Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To strive against; withstand.
- To make or offer resistance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- verb obsolete To strive or struggle against; to withstand.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
strive for;compete orcontend for. - verb transitive To strive
against .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Middle English gainstriven, from gain- (from Old English gēan- ("against, counter-, opposite")) + striven ("to strive"), from Old French estriver ("to compete, quarrel"), from Old French estrif ("quarrel, dispute"), alteration (influenced by Germanic forms related to Old Frankish *strīban (“to strive”), compare Middle Dutch strijven ("to strive"), German streben ("to strive")) of Old French estrit, from Frankish *strīd (“quarrel, dispute”), from Proto-Germanic *strīdō (“combat, strife”). Akin to Old High German strīt ("quarrel"; > Modern German Streit), Old High German strītan ("to fight"), Old Norse strīð ("strife, contention"). More at stride.
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Examples
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