strong

pronunciation

How to pronounce strong in British English: UK [strɒŋ] word uk audio image

How to pronounce strong in American English: US [strɔːŋ] word us audio image

Adjective:

having strength or power greater than average or expected
used of syllables or musical beats
not faint or feeble
having or wielding force or authority
having a strong physiological or chemical effect
able to withstand attack
of good quality and condition; solidly built
of verbs not having standard (or regular) inflection
having a high alcoholic content
freshly made or left
strong and sure

Word Origin

strong: strong: [OE] Strong comes from a prehistoric Germanic *stranggaz (its immediate Germanic siblings have now died out, but German streng ‘severe’ is quite closely related). It went back ultimately to a base denoting ‘stiffness’ or ‘tautness’, which also produced English string.=> string

strong (adj.): Old English strang "physically powerful, powerful in effect; forceful, severe, firm, bold, brave; constant, resolute; arduous, violent," from Proto-Germanic *strangaz (cognates: Old Norse strangr "strong," Dutch streng "strict, rigorous," Old High German strang "strong, bold, hard," German streng "strict, rigorous"), possibly from PIE *strenk- "tight, narrow." Originally compared strenger, strengest (compare old/elder/eldest). Grammatical sense, of noun and verb inflections, is first attested 1841, translating German stark, used in a grammatical sense by J. Grimm (the terms strong and weak better fit German inflections). Strong suit (1865) is from card-playing. Strong man "man of great strength" (especially one who displays it professionally) is recorded from 1690s; meaning "dominating man in a political organization" is from 1859.

strong (adv.): Old English strange "strongly, violently, severely, furiously" (alongside strongly), from the same source as strong (adj.). Going strong (1898) is from racing. To come on strong was originally come it strong (1812).

adj.

adj.