strictadj.
/strɪkt/, U.S. /strɪk(t)/ I. Physical senses. Cf. strait adj. I.
1. † a. Drawn or pressed tightly together; tight, close. Obsolete.quasi-adverb.1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis iv. 67 The Russian Ladies tie up their Fore-heads so strict with fillets.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > [adjective] > of knots or bands
fastOE
strait1561
strict1593
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiij She wildly breaketh from their strict imbrace. View more context for this quotation
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 925 Their [the Bones] Articulations and Compositions many dissolute and laxe, many strict and close.
1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 17 Her Thighs, Leggs, and Feet were..so extreamly elevated with a watry Humour, that upon a strict impress I could have buried three or four Fingers.
1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 43 A fresh Flux of Blood happened, and strict Bandage was applied.
1712 J. Arbuthnot App. to John Bull Still in Senses iii. 18 The fatal Noose perform'd its Office, and with most strict Ligature, squeez'd the Blood into his Face.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 234 As woodbine weds the plant within her reach,..Strait'ning its growth by such a strict embrace.
b. Stretched taut. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > types of hardness > [adjective] > taut
stiffc1386
unrelaxed1508
taut1567
tight1576
strait1578
strict1578
starka1642
tense1671
stith1825
strict1860
stent1886
1860 W. H. Russell My Diary in India 1858–9 II. 207 We sat and listened to the rain falling on the strict canvas of the tents till dinner-time.
2. † a. ‘Strung up’, tense; not slack or relaxed. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > types of hardness > [adjective] > taut
stiffc1386
unrelaxed1508
taut1567
tight1576
strait1578
strict1578
starka1642
tense1671
stith1825
strict1860
stent1886
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man vi. f. 85v This coate of the Testicle..sheweth the nature of a certaine strict, and long Muscle.
1731 J. Arbuthnot Ess. Nature Aliments vi. 70 We feel our Fibres grow strict or lax according to the State of the Air.
b. Of frost: Keen, hard. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective] > intensely cold, freezing, or frosty > frosty > keen or hard (of frost)
hardOE
ringing1824
strict1893
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xxviii. 337 Late in the night, in a strict frost, and my teeth chattering, I..considered [etc.].
3. † b. Of handwriting: Compressed. Obsolete.
a. Restricted as to space or extent; narrow, drawn in. Cf. strait adj. 2 – 4. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [adjective] > confined, restricted, or insufficiently spacious
narroweOE
straitc1290
unwidea1400
scanta1533
angust1540
roomless1548
pinched?1567
niggard1595
strict1598
straitened1602
pinching1607
incommodious1615
incapacious1635
over-strait1645
straiteninga1652
cramp1786
bottleneck1854
cramped1884
tight1937
claustrophobic1946
claustrophobe1954
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > of small or scanty extent
narroweOE
straitc1290
scarce1297
scanta1533
pinched?1567
strict1598
thrifty1601
straitened1602
scanty1701
scrimped?c1716
pookit1818
poky1828
postage-stamp-sized1852
poking1864
boxy1870
pocket handkerchief1910
postage stamp1937
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 50 b The Breaste being anguste and stricte.
1604 B. Jonson Particular Entertainm. at Althrope 313 in His Pt. Royall Entertainem. And when slow Time hath made you fit for war, Looke ouer the strict Ocean, and thinke where You may but leade vs forth.
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 282 In vlcers and fistula's scarce a better medicine is found, to enlarge a strict orifice.
1675 R. Burthogge Cavsa Dei 36 I am apt to think that Hell is of a Vast Extent, and that the bounds and limits of it, are not so strict and narrow, as the most imagine.
1835 W. Wordsworth Stanzas Power of Sound i, in Yarrow Revisited 311 Strict passage, through which sighs are brought.
1897 F. Thompson New Poems 68 I, the boundless strict savannah Which God's leaping feet go through.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > small or cramped
strict1649
cramp1731
polymicrian1829
niggling1854
cramped1876
1649 E. Sparke in J. Shute Sarah & Hagar Ep. Ded. sig. *2v Penned in so diminutive a Letter, writ in so strict an Hand, (the wonder of Youth to read, much more of Age to write it).
4. Straight and stiff. Obsolete exc. Botany and Zoology (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > straightness > [adjective] > and stiff
strict1592
untwineable1609
postlike1617
untwistable1879
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > types of hardness > [adjective] > stiff or rigid > straight and stiff
strict1592
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 27 The Chapters which stood vpon their strict and vpright Antes.
1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. S8 Strictus, stiff and straight. Strict will not do in English, and I do not recollect that we have any one word to express this idea.]
1857 A. Gray First Lessons Bot. 232 Strict, close and narrow; straight and narrow.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 328 Euphorbia exigua..branches 6–15 in., erect and strict, or prostrate curved and ascending.
1891 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) The strict stem of some corals.
II. Figurative senses.in combination (quasi-adverbial).1787 R. Polwhele Eng. Orator iii. 675 Like the abstruser Rules Of Logic link'd by strict-connecting Chain.† 7. Restricted or limited in amount, meaning, application, etc. Obsolete.
5. † b. Of a council: Secret, privy. After French conseil estroit (Cotgrave). Obsolete.
a. Of personal relations, alliance, etc.: Close, intimate. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective] > intimate or familiar > (of personal relations) intimate
inward1525
strict1601
1601 J. Marston et al. Iacke Drums Entertainm. iii. sig. F2v By that strickt bond of loue that lincks our hearts.
1611 D. Carleton Let. 7 Sept. in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 533 There is now notoriously discovered a stricte intelligence between ye Spaniards and the Albanesi.
1677 Sir R. Southwell in C. E. Pike Essex Papers (1913) II. 110 A new address to his Majesty for entring into a stricter Confederation with the Allies.
1719–20 R. Steele Theatre No. 12. ⁋6 There never was a more strict friendship than between those Gentlemen.
1839 T. De Quincey Lake Reminiscences in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 514/2 My intercourse with him was at no time very strict.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) I. 541 The ill concealed hostile disposition in which Don Juan Manuel had found the court of Rome..had been converted into the strictest union by his efforts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > privacy > [adjective] > conducted in private
sunderlyeOE
quiet1488
strict1606
secret1667
in camera1899
1606 B. Barnes Foure Bks. Offices i. 2 As at this day in Fraunce; where Les generalx des finances, & les presedents des accomptes, haue a prioritie..before both the Counsels strict and at large.
6. Of correspondence, agreement, or connection between facts, ideas, etc.: Close, exactly fitting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > [adjective] > in exact agreement or harmony > of correspondence: exact
just1536
stricta1732
a1732 F. Atterbury Serm. Several Occas. (1734) I. 124 Some Circumstances, which shew, how strict a Correspondence there was between their Crime and their Punishment.
1769 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. (ed. 4) I. i. 19 Where ideas are left to their natural course, they are..continued through the strictest connections.
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 38/2 The strictest explanation is the truest.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective]
narroweOE
restraint1445
modifiedc1485
limitate1541
restricteda1550
strait-laced1549
scant1556
circumcised1561
contract1561
restrained1578
determinate1586
limited1590
restrict1597
strict1597
confined1605
determineda1616
limitary1620
prescript1645
modificated1646
circumscribed1647
conscribed1654
limitated1654
reserved1654
coarctated1655
straiteneda1665
unabsolute1694
stinted1710
bounded1711
contracted1711
cramped1741
special1815
municipal1856
fine-cut1894
stingy1927
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lviii. 129 Definitions, whether they be framed larger to augment, or stricter to abridge the number of sacraments.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. v. 111 To satisfie If of my Freedome 'tis the maine part, take No stricter render of me, then my All. View more context for this quotation
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 336 Here the predicate is more strict in signification then the subiect.
1737 D. Waterland Rev. Doctr. Eucharist 42 The Word Sacrament is of great Latitude, and capable of various Significations, (some stricter and some larger).
8.
a. Accurately determined or defined; exact, precise, not vague or loose. †Of particulars: Enumerated or described in exact detail.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
truea1250
very1303
strait1340
honesta1400
soothfulc1400
precisec1443
veritable1474
just1490
perfect1523
faithful1529
sincere1555
unmangled1557
truthful?1567
neat1571
oraculous1612
punctual1620
oracular1631
unvamped1639
strict1645
unembroidered1649
ungarbled1721
unexaggerated1770
veracious1777
unfictitious1835
unexaggeratinga1854
uncooked1860
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > the quality of being specific > [adjective] > going into detail > detailed
specialc1449
particular1548
punctual1611
strict1645
syllabical1647
circumstantiate1649
circumstantiated1654
detaileda1779
intimate1817
inventorial1830
particularized1860
fine-grained1894
pinpoint1960
1645 J. Milton Sonnet vii, in Poems 49 It shall be still in strictest measure eev'n, To that same lot.
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall ii. 15 Though we meet not with such strict particulars of these parts, before the new Institution of Constantine.
1692 F. Atterbury Serm. Whitehall 11 According to the strict Import of the Word.
1760 Cautions & Advices to Officers of Army 130 He may in a stricter Sense be called, The Officer of the Day than of the Guard.
1818 H. Hallam View Europe Middle Ages II. viii. 395 These [lieutenancies] do not however bear a very close analogy to regencies in the stricter sense, or substitutions during the natural incapacity of the sovereign.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. i. ii. 10 If the very Rocks and Rivers (as Metaphysic teaches) are, in strict language, made by those Outward Senses of ours.
1875 E. White Life in Christ (1876) iv. xxiv. 394 Public legislative documents, in which important words are to be always taken in their strictest and most direct definition.
b. With defining word: Restricted to the exact use or definition indicated by the word.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > meaning or signification > [adjective] > restricted or limited
straitc1380
specifical1778
strict1842
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > interpretation > [adjective] > exact, accurate
perfect1523
near1662
strict1842
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 23 The fruit, in a strict botanical sense, is the mature pistillum.
1891 Cent. Dict. Strict 8. Restricted; taken strictly, narrowly, or exclusively: as, a strict generic or specific diagnosis.
c. Of a calculated or measured result: Precise, exact; opposed to approximate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > of calculated result
evena1400
justc1400
mathematical1604
exacta1616
mathematic1664
strict1791
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §245 (note) The masons were employed in reducing the whole area of the work to a strict level.
9. Of confinement or imprisonment: Rigorous; severely restricted in regard to space or liberty of movement.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective] > strict (of confinement)
strait1423
strict1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 321 To remaine In strictest bondage. View more context for this quotation
1685 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 400 'Tis true our confinement is not strict.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 324 Your brother shall be kept in strict custody.
1869 A. Harwood tr. E. de Pressensé Early Years Christianity ii. ii. 166 The captivity of the apostle became increasingly strict.
10. Of watch and ward, authority, discipline, obedience, etc.: Rigorously maintained, admitting no relaxation or indulgence.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective]
cruelc1230
straitc1430
closea1466
district1526
hard1577
obstrictc1600
strict1603
restricta1617
uninclining1794
tight1872
headmistressy1972
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > [adjective] > observed
unviolated1555
strict1603
well-observed1616
rigid1653
well-keptc1670
unfringed1751
unswerved1849
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 70 This same strikt and most obseruant watch.
1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster ii. 15 What maister holds so strickt a hand ouer his boy, That he will part with him without one warning.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 783 Uzziel, half these draw off, and coast the South With strictest watch. View more context for this quotation
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables liii. 54 A Prince's Leaving his Bus'ness Wholly to his Ministers with~out a Strict Eye over them in their Respective Offices.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 72 He keeps so strict a Hand over his Crew, that he won't suffer them to make one Holy-day.
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxix. 264 [He] gave the second mate a caution to keep a strict guard over his tongue.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece V. xlii. 205 He..every where maintained strict discipline among his troops.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 341 His temper was under strict government.
11.
a. Of a law, ordinance, etc., or its execution: Stringent and rigorous in its demands or provisions, allowing no evasion.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > [adjective] > various epithets applied to laws
vagabondc1485
strait1503
strict1578
unrelaxable1615
sanguinary1625
standard1660
formal1701
supplementary1714
eludible1735
organic1831
antinomic1849
loopy1856
antinomical1877
contravenable1880
violable1885
nexal1886
entrenched1920
hard1935
society > law > [adverb] > with strict provisions
strict1578
strictly1651
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > strict or severe (of rules, judgement, or discipline)
strongeOE
starkc1175
sharpa1340
strait1390
unrelaxed1508
exacta1538
severe1562
strict1578
weightya1616
stringent1846
ramrod1850
medieval1917
tough1961
1578 G. Whetstone Promos & Cassandra: 2nd Pt. ii. v. sig. Ijv Their crafte, they collour so, As styll they haue, stryckt lawe vpon their side.
1580 E. Knight Triall of Truth f. 5 There shall neede no such strickt order to mooue them therunto.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 903 Rather how hast thou yeelded to transgress The strict forbiddance. View more context for this quotation
1699 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) V. 366 To punish offenders, & put the laws in more strict Execution.
1772 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 2) xlvii. 618 During..the second stage of the disorder, though so strict a regimen is not necessary as in the first or inflammatory state, yet intemperance of every kind must be avoided.
1834 G. P. R. James John Marston Hall xi The Duke had given him strict orders to follow my commands implicitly.
1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. vii. 290 From the beginning of their eighteenth year they were subjected to a stricter rule.
1913 J. H. Morrison On Trail of Pioneers xiv. 65 This purdah system is strictest in the north,..but its baneful influence is felt all over India.
b. Of a legal instrument or provision: Stringent.
ΚΠ
1739 J. Richards Annuities on Lives 96 This is often the Case, let the Covenants of the Lease be ever so strict and binding.
c. quasi-adv.
ΚΠ
1721 A. Ramsay Scribblers Lash'd 191 We order strict, that all refrain.
12. Of an art or science, its procedure, etc.: Characterized by rigid conformity to rules or postulates.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adjective] > conforming > strictly > of an art or science
strict1638
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 31 Wee should not too much accustome our selves to a strict course of Imitation.
a1677 I. Barrow Brief Expos. Creed (1697) 43 Which is a most reasonable proceeding, and conformable to the method used in the strictest sciences.
1777 J. Priestley Disquis. Matter & Spirit xvi. 218 I do not..find the strict immaterial system in any writer earlier than our Sir Kenelm Digby.
1796 A. F. C. Kollmann Ess. Musical Harmony xv. 114 Of strict or free Imitation.
1834 M. Somerville On Connexion Physical Sci. xiv. 109 It is proved..by strict mathematical reasoning, that [etc.].
1861 F. A. Paley Æschylus' Persians (ed. 2) 43 The penult should perhaps be long in strict prosody.
1869 F. A. G. Ouseley Treat. Counterpoint ii. 6 The only concords recognized in strict counter~point are the perfect octave [etc.].
1873 H. C. Banister Music (1889) 177 Imitation may be only of the general form of a passage..Or the intervals may be exactly imitated, which is termed Strict Imitation.
1880 E. Gurney Power of Sound xix. 430 Greek iambic verse was less strict in this respect.
13.
a. Of a quality or condition, an attitude or line of action: Maintained to the full, admitting no deviation or abatement; absolute, entire, complete, perfect. (Cf. 15b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adjective] > of a state, quality, or action
strict1597
complete1645
full bore1967
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 80 The pleasure that some fathers feede vpon Is my strict fast; I meane my childrens lookes. View more context for this quotation
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. iii. 163 O mee, with what strickt patience haue I sat, To see a King transformed to a Gnat. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. vi. 24 You vndergo too strict a Paradox, Striuing to make an vgly deed looke faire. View more context for this quotation
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim (1687) xxxix. 521 But that is no more than strict Justice exacts.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. ix. 122 All this shall be mentioned to Lady D. in strict confidence.
a1822 P. B. Shelley tr. J. W. von Goethe Scenes from Faust in Posthumous Poems (1824) 409 In truth, I generally go about In strict incognito.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 265 In his public acts he observed a strict neutrality.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. i. iii. 38 A pleasant attractive physiognomy; which may be considered better than strict beauty.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. x. 67 A man of the strictest prudence.
1898 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner xiv. 152 I should recommend a strict reticence on this matter.
1907 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (ed. 6) 27 The observance of strict cleanliness.
b. Of truth, accuracy, etc.: Exactly and rigidly observed; exactly answerable to fact or reality.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > strict, rigorous
just1490
nicea1522
point-devicea1529
exact1533
narrow1551
rigorousa1564
point-vice1574
curious1614
rigid?1626
hard1690
strict1749
deadly1909
1749 W. Melmoth Lett. by Sir Thomas Fitzosborne II. lxi. 109 I may venture, however, to assert..that the Muses are, in strict truth, of heavenly extraction.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. i. 28 I would not have you think all I said of him, even now, was strict gospel.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 80 Two prerogatives, of which the limits had never been defined with strict accuracy.
14.
a. Rigorous and severe in rule and discipline, in administering justice, etc.; not lax or indulgent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
retheeOE
stithc897
hardeOE
starkOE
sternOE
dangerous?c1225
sharp?c1225
unsoftc1275
sturdy1297
asperc1374
austerec1384
shrewda1387
snella1400
sternful?a1400
dour?a1425
thrallc1430
piquant1521
tetrical1528
tetric1533
sorea1535
rugged?1548
severe1548
iron1574
harsh1579
strict1600
angry1650
Catonian1676
Draconic1708
tetricous1727
alkaline1789
acerbic1853
stiff1856
acerbate1869
acerbitous1870
Draconian1876
Catonic1883
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 201 This strict Court [1623 course] of Venice must needes giue sentence gainst the Merchant there. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 169 Implore her, in my voice, that she make friends To the strict deputie. View more context for this quotation
1621 J. Fletcher et al. Trag. of Thierry & Theodoret i. i. sig. B2 A Monasterie, A most strickt house, a house where none may whisper.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 379 Minos, the strict Inquisitor, appears.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ix, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 229 The King..ought to have been..liberal in rewarding services, strict in punishing crimes.
1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley iii. 31 Who was not remembered to have been particularly strict..about having the whole establishment in good order.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket xxix. 147 Three of these officers..were strict disciplinarians.
1904 F. D. How Six Great Schoolm. 253 He was extremely strict with the Masters in spite of the sympathy and kindness he showed them.
b. of fate, necessity.
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xiii. 7 O your sweet Queene! that the strict fates had pleas'd, you had brought her hither to haue blest mine eies with her. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 869 But strict Fate had cast too deep Her dark foundations, and too fast had bound. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 131 But strict necessitie Subdues me, and calamitous constraint. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 243 Not forc'd to Sin by strict necessity.
15. in combination.1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iv. 200 A strict-minded, strait-laced man.
a. Of persons: Holding a rigorous and austere standard of living; stern to oneself in matters of conscience and morality.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > specifically of persons
strait1297
iron-handed1608
strict1614
Presbyteriana1653
taut1825
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 82v Thou hast therefore..great cause to reioyce, that God by punishment hath compelled thee to stricktnesse of lyfe.]
1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. iv. 105 They abstained from all flesh and wines..; nay, so strict they were, they seldom eate Bread.
1637 J. Milton Comus 5 Strict Age, and sowre Severitie.
1648 T. Fairfax Remonstrance 21 Consciencious, strickt in manners, sober, serious.
1662 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 173 My sister says the queen is very hansom, and I hear very stricte in her carage.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Cato Minor in Plutarch Lives V. 49 The whole course of his life was strict and austere.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iv. 200 With a strict painful mind.
1860 W. M. Thackeray Lovel (1861) vi. 237 My mother and sisters are dissenters, and very strict. I couldn't ask a party into my family who has been [on the stage].
1894 ‘M. Rutherford’ Catharine Furze I. vi. 98 On many points their ‘views’ were ‘strict’ —whatever that singular phrase may have meant.
b. of virtue, chastity, etc. (Cf. 13.)
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > [adjective] > conforming to high moral standards
strait1526
Roman1577
strict1586
tight-laced1741
1586 W. Warner Æneidos in Albions Eng. sig. Oiv Greater is the wonder of your strickt chastity.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. vi. 67 Is all your strict precisenesse come to this? View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 319 Against his vow of strictest purity. View more context for this quotation
1705 S. Centlivre Gamester iii. i. 36 A Gentleman that plays is admitted every where—Women of the strictest Vertue will converse with him.
1905 F. Harrison Chatham iv. 56 Pitt..was the statesman who finally established strict honour in the public service.
16. Undeviating in adherence to the principles or practice implied by the designation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > [adjective]
faithfulc1384
officiousc1487
heedful1548
heedy1548
religious1567
unhurting1581
rigid1602
observant1608
conscionable1620
strictc1660
solid1880
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [adjective] > conforming > strictly
sternc1374
precise1526
severe1565
precisianc1610
strictc1660
rigorist1844
c1660 in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1872) (modernized text) 1st Ser. vi. 257 A good devout Sister, and very strict in regular observance.
1661 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 125 Persons of most exemplar regular Course of life..yet extreame strict to the rules of there profession.
1666 E. Mountagu in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 8 If the young Lord was a strict and a grounded Papist.
1718 M. Prior Poems (1905) Dedic. p. xx He was so strict an Observer of his Word, that no Consideration whatever, could make him break it.
a1721 M. Prior Vicar of Bray & Sir T. More (1907) 259 This Strict adherence to Truth.
1801 J. Thomson Poems Sc. Dial. 81 To leave the Kirk ye surely mean, An' turn a strict Seceder clean.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. i. ix. 37 The Hazeldeans..were great sportsmen and strict preservers.
1861 Contrib. Eccl. Hist. Connecticut 280 The new churches, called Separates, or, as they preferred, Strict Congregationalists.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. App. 653 The feeling on the subject among strict churchmen comes out very forcibly.
1884 Earl of Malmesbury Mem. Ex-Minister I. 14 Mr. Bowle was..a strict observer of saints' days and dates.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. v. 62 Every vote given by the members of the Commission was a strict party vote.
17.
a. Of inquiry, investigation, inspection, observation, calculation, and the like: Characterized by close and unrelaxing effort, so as to let nothing escape notice.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adjective] > scrupulously careful or attentive to detail > characterized by scrupulous care > strict, careful, or detailed
narroweOE
searchinga1555
strict1598
scrutinous1599
press?1611
close1662
minutea1697
near-sighted1828
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 149 And I will call him to so strickt account, That he shall render euery glory vp. View more context for this quotation
1617 L. Digges tr. Claudian Rape Proserpine i. C 4 The god, vnto this vnexpected newes Gaue strict attention.
1696 N. Tate & N. Brady New Version Psalms of David cxxxix. 1 Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known My rising up and lying down.
1699 Flying Post 6–9 May 2/1 The Coroners Jury have..upon strict Inquiry found it was accidental.
1710 J. Swift Examiner No. 17. ⁋2 Is he not severely us'd by the Ministry or Parliament, who yearly call him to a strict Account?
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 158 To take the strictest Observation he could of the Plain.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. i. 29 Upon a strict Review, I blotted out several Passages.
1755 J. Ellis Ess. Nat. Hist. Corallines 52 The Vesicles, on the strictest Examination, appear to have no Opening into them.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby viii. 66 Mrs. Squeers..instituted a stricter search after the spoon.
1855 D. T. Ansted in Orr's Circle Sci.: Inorg. Nature 45 The knowledge of this fact soon leads to the more strict investigation of the nature of the deposits thus noticed.
b. with an agent-noun.
ΚΠ
1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. Pref. 2 He was a strict Searcher and Examiner of businesses.
Compounds
strict communion n. = close communion n. at close adj. and adv. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1886 J. H. Blunt Dict. Sects 65/1 Particular Baptists..are subdivided into two sections on the question of free or strict communion..the ‘strict’ or ‘close communionists’ admitting to the Lord's Supper only those who have been baptized as adults.
strict implication n. Logic a relationship holding between propositions in which it is impossible for the antecedent to be true and the consequent false. Cf. material implication n. at material adj., n., and adv. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > predicate or propositional logic > [noun] > implication
logical implication1887
prehensiveness1897
formal implication1903
material implication1903
implication1906
strict implication1912
entailment1933
1912 C. I. Lewis in Mind XXI. 526 Intensional disjunction bears the same relation to inferential or ‘strict’ implication that extensional disjunction bears to the algebraic or ‘material’ implication.
1933 C. A. Mace Princ. Logic iv. 68 This is clearly a different sense of implies, and is sometimes called strict implication.
1947 H. Reichenbach Elem. Symbolic Logic viii. 379 The calculus of strict implication..constitutes a system of this kind.
1977 Fontana Dict. Mod. Thought 206/1 The systems of strict implication are the basis of contemporary modal logic.
strict liability n. Law a liability which does not depend upon intent to commit an offence.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > [noun] > legal liability > specific liability
quasi-contract1704
privity1852
strict liability1897
product liability1925
1897 Rep. Court of Appeals N.Y. 151 142 The weight of the argument..is in favor of the rule of strict liability which requires a public official to assume all risks of loss.
1926 Law Q. Rev. XLII. 51 The description of the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher as an example of absolute liability in tort is unhappy in view of some half dozen exceptions which are admitted as qualifications of it. ‘Strict liability’ seems to be a better term.
1935 California Law Rev. May 431 Liability on the ground of nuisance should not be confused with the doctrine of absolute or strict liability for certain classes of lawful acts.
1945 W. T. S. Stallybrass Salmond's Law of Torts (ed. 10) ii. 20 A period of strict liability, an ‘unmoral period, is succeeded by a period of fault liability, a moral’ period.
1953 N.Y. Univ. Law Rev. XXVIII. 1076 The courts have made no inroads upon strict liability for damage done by animals ferae naturae, nor upon scienter liability.
1979 Internat. Jrnl. Sociol. of Law Feb. 54 In short, by substantially removing the issue of intention from the crimes of employers, the 1844 Act took a substantial step towards the doctrine of strict liability.
strict settlement n. Law see quot. 1841.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > settlement of property > [noun] > type of
strict settlement1710
1710 T. Vernon Chancery Cases (1728) II. 659 By Proof it appears a strict Settlement was intended.
1791 C. Fearne Ess. Learning Remainders (ed. 4) I. 129 The limitation to her [the wife] for life, and a subsequent one to the heirs of her body by the husband have been decreed to operate by way of strict settlement.
1835 Tomlins' Law Dict. II. 3 Q. at Remainder In these strict settlements, the estate is unalienable till the first son attains the age of twenty-one.
1841 H. J. Stephen New Comm. Laws Eng. I. i. vii. 307 When land is settled..by a limitation to the parent for life, and after his death to his first and other sons in tail, and trustees are interposed to preserve the contingent remainders, this is called a strict settlement.
strict tempo n. Music a strict and regular rhythm; frequently used attributively with reference to a kind of ballroom dancing to music with such a rhythm.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > ballroom dancing > [adjective] > attributes of ballroom dances
old-time1909
strict tempo1936
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > tempo > [noun] > specific tempo
quadruplaa1450
measure time1626
quick time1712
tempo giusto1724
tempo rubato1724
tittuping1780
rubato1855
double time1877
strict tempo1936
half-time1938
tranquillo1980
1936 F. G. Hawkes Stud. in Time & Tempo vi. 35 If the proper rhythmical effect..is to be secured, the observance of accurate and strict tempo becomes an absolute necessity.
1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz xxv. 320 The vacuities of ‘strict tempo’ and the morbid sex neurosis of the modern ‘sob’ song.
1959 ‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene xiii. 230 ‘Strict tempo’ dancing, the foundation of the mass ballroom vogue among the British working class,..grew in a direction diametrically opposed to jazz.
1961 Listener 23 Nov. 887/2 A champion strict-tempo dancer.
1978 F. Mullally Deadly Payoff vi. 81 Strict-tempo ballroom dancing: the slow foxtrot, the quickstep, the waltz.
1982 L. Warner & J. Sandilands Women beyond Wire ii. 19 The strict-tempo orchestra which reeled off foxtrots and quicksteps.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1919; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1578