strut
strut
UK[strʌt]US[strʌt]
v
to walk in a proud way with your head up and chest out, trying to look important
n
a proud, confident way of walking
n
a long, thin piece of wood or metal used to support a structure, such as part of a building or an aircraft wing
Etymology
The verb 'strut' entered Middle English from Old English strūtian, meaning "to stand out stiffly, to swell or protrude." This likely derives from a Proto-Germanic root related to stiffness or swelling, possibly connected to the idea of rigid posture. The sense of walking stiffly or pompously developed by the late 14th century, directly linking the physical posture of puffing oneself up with an attitude of arrogance. The noun form for a supporting bar or rod, first recorded in the 17th century, extends this core idea of rigid, projecting stiffness from animate behavior to inanimate structural support.
Analysis
The word is a simplex of Germanic origin. It is not productively formed from separable morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The rooster strutted across the farmyard, king of all he surveyed.
He walked with the confident strut of someone who had just won a major victory.
Engineers reinforced the frame with several steel struts to handle the increased load.