An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/sträuben
sträuben, vb., ‘to ruffle or bristle up, resist,’ from *striuben (for which striubeln occurs), OHG. strûben, wk. vb., also MidHG. strûben, OHG. strûbên, ‘to stand motionless, look fixedly, rise aloft, bristle up, resist.’ Comp. MidHG. strûp (b), ‘bristling up,’ strobeleht, strûbeleht, ‘bristly.’ To this streifen is allied. In the non-Teut. languages indubitable cognates of the genuine Teut. root strū̆b, ‘to be coarse,’ are wanting; yet comp. Gr. στρυφνὸς, ‘bitter, firm, stout’?.