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by-stroke

noun

Etymology

From by- + stroke.

  1. derived from *streyg-✻ — “to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”
  2. inherited from *straikaz✻ — “stroke”
  3. inherited from *straik✻
  4. inherited from strāc
  5. inherited from strok
  6. prefixed as by-stroke — “by + stroke”

Definitions

  1. An incidental or slyly given stroke

    An incidental or slyly given stroke; a gratuitous addition or indirect action.

    • But we do not suppose the House of Commons will quite surrender its authority to them on a point of such importance, or allow its intentions to be frustrated by a by-stroke of the Commissioners, without further inquiry.
    • The text before us furnishes an example of the manner in which he is wont to convey this doctrine to the minds of his people, even where he is not immediately employed on it—by a by-stroke, as it were .

  2. A secondary attack.

    • On his way he could not resist the temptation of dealing a by-stroke at the Petchenegans.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for by-stroke. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA