strath
/stɹæθ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.93 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A wide, flat river valley.
noun
A piece of flat land beside a body of water.
name
University of Strathclyde, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate.
Example Sentences
- "[T]hoſe fair Straths that vvater’d are / VVith Tay and Tvveed’s ſmooth Streams, / VVhich gentily and daintily / Eat dovvn the flovvry Braes; / As greatly and quietly / They vvimple to the Seas."
- "[T]he other stream, which had its source among the mountains on the left hand of the strath, seemed to issue from a very narrow and dark opening betwixt two large rocks."
- "The place of exit from the hills of one or other of the Punjab rivers could generally be pointed out to me; the straths and gorges that opened upon the plains would often afford a peep into the interior of the mountains, and the snowy ranges would be seen at the end of them."
- "Agatha and Inga rode their horses with style across the strath."
- "[T]he place is pretty pleasant, close by Forth waterside, att the foot of Craigmor, betwixt which and the watar there is a strath very proper for walking: […]"
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish srath and Scottish Gaelic srath (“wide, flat river valley, strath; floor of river valley; river meadow”), both from Old Irish srath (“grass, sward; river valley; floor of river valley; river meadow”), from Proto-Celtic *stratos (“valley”), from Proto-Indo-European *str̥h₃tós (“spread; stretched”, adjective), from *sterh₃- (“to extend, spread, stretch out”). The meaning was likely influenced by a Cumbric/Pictish cognate; compare Welsh ystrad. Doublet of stratus.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /stɹæθ/
- British English: /stɹæθ/