An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Straße

by Friedrich Kluge

Straße, f., ‘street, road,’ from the equiv. MidHG. strâȥe, f., OHG. strâȥa, f.; a common West Teut. term; comp. Du. straat, AS. strœ̂t, E. street, OSwed. strata, ‘road,’ ModSwed. stråt (OIc. strœ́ti and OSwed. strœti are derived from OE.). The form strâta, ‘street,’ was borrowed in the 1st cent. (perhaps contemporaneously with Pfund, Sack, Münze, &c.) from MidLat. strâta (scil. via, lit. ‘paved road’) before the Lat. t was softened to d in Rom.; comp. Ital. strada, Span. estrada, Fr. (dial.) étrée, to which OIr, sráth, ‘street,’ is allied.