian, D. strooijen, G. streuen, OHG. strewen, Icel. str[=a], Sw. str[ o], Dan.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
strew — strew, straw, scatter, sow, broadcast can mean to throw loosely or at intervals. Strew and the less common straw usually imply a spreading at intervals, but the intervals may be so fine as not to be obvious or so great that each thing may be… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
strew — [stru:] v past tense strewed past participle strewn [stru:n] or strewed [T usually passive] [: Old English; Origin: strewian] 1.) to scatter things around a large area be strewn with sth ▪ The street was strewn with broken glass. strew sth… … Dictionary of contemporary English
strew — (v.) O.E. streowian, from P.Gmc. *straujanan (Cf. O.S. stroian, O.N. stra, Dan. strè, Swed. strö, M.Du. strowen, Du. strooien, O.H.G. strouwen, Ger. streuen, Goth. straujan to sprinkle, strew ), from PIE root *stere … Etymology dictionary
strew — [stro͞o] vt. strewed, strewed or strewn, strewing [ME strewen < OE streawian, akin to Ger streuen < IE * streu < base * ster , to extend, stretch out, strew > STRAW, L struere, to pile up] 1. to spread about here and there by or as by … English World dictionary
strew — index diffuse, dispel, disperse (disseminate), disseminate, dissipate (spread out), spread Burt … Law dictionary
strew — [ stru ] (past participle strewn [ strun ] or strewed [ strud ] ) verb be strewn (with) 1. ) to cover a wide area: Thousands of temples are strewn throughout the hills of Bali. 2. ) to be covered with things that are spread around in a careless… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
strew — has a past tense strewed and a past participle form strewn (preferred) or strewed … Modern English usage
strew — ► VERB (past part. strewn or strewed) 1) (usu. be strewn) scatter untidily over a surface or area. 2) (usu. be strewn with) cover (a surface or area) with untidily scattered things. ORIGIN Old English … English terms dictionary
strew — be·strew; strew·er; strew·ment; strew; strew·ing; … English syllables
strew — [[t]stru[/t]] v. t. strewed, strewn(stroon) orstrewed, strew•ing. 1) to scatter freely; sprinkle: to strew seed in a garden bed[/ex] 2) to overspread with something scattered: to strew a floor with sawdust[/ex] 3) to be scattered over: Flowers… … From formal English to slang
