stroke
Preserved but no longer current.
The captain of a crew, the man who sets the pace, and is generally the leading spirit in the boat. The coxswain usually looks after University men when they are in training, so that they may not fall into excesses, the STROKE having quite enough to do to attend to his own training. Of late years University crews have placed themselves under the guidance and tuition of "coaches," generally ex-University men of great ability and experience.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “stroke” mean?
The captain of a crew, the man who sets the pace, and is generally the leading spirit in the boat. The coxswain usually looks after University men when they are in training, so that they may not fall into excesses, the STROKE having quite enough to do to attend to his own training. Of late years University crews have placed themselves under the guidance and tuition of "coaches," generally ex-University men of great ability and experience.
Is “stroke” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.