strafe

Where does the word "strafe" come from? It comes from German strafen, passing through German before entering English (1915 onward).

Strafe’s story begins in German: strafen meant “to punish.” Ordinary German verb for punishing. Within German, it grew into Gott strafe England by 1914. Popular WWI slogan meaning 'God punish England', picked up ironically by British troops. It reached English by 1915 onward as strafe. British soldiers' slang for any attack, later narrowed to low-flying gun attacks. Today, strafe means to attack with gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.

1. Stage 1 · German · medieval strafen "to punish", ordinary German verb for punishing.
2. Stage 2 · German · 1914 Gott strafe England "God punish England", popular WWI slogan meaning 'God punish England', picked up ironically by British troops.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1915 onward strafe "to attack ground troops with gunfire from a low-flying aircraft", British soldiers' slang for any attack, later narrowed to low-flying gun attacks.