Strai

See also: strai

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• Straij (1601, 1668); Straye (1604); Straj; Stray (1610); Straj (1723)

Etymology

Possibly from Old Norse *Stráð n in the dative form *Stráði, from which we could expect the modern form, cf. Skailand from Skaðaland. Related to the verb strá. Another possibility is *Strá f without the -ð, with a dative form *Strái, however this would require a shift from feminine to neuter, similar to Rá f (in Brandbu) → i Raii (1355).

Based on the older pronunciation /strɛɪː/, Jørn Sandnes and Ola Stemshaug have theorised that the name might come from Old Norse *Stræti n, from stræti, in which case the t must have softened to a ð and thus become a glide sound from which a diphthong could arise (cf. Skaða- → Skai-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (older) /strɛɪː/, (newer) /straɪː/

Proper noun

Strai n

1. a farm and village in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway
   • 1924, Peter Lunde, Kynnehuset:

     Den syttande mai
     daa va eg paa Strai.
     Di spílte ò danste
     sò de gjekk a lagj’.
     Ja felo hu led,
     ò gudann di gred,
     ò gjentenn di danste,
     sò stakkann fallt ne.

     The seventeenth of May
     then I was in Strai.
     They played and danced
     so that it went overboard.
     Yes, the fiddle, it played,
     and the boys, they cried,
     and the girls, they danced,
     so that their skirts fell down.