STRAW

straw

(adjective) of a pale yellow color like straw; straw-colored

straw, drinking straw

(noun) a thin paper or plastic tube used to suck liquids into the mouth

chaff, husk, shuck, stalk, straw, stubble

(noun) material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds

straw

(noun) plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder

strew, straw

(verb) spread by scattering (“straw” is archaic); “strew toys all over the carpet”

straw

(verb) cover or provide with or as if with straw; “cows were strawed to weather the snowstorm”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Proper noun

Straw

A surname.

Anagrams

• Swart, swart, warts

Etymology

Noun

straw (countable and uncountable, plural straws)

(countable) A dried stalk of a cereal plant.

(uncountable) Such dried stalks considered collectively.

(countable) A drinking straw.

A pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.

(figurative) Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing.

Adjective

straw (not comparable)

Made of straw.

Synonym: strawen

Of a pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.

(figurative) Imaginary, but presented as real.

Verb

straw (third-person singular simple present straws, present participle strawing, simple past and past participle strawed)

To lay straw around plants to protect them from frost.

(obsolete, slang) To sell straws on the streets in order to cover the giving to the purchaser of things usually banned, such as pornography.

Anagrams

• Swart, swart, warts

Source: Wiktionary


Straw, v. t.

Definition: To spread or scatter. See Strew, and Strow. Chaucer.

Straw, n. Etym: [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. streáw, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. stre, D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. stro, Icel. stra, Dan. straa, Sw. strå. *166. See Strew.]

1. A stalk or stem of certain species of grain, pulse, etc., especially of wheat, rye, oats, barley, more rarely of buckwheat, beans, and pease.

2. The gathered and thrashed stalks of certain species of grain, etc.; as, a bundle, or a load, of rye straw.

3. Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. I set not a straw by thy dreamings. Chaucer.

Note: Straw is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, straw-built, straw-crowned, straw-roofed, straw- stuffed, and the like. Man of straw, an effigy formed by stuffing the garments of a man with straw; hence, a fictitious person; an irresponsible person; a puppet.set up a straw man; -- used in disputation. Typically, one party accuses an opponent of setting up a straw man, meaning that the opponent is distorting his true opinion in order to make it look absurd.

– Straw bail, worthless bail, as being given by irresponsible persons. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Straw bid, a worthless bid; a bid for a contract which the bidder is unable or unwilling to fulfill. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Straw cat (Zoöl.), the pampas cat.

– Straw color, the color of dry straw, being a delicate yellow.

– Straw drain, a drain filled with straw.

– Straw plait, or Straw plat, a strip formed by plaiting straws, used for making hats, bonnets, etc.

– To be in the straw, to be brought to bed, as a pregnant woman. [Slang]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

15 November 2024

HISTOLOGICALLY

(adverb) involving the use of histology or histological techniques; “histologically identifiable structures”


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