străin

Etymology
, through a intermediate form; the expected normal phonetic result in Romanian from the base Latin word would be, so it must have come from a derivative form. It is likely that Latin produced several popular altered variant or derived forms (cf. Italian/Tuscan, Calabrian strainu ("without a master")). Several conjectures exist but none have arrived at a definitive and universally accepted etymology: one possibility is through a metathesized form (cf. Romanian  <,  < ); other proposals include Latin , or , or. The now obsolete 16th century derivative, indicates it is almost surely an inherited term.

Adjective

 * 1) foreign, strange

Noun

 * 1) stranger
 * 2) foreigner, alien