The word 'strobe' is a mid-20th century shortening of 'stroboscope', a scientific instrument invented in the 1890s. 'Stroboscope' itself derives from Greek 'strobos', meaning 'a whirling' or 'act of whirling', combined with the scientific instrument suffix '-scope' (from Greek 'skopein', 'to look at'). The original device created the illusion of slowing or stopping rapid motion by shining intermittent light synchronized with the movement. The clipped form 'strobe' retained the core concept of rapid, intermittent flashing, which then became generalized to any powerful, rapidly flashing light, especially those used in entertainment or signaling.

The word is a clipped form of "stroboscope". It is not productively segmented into smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.