Strive
/straɪv/noun
To make great efforts to achieve or obtain something.
Did you know?In Old French, the ancestor of *strive* meant to quarrel or fight, so the modern self-help vibe is a softened descendant of combat language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*strebʰ-
“to twist, turn, or struggle”
Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*strībą
“to strive, struggle”
Old French
Old French
estriver
“to quarrel, contend, fight”
Middle English
English
striven
“to contend, struggle, make efforts”
Modern English
English
strive
“to make a great effort to achieve something”