straffen

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) to punish
2. (transitive) to sentence

Noun

plural of straf

Concepts

punish

penalize

chastise

sentence

correct

boot

amerce

sconce

rebuke

ferule

smite

chasten

lambast

penalise

scourge

Hyphenated as

straf‧fen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈstrɑfə(n)/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch straffen, probably from Middle High German strāfen, which may go back to Proto-West Germanic *strēpōn, of uncertain ultimate origin, but possibly related to *streupan (“to squeeze, press, graze”). The short vowel and geminate in Dutch in contrast to the Middle High German long vowel is peculiar. Note however that forms with a long vowel do occur in dialectal Dutch.