strain¹ (strān)

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[Middle English streinen, from Old French estreindre, estrein-, to bind tightly, from Latin stringere.]

verb: strained, strain·ing, strains. 

transitive verb 

1. To pull, draw, or stretch tight: strained the sheets over the bed.
2. To exert or tax to the utmost: straining our ears to hear.
3. To injure or impair by overuse or overexertion; wrench: strain a muscle.
4. To stretch or force beyond the proper or legitimate limit: strain a point.
5. Physics To alter (the relations between the parts of a structure or shape) by applying an external force; deform.
6. 1. To pass (gravy, for example) through a filtering agent such as a strainer.
   2. To draw off or remove by filtration: strained the pulp from the juice.
7. To embrace or clasp tightly; hug.

intransitive verb 

1. To make violent or steady efforts; strive hard: straining to reach the finish line.
2. To be or become wrenched or twisted.
3. To be subjected to great stress.
4. To pull forcibly or violently: The dog strained at its leash.
5. To stretch or exert one's muscles or nerves to the utmost.
6. To filter, trickle, or ooze.
7. To be extremely hesitant; balk: a mule that strained at the lead.

noun 

1. 1. The act of straining.
   2. The state of being strained.
2. 1. Extreme or laborious effort, exertion, or work.
   2. A great or excessive pressure, demand, or stress on one's body, mind, or resources: the strain of managing both a family and a career.
3. A wrench, twist, or other physical injury resulting from excessive tension, effort, or use.
4. Physics A deformation produced by stress.
5. An exceptional degree or pitch: a strain of zealous idealism.

strain² (strān)

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[Middle English strene, from Old English strēon, something gained, progeny.]

noun 

1. The collective descendants of a common ancestor; a race, stock, line, or breed.
2. Any of the various lines of ancestry united in an individual or a family; ancestry or lineage.
3. Biology A group of organisms of the same species, having distinctive characteristics but not usually considered a separate breed or variety: a superior strain of wheat; a smooth strain of bacteria.
4. An artificial variety of a domestic animal or cultivated plant.
5. A kind or sort: imaginings of a morbid strain.
6. 1. An inborn or inherited tendency or character.
   2. An inherent quality; a streak. See synonyms at streak
7. 1. The tone, tenor, or substance of a verbal utterance or of a particular action or behavior: spoke in a passionate strain.
   2. A prevailing quality, as of attitude or behavior.
8. Music A passage of expression; a tune or an air. Often use in the plural: melodic strains of the violin.
9. 1. A passage of poetic and especially lyrical expression.
   2. An outburst or a flow of eloquent or impassioned language.