Streich

German

Etymology

From Middle High German streich, from Old High German *streih, from Proto-West Germanic *straik (“stroke”). Compare Dutch streek, English stroke. In Middle High German the form strīch also occurs, which is either an adaptation to, or a new derivation from, the underlying verb streichen. In Modern Standard German both forms would have merged, but most dialects continue West Germanic ai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃtʁaɪ̯ç/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

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• Rhymes: -aɪ̯ç

Noun

Streich m (strong, genitive Streiches or Streichs, plural Streiche)

1. (higher register) stroke (act of striking e.g. with a hand or a cutting weapon)

   Synonyms: Hieb, Schlag

2. (figurative) feat, coup (quick and decisive act)

   Synonyms: Coup, Schlag, Handstreich

3. (by narrowing especially) practical joke, prank

Declension

Declension of Streich [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Streich	die	Streiche
genitive	eines	des	Streiches, Streichs	der	Streiche
dative	einem	dem	Streich, Streiche1	den	Streichen
accusative	einen	den	Streich	die	Streiche

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• (stroke): auf einen Streich, Backenstreich, Schwertstreich
• (feat): Staatsstreich
• (prank): Dumme-Jungen-Streich, einen Streich spielen

Further reading

• “Streich” in Duden online
• “Streich” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Streich” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon