strew
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English strewen, strawen, streowen, from Old English strewian, strēawian, strēowian (“to strew, scatter”), from Proto-Germanic *strawjaną (“to strew”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, scatter”). Cognate with Scots strow, straw (“to strew”), West Frisian streauwe (“to strew”), Dutch strooien (“to strew, scatter, sprinkle”), German streuen (“to strew, scatter”), Swedish strö (“to strew”), Icelandic strá (“to strew”).
Pronunciation [edit]
Verb [edit]
strew (third-person singular simple present strews, present participle strewing, simple past strewed, past participle strewn or strewed)
- To distribute objects or pieces of something over an area, especially in a random manner.
- to strew sand over a floor
- circa 1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, act 5, sc. 3:
- Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew.
- Dryden
- And strewed his mangled limbs about the field.
- Beaconsfield
- On a principal table a desk was open and many papers strewn about.
- To cover, or lie upon, by having been scattered.
- Leaves strewed the ground.
- Spenser
- The snow which does the top of Pindus strew.
- Alexander Pope
- Is thine alone the seed that strews the plain?
- (transitive) To spread abroad; to disseminate.
- Shakespeare
- She may strew dangerous conjectures.
- Shakespeare
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to distribute objects or pieces of something
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