Straw

Straw
Straw Straw, n. [OE. straw, stre, stree, AS. stre['a]w, from the root of E. strew; akin to OFries. str[=e], D. stroo, G. stroh, OHG. str[=o], Icel. str[=a], Dan. straa, Sw. str[*a]. [root]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. [1913 Webster]

2. The gathered and thrashed stalks of certain species of grain, etc.; as, a bundle, or a load, of rye straw. [1913 Webster]

3. Anything proverbially worthless; the least possible thing; a mere trifle. [1913 Webster]

I set not a straw by thy dreamings. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Note: Straw is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, straw-built, straw-crowned, straw-roofed, straw-stuffed, and the like. [1913 Webster]

{Man of straw}, an effigy formed by stuffing the garments of a man with straw; hence, a fictitious person; an irresponsible person; a puppet. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
, (of grain after being thrashed) / , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Straw — is an agricultural by product, the dry of a cereal plant, after the grain or seed has been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. In times gone by, it was regarded as a useful by …   Wikipedia

  • straw — S3 [stro: US stro:] n [: Old English; Origin: streaw] 1.) a) [U] the dried stems of wheat or similar plants that animals sleep on, and that are used for making things such as baskets, hats etc →↑hay ▪ a straw hat b) a single dried stem of stra …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • straw — [strô] n. [ME stra < OE streaw, akin to streawian: see STREW] 1. hollow stalks or stems of grain after threshing, collectively: used for fodder, for bedding, for making hats, etc. 2. a single one of such stalks 3. such a stalk or, now esp., a… …   English World dictionary

  • straw — [ strɔ ] noun ** 1. ) uncount the yellow stems of dried crops such as wheat: bales of straw a straw hat 2. ) count a long thin paper or plastic tube that you use for drinking clutch/grasp at straws to try to find anything at all that will help… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • straw — straw; straw·berry; straw·ber·ry·ing; straw·en; straw·ish; straw·less; win·dle·straw; …   English syllables

  • straw — ► NOUN 1) dried stalks of grain, used as fodder or for thatching, packing, or weaving. 2) a single dried stalk of grain. 3) a thin hollow tube of paper or plastic for sucking drink from a container. 4) a pale yellow colour. ● clutch at straws Cf …   English terms dictionary

  • straw — (n.) O.E. streaw stems or stalks of certain cereals, lit. that which is scattered or strewn, related to streowian (see STREW (Cf. strew)), from P.Gmc. *strawam that which is scattered (Cf. O.N. stra, Dan. straa, Swed. strô, O.Fris. stre, O.Du., O …   Etymology dictionary

  • Straw — ist der Name folgender Personen: Ezekiel A. Straw (1819–1882), US amerikanischer Politiker Jack Straw (* 1946), britischer Politiker der Labour Party Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselb …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • straw|y — «STR ee», adjective. 1. of, containing, or like straw. 2. strewn or thatched with straw …   Useful english dictionary

  • Straw — Straw, v. t. To spread or scatter. See {Strew}, and {Strow}. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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