Straw
/strɔː/noun
The dry stalks of cereal plants left after the grain has been removed; also, a thin tube or similar object.
Did you know?English straw comes from Old English *straw* meaning the dried stalks of grain, and it is historically linked to the idea of something strewn or spread out, not to any occult or magical root.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*strew-
“to scatter, spread, or strew”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*strawam
“straw, chaff, or scattered plant stalks”
Old English
English
straw
“the stalks of grain left after threshing”
Middle English
English
straw
“dried stalks of grain; also a straw-like tube”
Modern English
English
straw
“the dry stalks of cereal plants; a thin tube or similar object”