strut
/stɹʌt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
Of a peacock or other fowl: to stand or walk stiffly, with the tail erect and spread out.
Intransitive verb
verb
Often followed by out: to protuberate or stick out due to being full or swollen; to bulge, to swell.
Intransitive verb; Obsolete
verb
Often followed by out: to cause (something) to bulge, protrude, or swell.
Obsolete; Transitive verb
noun
A step or walk done stiffly and with the head held high, often due to haughtiness or pride; affected dignity in walking.
noun
An instrument for adjusting the pleats of a ruff.
Example Sentences
- "Hark, hark, I heare, the ſtraine of ſtrutting Chanticlere cry cockadidle-dowe."
- "The pheasant strutteth about in the midst of flowers; / The turtle-dove cooeth, and the nightingale warbleth from the cypress."
- "He thought that whenne Thanksgyving came he'd looke soe payle & thynne, / He colde avoid ye usual role ye Turkye strutteth inne."
- "The pond was another favourite place to visit. Moorhens strutted from the neighbouring bushes, and a bevy of Muscovy ducks, a study in black, white and red, waddled from the farmyard hard by to enjoy a refreshing splash."
- "He strutted about the yard, thinking himself master of all he surveyed."
- "[O]h, I ſhould remember him: do's he not hold vp his head (as it were?) and ſtrut in his gate?"
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English strouten, struten (“to bulge, swell; to protrude, stick out; to bluster, threaten; to object forcefully; to create a disturbance; to fight; to display one's clothes in a proud or vain manner”) [and other forms], from Old English strūtian (“to project out; stand out stiffly; to exert oneself, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic *strūtōną, *strūtijaną (“to be puffed up, swell”), from Proto-Indo-European *streudʰ- (“rigid, stiff”), from *(s)ter- (“firm; strong; rigid, stiff”). The English word is cognate with Danish strutte (“to bulge, bristle”), Low German strutt (“stiff”), Middle High German striuzen (“to bristle; to ruffle”) (modern German strotzen (“to bristle up”), sträußen (obsolete, except in Alemannic)); and compare Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌿𐍄𐍃𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌻 (þrutsfill, “leprosy”), Old Norse þrútinn (“swollen”). The noun is derived from the verb. Noun sense 2 (“instrument for adjusting the pleats of a ruff”) appears to be due to a misreading of a 16th-century work which used the word stroout (strouted (“caused (something) to bulge, protrude, or swell; strutted”)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /stɹʌt/
- British English: /stɹʌt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
struts (present, singular)
strutting (participle, present)
strutted (participle, past)
strutted (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
strutted (first person, past)
struttest (archaic, present)
strutted (past, second person)
struttedst (archaic, past)
strutteth (archaic, present)
strutted (past, singular)