Other forms: streaks
In geology, a streak is the colour a mineral leaves when you scrape it across a rough white plate. It is a reliable test, because a mineral's streak does not change even when the crystal does.
That is why geologists carry a streak plate: haematite looks black or red or silver, and always leaves a red-brown streak. Away from rocks the word means a long irregular mark, so a window has streaks and hair can have streaks in it. It also means a run of luck, as in a winning streak, and a quality in a person, as in a stubborn streak.
1nounstreakThe colour a mineral leaves when scraped on a hard plate.
“The streak was a dull red-brown.”
2nounlongA long irregular mark or band.
“There were streaks of rain across the glass.”
3nouncontinuousA continuous run of luck, or a trait in someone.
“He has a mean streak.”
STREAK → what one STRIKE leaves behind
You strike the stone across the plate and it leaves a line of colour behind.
hooks ontostrike
Proto-Indo-European
*streyg- — line
Proto-Germanic
*strikiz
Old English
strica
Middle English
streke
English, today
streak
From Middle English streke, from Old English strica, from Proto-Germanic strikiz, from Proto-Indo-European streyg- (“line”). Related to frr strijck, Old Saxon striki, Middle Low German streke, Low German streek, Danish streg, Swedish streck, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk strek, Icelandic stryk, strykr, Dutch streek, Afrikaans streek, Old High German strih, German Strich, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in A Man Called Ove, Rocks & Minerals
First appears in chapter 19 of A Man Called Ove.
Practise this word