See Also: stricture(dictionary)
stricture(2)(dictionary)
Stricture(medicine)
stricture(1)(dictionary)
Stricture(health)
recurrent stricture(medicine)
temporary stricture(medicine)
urethral stricture(medicine)
Biliary stricture(health)
Esophageal stricture(health)

stricture(2) (iou)



stricture noun1 & verb. LME.
[Latin strictura, from strict- pa. ppl stem of stringere draw tight, touch lightly: see -URE.]
A. noun.
I.
a. Medicine. A narrowing of a canal, duct, or passage, esp. of the urethra, oesophagus, or intestine. LME.
b. Phonetics. Partial or complete closure of the air passage in the production of speech sounds. M20.
The action of restricting, binding, or tightly enclosing something; tight closure; restriction; an instance of this. lit. & fig. LME.
J. Buchan The snow..under the stricture of the frost was as dry and powdery as sand. E. S. Person Love..liberates him from the strictures of self.
II.
A spark, a flash of light. lit. & fig. Only in 17.
III.
Orig., an incidental remark or comment. Now, an adverse criticism or censorious remark. Usu. in pl. M17.
V. Woolf My writing..he praises sufficiently to give his strictures a good deal of force.
A touch, a slight trace. Only in L17.
b. verb trans. Criticize, censure. rare. M19.