1.
[syn: stranger, alien, unknown]
2. an individual that one is not acquainted with;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Strange \Strange\, a. [Compar. Stranger; superl. Strangest.]
[OE. estrange, F. ['e]trange, fr. L. extraneus that is
without, external, foreign, fr. extra on the outside. See
Extra, and cf. Estrange, Extraneous.]
1. Belonging to another country; foreign. "To seek strange
strands." --Chaucer.
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One of the strange queen's lords. --Shak.
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I do not contemn the knowledge of strange and divers
tongues. --Ascham.
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2. Of or pertaining to others; not one's own; not pertaining
to one's self; not domestic.
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So she, impatient her own faults to see,
Turns from herself, and in strange things delights.
--Sir J.
Davies.
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3. Not before known, heard, or seen; new.
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Here is the hand and seal of the duke; you know the
character, I doubt not; and the signet is not
strange to you. --Shak.
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4. Not according to the common way; novel; odd; unusual;
irregular; extraordinary; unnatural; queer. "He is sick of
a strange fever." --Shak.
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Sated at length, erelong I might perceive
Strange alteration in me. --Milton.
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5. Reserved; distant in deportment. --Shak.
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She may be strange and shy at first, but will soon
learn to love thee. --Hawthorne.
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6. Backward; slow. [Obs.]
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Who, loving the effect, would not be strange
In favoring the cause. --Beau. & Fl.
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7. Not familiar; unaccustomed; inexperienced.
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In thy fortunes am unlearned and strange. --Shak.
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Note: Strange is often used as an exclamation.
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Strange! what extremes should thus preserve the
snow
High on the Alps, or in deep caves below.
--Waller.
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Strange sail (Naut.), an unknown vessel.
Strange woman (Script.), a harlot. --Prov. v. 3.
To make it strange.
(a) To assume ignorance, suspicion, or alarm, concerning
it. --Shak.
(b) To make it a matter of difficulty. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
To make strange, To make one's self strange.
(a) To profess ignorance or astonishment.
(b) To assume the character of a stranger. --Gen. xlii. 7.
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Syn: Foreign; new; outlandish; wonderful; astonishing;
marvelous; unusual; odd; uncommon; irregular; queer;
eccentric.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Stranger \Stran"ger\, n. [OF. estrangier, F. ['e]tranger. See
Strange.]
1. One who is strange, foreign, or unknown. Specifically:
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(a) One who comes from a foreign land; a foreigner.
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I am a most poor woman and a stranger,
Born out of your dominions. --Shak.
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(b) One whose home is at a distance from the place where
he is, but in the same country.
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(c) One who is unknown or unacquainted; as, the gentleman
is a stranger to me; hence, one not admitted to
communication, fellowship, or acquaintance.
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Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear,
And strangers to the sun yet ripen here.
--Granville.
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My child is yet a stranger in the world. --Shak.
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I was no stranger to the original. --Dryden.
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2. One not belonging to the family or household; a guest; a
visitor.
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To honor and receive
Our heavenly stranger. --Milton.
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3. (Law) One not privy or party an act, contract, or title; a
mere intruder or intermeddler; one who interferes without
right; as, actual possession of land gives a good title
against a stranger having no title; as to strangers, a
mortgage is considered merely as a pledge; a mere stranger
to the levy.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Stranger \Stran"ger\, v. t.
To estrange; to alienate. [Obs.] --Shak.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
stranger
n 1: anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they
are found [syn: stranger, alien, unknown] [ant:
acquaintance, friend]
2: an individual that one is not acquainted with [ant:
acquaintance, friend]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
47 Moby Thesaurus words for "stranger":
Jim Crow, Uitlander, alien, apartheid, auslander, barbarian,
color bar, deracine, displaced person, division, emigre,
ethnocentrism, exclusiveness, exile, foreign devil, foreigner,
gringo, immigrant, insularity, insulation, isolation,
know-nothingism, narrowness, newcomer, out-group, outcast,
outlander, outlaw, outsider, parochialism, persona non grata,
quarantine, race hatred, racial segregation, refugee, seclusion,
segregation, separation, snobbishness, the Wandering Jew,
tightness, tramontane, transient, ultramontane, visitor, wanderer,
xenophobia
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
Stranger
This word generally denotes a person from a foreign land
residing in Palestine. Such persons enjoyed many privileges in
common with the Jews, but still were separate from them. The
relation of the Jews to strangers was regulated by special laws
(Deut. 23:3; 24:14-21; 25:5; 26:10-13). A special signification
is also sometimes attached to this word. In Gen. 23:4 it denotes
one resident in a foreign land; Ex. 23:9, one who is not a Jew;
Num. 3:10, one who is not of the family of Aaron; Ps. 69:8, an
alien or an unknown person. The Jews were allowed to purchase
strangers as slaves (Lev. 25:44, 45), and to take usury from
them (Deut. 23:20).
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
STRANGER, persons, contracts. This word has several significations. 1. A
person born out of the United States; but in this sense the term alien is
more properly applied, until he becomes naturalized. 2. A person who is not
privy to an act or contract; example, he who is a stranger to the issue,
shall not take advantage of the verdict. Bro. Ab. Record, pl. 3; Vin. Ab.
h.t. pl. 1 and vide Com. Dig. Abatement, H 54.
2. When a man undertakes to do a thing, and a stranger interrupts him,
this is no excuse. Com. Dig. Condition, L 14. When a party undertakes that a
stranger shall do a certain thing, he becomes liable as soon as the stranger
refuses to perform it. Bac. Ab. Conditions, Q 4.