Strain (?), n. [See Strene.] 1. Race; stock; generation; descent; family.
He is of a noble strain. Shak.
With animals and plants a cross between different varieties, or between individuals of the same variety but of another strain, gives vigor and fertility to the offspring. Darwin.
2. Hereditary character, quality, or disposition.
Intemperance and lust breed diseases, which, propogated, spoil the strain of nation. Tillotson.
3. Rank; a sort. “The common strain.” Dryden.