stranger

Everyday

1. A person you do not know. tree →
2. A person who is new to a place: «I'm a stranger here». tree →
3. Comparative of «strange»: more unusual: «The story got stranger and stranger». tree →

In the lessons

In safety lessons: most strangers are kind, but you don't go anywhere with a stranger, take things from them, or tell them personal information without a trusted adult saying it is okay; if a stranger makes you feel uncomfortable, say no, get away and tell an adult. If you are lost, ask a «safe stranger» for help: a police officer, a shop worker at the till, or a parent with children. Online: people you chat with may be strangers pretending. Phrases: stranger danger, a complete stranger, no stranger to, safe stranger, stranger than.

Examples

• Don't get into a car with a stranger. tree →
• A stranger asked me for directions, so I fetched my mum. tree →
• If you're lost, ask a shop worker for help. tree →
• She was a complete stranger to me. tree →
• Never tell a stranger online where you live. tree →
• Our new neighbours were strangers, but now they are friends. tree →
• The noises got stranger and stranger. tree →
• He's no stranger to hard work. tree →
• "Howdy, Daddy Ben?" the stranger exclaimed. tree →

Note

Countable: strangers. Two words that look the same: a stranger (a person) and stranger (more strange). «Stranger danger» is a simple slogan, but the real rule is about tricky behaviour: anyone asking you to keep secrets or go somewhere without telling your parents.

In Jewish tradition

A "stranger" is a foreigner who lives among the Israelites, a resident from another people, not just somebody unknown. In the Prophets and Writings it can also mean outsiders who take over, as when Israel's land goes to strangers, and in Proverbs it means someone outside the family.

Interpretation. The Torah repeats many times that the stranger must be loved and treated fairly, because Israel was a stranger in Egypt. The rabbis count this among the most often repeated commands and later use the word ger for a convert. The Psalms blame those who kill the widow and stranger, and Lamentations mourns the land lost to strangers.

Examples

• Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Torah DEU.10.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• Cursed be he that perverteth the justice due to the stranger, fatherless, and widow. (Torah DEU.27.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong. (Torah LEV.19.33, JPS 1917) tree →
• Our inheritance is turned unto strangers, our houses unto aliens. (Writings LAM.5.2, JPS 1917) tree →
• They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. (Writings PSA.94.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. (Writings PRO.5.17, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: strangers. Two words that look the same: a stranger (a person) and stranger (more strange). «Stranger danger» is a simple slogan, but the real rule is about tricky behaviour: anyone asking you to keep secrets or go somewhere without telling your parents.

Early Modern English

Meaning

A person who is not from the land and lives among its people without being one of their family or nation. tree →

Then and now

Today a stranger is someone you do not know. The old sense is a foreigner living among a people. The first and third sentences use the old sense; the second uses today's sense.

Examples

• Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Torah DEU.10.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• "Howdy, Daddy Ben?" the stranger exclaimed. (Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings) tree →
• Cursed be he that perverteth the justice due to the stranger, fatherless, and widow. (Torah DEU.27.19, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: foreigner living in the land.