strength

Contents

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English strengthe, from Old English strengþu (“strength”), from Proto-Germanic *strangiþō (“strongness; strength”), equivalent to strong +‎ -th. Cognate with Dutch strengte (“strength”), German Low German Strengde, Strengte (“harshness; rigidity; strictness; severity”). Written strenght in the 1534 Tyndale English translation of the Bible.

PronunciationEdit

• IPA^(key): /stɹɛŋ(k)θ/, /stɹɛnθ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /stɹɛŋ(k)θ/, /stɹɛnθ/, /stɹeɪŋ(k)θ/
  • (pin–pen merger) IPA^(key): /stɹɪŋ(k)θ/
• Rhymes: -ɛŋθ, -ɛnθ

NounEdit

strength (countable and uncountable, plural strengths)

1. The quality or degree of being strong.

   It requires great strength to lift heavy objects.

   • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

     Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.

2. The intensity of a force or power; potency.

   He had the strength of ten men.

   • 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations

     Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.

3. The strongest part of something; that on which confidence or reliance is based.
   • Bible, Psalms xlvi. 1

     God is our refuge and strength.

   • Jeremy Taylor (1613–1677)

     Certainly there is not a greater strength against temptation.

4. A positive attribute.

   We all have our own strengths and weaknesses.

5. (obsolete) A strong place; a stronghold.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

   • Milton

     He thought
     This inaccessible high strength to have seiz'd.

SynonymsEdit

• fortitude
• power
• ability
• main
• capability
• potency
• expertise

AntonymsEdit

• (The quality of being strong): weakness
• (A positive attribute): weakness

Derived termsEdit

Terms derived from strength

• bond strength
• compressive strength
• crushing strength
• dielectic strength
• fatigue strength
• field strength
• full-strength
• impact strength
• industrial-strength
• inner strength
• ionic strength
• party strength
• pillar of strength
• relative strength

• shear strength
• signal strength
• strengthen
• strengthening
• strengthful
• strengthless
• strengthy
• superstrength
• tensile strength
• tower of strength
• ultimate strength
• understrength
• wet strength
• yield strength

Related termsEdit

• strong
• strongly

TranslationsEdit

strength — see potency

quality of being strong

• Arabic: قُوَّة‎ (ar) f (quwwa)

  Egyptian Arabic: قوة‎ f (ʔewa)

  Hijazi Arabic: قُوَّة‎ f (guwwa)

• Armenian: ուժ (hy) (už)
• Azeri: güc (az), quvvə
• Bashkir: көс (kös)
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: сі́ла f (síla), моц f (moc)
• Bengali: বল (bn) (bôl)
• Bulgarian: си́ла (bg) f (síla), мощ (bg) f (mošt)
• Catalan: força (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 力量 (lik⁶ loeng⁶)

  Mandarin: 力氣 (zh), 力气 (zh) (lìqi)

• Czech: síla (cs) f, moc (cs) f
• Dutch: kracht (nl) f, sterkte (nl) f
• Esperanto: forteco
• Estonian: tugevus
• Ewe: ŋusẽ
• Faroese: styrki f
• Finnish: voimakkuus (fi), voima (fi)
• French: force (fr) f, vigueur (fr) f
• Galician: forza (gl) f
• Georgian: სიძლიერე (siʒliere), ძალა (ʒala), სიმტკიცე (simṭḳice)
• German: Stärke (de) f, Kraft (de) f
• Greek: δύναμη (el) f (dýnami)

  Ancient: σθένος n (sthénos)

• Hebrew: חוזק‎ m (khózek)
• Hindi: शक्ति (hi) f (śakti), ताक़त m (tāqat), बल (hi) m (bal)
• Hungarian: erő (hu)
• Ido: forteso (io)
• Interlingua: fortia
• Italian: forza (it) f, vigore (it) m, energia (it) f
• Japanese: 力 (ja) (ちから, chikara)
• Kazakh: күш (kk) (küş)
• Khakas: кӱс (küs)
• Khmer: កម្លាំង (km) (gomlung)
• Korean: 힘 (ko) (him)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: هێز‎ (ku)

• Kyrgyz: күч (ky) (küç)
• Latgalian: vare, spāks
• Latin: firmitudo f, firmitas f, robur (la) n, fortitudo (la)
• Latvian: spēks (lv) m, stiprums m, spēcīgums m
• Lithuanian: jėga f

• Macedonian: сила f (sila), моќ f (moḱ)
• Malagasy: hery (mg)
• Malay: kekuatan
• Mongolian: хүч (mn) (hüč)
• Navajo: adziil
• Old French: esfort m
• Old Turkic: 𐰚𐰇𐰲‎ (küč)
• Ottoman Turkish: گوج‎ (güç)
• Persian: زور‎ (fa) (zowr), قوت‎ (fa) (qovvat)
• Polish: siła (pl) f, moc (pl) f
• Portuguese: força (pt) f
• Quechua: kallpa
• Romanian: putere (ro) f, forță (ro) f
• Russian: си́ла (ru) f (síla), мощь (ru) f (moščʹ)
• Sanskrit: शक्ति (sa) f (śakti), बल (sa) (bala)
• Scottish Gaelic: lùths m, neart m, brìgh f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: снага f, моћ f, сила f, јачина f

  Roman: snaga f, moć f, sila f, jačina f

• Shan: ပလႃႉ (pa1 laa5)
• Shor: кӱш
• Sichuan Yi: ꊋ (we)
• Slovak: sila f, moc f
• Slovene: moč (sl) f, sila (sl) f
• Southern Altai: кӱч (küč)
• Spanish: fuerza (es) f
• Swahili: nguvu (sw)
• Swedish: styrka (sv)
• Tagalog: lakas (tl)
• Tajik: қувват (quvvat), зӯр (tg) (zür)
• Tatar: көч (tt) (köç)
• Telugu: బలము (te) (balamu)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tibetan: སྟོབས (stobs)
• Turkish: kuvvet (tr), güç (tr)
• Turkmen: güýç
• Tuvan: күш (küš)
• Ukrainian: си́ла (uk) f (sýla), міць (uk) f (micʹ)
• Urdu: شکتی‎ f (śakti), زور‎ (ur) m (zor)
• Uyghur: كۈچ‎ (küch)
• Uzbek: kuch (uz), quvvat (uz)
• Vietnamese: sức mạnh (vi)
• Walloon: foice (wa) f
• West Frisian: animo (fy)
• Yakut: күүс (küüs)
• Yiddish: שטאַרקײַט‎ f (shtarkayt)

intensity of a force or power

• Bashkir: ҡеүәт (qewät), көс (kös)
• Esperanto: forto
• Faroese: styrki f
• Finnish: voima (fi)
• French: force (fr) f
• German: Kraft (de) f, Stärke (de) f
• Greek: δύναμη (el) f (dýnami)
• Hungarian: erő (hu)
• Italian: intensità (it) f, efficacia (it) f
• Latvian: stiprums

• Ngazidja Comorian: nciɗa class 9/10 (ncida)
• Portuguese: força (pt) f
• Quechua: kallpa
• Romanian: putere (ro) f
• Scottish Gaelic: neart m, lùths m, brìgh f
• Spanish: potencia (es) f, intensidad (es) f
• Swahili: nguvu (sw)
• Swedish: styrka (sv) c
• Turkish: güç (tr)
• Ukrainian: сила (uk) f (syla), міць (uk) f (micʹ)

strongest part of something

• Bashkir: ҡеүәт (qewät), көс (kös)
• Catalan: fort (ca) m
• Dutch: kracht (nl) f
• Finnish: vahvuus (fi), voima (fi)
• German: Stärke (de) f
• Hungarian: erősség (hu)

• Italian: forza (it) f
• Latin: firmitudo f, firmitas f, robur (la) n
• Portuguese: força (pt) f
• Spanish: fuerte (es) m
• Ukrainian: сила (uk) f (syla), дієвість f (dijevistʹ)

positive attribute

• Finnish: vahvuus (fi)
• French: point fort
• German: Stärke (de) f
• Hungarian: erősség (hu)
• Italian: forza (it) f, solidità (it) f, tenacia (it) f
• Latin: firmitudo, firmitas, robur (la) n

• Malay: kelebihan
• Portuguese: forte (pt) m
• Spanish: fortaleza (es) f, solidez (es) f
• Swedish: styrka (sv) c
• Ukrainian: сила (uk) f (syla), авторитет (uk) m (avtorytet)

VerbEdit

strength (third-person singular simple present strengths, present participle strengthing, simple past and past participle strengthed)

1. (obsolete) To give strength to; to strengthen. [12th-17th c.]
   • 1395, John Wycliffe, Bible, Job IV:

     Lo! thou hast tauȝt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

StatisticsEdit

Most common English words before 1923 in Project Gutenberg: hardly · wind · drew · #595: strength · opinion · according · walked