An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Stroh

by Friedrich Kluge

Stroh, masculine, ‘straw,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German strô (genitive strawes, strauwes, strôwes), neuter; a common Teutonic word. Compare Dutch stroo, Anglo-Saxon streaw, English straw, Old Icelandic strá (Gothic *strawa-), neuter. Its connection with streuen is evident, yet its exact relation is uncertain (Stroh, literally ‘hangings, embossed paper’?).