The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Strike \Strike\, v. t. [imp. Struck; p. p. Struck,
Stricken(Stroock, Strucken, Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n.
Striking. Struck is more commonly used in the p. p. than
stricken.] [OE. striken to strike, proceed, flow, AS.
str[imac]can to go, proceed, akin to D. strijken to rub,
stroke, strike, to move, go, G. streichen, OHG.
str[imac]hhan, L. stringere to touch lightly, to graze, to
strip off (but perhaps not to L. stringere in sense to draw
tight), striga a row, a furrow. Cf. Streak, Stroke.]
1. To touch or hit with some force, either with the hand or
with an instrument; to smite; to give a blow to, either
with the hand or with any instrument or missile.
[1913 Webster]
He at Philippi kept
His sword e'en like a dancer; while I struck
The lean and wrinkled Cassius. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. To come in collision with; to strike against; as, a bullet
struck him; the wave struck the boat amidships; the ship
struck a reef.
[1913 Webster]
3. To give, as a blow; to impel, as with a blow; to give a
force to; to dash; to cast.
[1913 Webster]
They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the
two sideposts. --Ex. xii. 7.
[1913 Webster]
Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow.
--Byron.
[1913 Webster]
4. To stamp or impress with a stroke; to coin; as, to strike
coin from metal: to strike dollars at the mint.
[1913 Webster]
5. To thrust in; to cause to enter or penetrate; to set in
the earth; as, a tree strikes its roots deep.
[1913 Webster]
6. To punish; to afflict; to smite.
[1913 Webster]
To punish the just is not good, nor strike princes
for equity. --Prov. xvii.
26.
[1913 Webster]
7. To cause to sound by one or more beats; to indicate or
notify by audible strokes; as, the clock strikes twelve;
the drums strike up a march.
[1913 Webster]
8. To lower; to let or take down; to remove; as, to strike
sail; to strike a flag or an ensign, as in token of
surrender; to strike a yard or a topmast in a gale; to
strike a tent; to strike the centering of an arch.
[1913 Webster]
9. To make a sudden impression upon, as by a blow; to affect
sensibly with some strong emotion; as, to strike the mind,
with surprise; to strike one with wonder, alarm, dread, or
horror.
[1913 Webster]
Nice works of art strike and surprise us most on the
first view. --Atterbury.
[1913 Webster]
They please as beauties, here as wonders strike.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
10. To affect in some particular manner by a sudden
impression or impulse; as, the plan proposed strikes me
favorably; to strike one dead or blind.
[1913 Webster]
How often has stricken you dumb with his irony!
--Landor.
[1913 Webster]
11. To cause or produce by a stroke, or suddenly, as by a
stroke; as, to strike a light.
[1913 Webster]
Waving wide her myrtle wand,
She strikes a universal peace through sea and land.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
12. To cause to ignite; as, to strike a match.
[1913 Webster]
13. To make and ratify; as, to strike a bargain.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Probably borrowed from the L. foedus ferrire, to strike
a compact, so called because an animal was struck and
killed as a sacrifice on such occasions.
[1913 Webster]
14. To take forcibly or fraudulently; as, to strike money.
[Old Slang]
[1913 Webster]
15. To level, as a measure of grain, salt, or the like, by
scraping off with a straight instrument what is above the
level of the top.
[1913 Webster]
16. (Masonry) To cut off, as a mortar joint, even with the
face of the wall, or inward at a slight angle.
[1913 Webster]
17. To hit upon, or light upon, suddenly; as, my eye struck a
strange word; they soon struck the trail.
[1913 Webster]
18. To borrow money of; to make a demand upon; as, he struck
a friend for five dollars. [Slang]
[1913 Webster]
19. To lade into a cooler, as a liquor. --B. Edwards.
[1913 Webster]
20. To stroke or pass lightly; to wave.
[1913 Webster]
Behold, I thought, He will . . . strike his hand
over the place, and recover the leper. --2 Kings v.
11.
[1913 Webster]
21. To advance; to cause to go forward; -- used only in past
participle. "Well struck in years." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
To strike an attitude, To strike a balance. See under
Attitude, and Balance.
To strike a jury (Law), to constitute a special jury
ordered by a court, by each party striking out a certain
number of names from a prepared list of jurors, so as to
reduce it to the number of persons required by law.
--Burrill.
To strike a lead.
(a) (Mining) To find a vein of ore.
(b) Fig.: To find a way to fortune. [Colloq.]
To strike a ledger or To strike an account, to balance
it.
To strike hands with.
(a) To shake hands with. --Halliwell.
(b) To make a compact or agreement with; to agree with.
To strike off.
(a) To erase from an account; to deduct; as, to strike
off the interest of a debt.
(b) (Print.) To impress; to print; as, to strike off a
thousand copies of a book.
(c) To separate by a blow or any sudden action; as, to
strike off what is superfluous or corrupt.
To strike oil, to find petroleum when boring for it;
figuratively, to make a lucky hit financially. [Slang,
U.S.]
To strike one luck, to shake hands with one and wish good
luck. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
To strike out.
(a) To produce by collision; to force out, as, to strike
out sparks with steel.
(b) To blot out; to efface; to erase. "To methodize is as
necessary as to strike out." --Pope.
(c) To form by a quick effort; to devise; to invent; to
contrive, as, to strike out a new plan of finance.
(d) (Baseball) To cause a player to strike out; -- said
of the pitcher. See To strike out, under Strike,
v. i.
To strike sail. See under Sail.
To strike up.
(a) To cause to sound; to begin to beat. "Strike up the
drums." --Shak.
(b) To begin to sing or play; as, to strike up a tune.
(c) To raise (as sheet metal), in making diahes, pans,
etc., by blows or pressure in a die.
To strike work, to quit work; to go on a strike.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Attitude \At"ti*tude\, n. [It. attitudine, LL. aptitudo, fr. L.
aptus suited, fitted: cf. F. attitude. Cf. Aptitude.]
1. (Paint. & Sculp.) The posture, action, or disposition of a
figure or a statue.
[1913 Webster]
2. The posture or position of a person or an animal, or the
manner in which the parts of his body are disposed;
position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a
threatening attitude; an attitude of entreaty.
[1913 Webster]
3. Fig.: Position as indicating action, feeling, or mood; as,
in times of trouble let a nation preserve a firm attitude;
one's mental attitude in respect to religion.
[1913 Webster]
The attitude of the country was rapidly changing.
--J. R. Green.
[1913 Webster]
To strike an attitude, to take an attitude for mere effect.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Attitude, Posture.
Usage: Both of these words describe the visible disposition
of the limbs. Posture relates to their position
merely; attitude refers to their fitness for some
specific object. The object of an attitude is to set
forth exhibit some internal feeling; as, attitude of
wonder, of admiration, of grief, etc. It is,
therefore, essentially and designedly expressive. Its
object is the same with that of gesture; viz., to hold
forth and represent. Posture has no such design. If we
speak of posture in prayer, or the posture of
devotion, it is only the natural disposition of the
limbs, without any intention to show forth or exhibit.
[1913 Webster]
'T is business of a painter in his choice of
attitudes (positur[ae]) to foresee the effect
and harmony of the lights and shadows. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
Never to keep the body in the same posture half
an hour at a time. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]