strafe
oxford
views updated May 09 2018strafe / strāf/ •
v. [tr.] attack repeatedly with bombs or machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft: military aircraft strafed the village.•
n. an attack from low-flying aircraft.ORIGIN: early 20th cent.: humorous adaptation of the German World War I catchphrase Gott strafe England ‘may God punish England.’
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
strafe
oxford
views updated May 21 2018strafe attack repeatedly with bombs or machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft; humorous adaptation of the German First World War catchphrase
Gott strafe England ‘may
God punish England’, coined by the German writer Alfred Funke (b. 1869).
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES
strafe
oxford
views updated May 29 2018strafe punish, damage, attack fiercely. XX. f. G. phr.
Gott strafe England God chastise England, current in
Germany c.1914.
Hence sb. fierce assault.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
