STrich

Strich is a German noun with several related senses revolving around the idea of a line or stroke. In everyday use it denotes a stroke or dash drawn by a pen, brush, or other implement, and it appears across art, design, and typography to describe a single line element. In visual contexts a Strich can refer to a brush stroke or pencil line in a drawing or painting.

In typography and punctuation, Strich appears in many compound terms. Gedankenstrich denotes the em dash used to indicate a break in thought, Bindestrich refers to the hyphen that connects words, Schrägstrich or slash marks the slash, and Unterstrich denotes the underscore used in writing and computing. The general sense of Strich as a line or dash underlies these terms.

In practical use, Strich also shows up in computing and everyday language as a way to name or describe a line-like symbol or mark, such as Strichcode for barcode, where lines encode information.

Etymology and related terms: Strich is of Germanic origin and is related to words for stripe and stroke, such as Streifen and Stich, reflecting the common idea of a drawn line or mark.

Other notes: The word Strich also exists as a surname in German-speaking regions, and individuals bearing the name are found in historical and contemporary contexts, though spelling and pronunciation may vary regionally.

See also: Gedankenstrich, Bindestrich, Schrägstrich, Unterstrich, Strichcode.