Strikethrough

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈstɹaɪk.θɹu/

Definitions

1. A typographical effect where text is displayed with a horizontal line through its center to indicate deletion, correction, or emphasis; a method of marking errors or removals in writing or digital content; a style used to show that something is no longer valid or relevant
2. A visual representation applied to characters that places a line across the middle to signal cancellation or replacement; used in editing and formatting to highlight modifications or outdated information; a way to denote that text should be disregarded without removing it entirely
3. An effect in text processing featuring a line cutting through letters to represent omission or correction; serves to draw attention to changes or negations in documents; a formatting tool that indicates something has been struck out or invalidated

Etymology: "Strikethrough" is a deverbal noun, formed from the phrasal verb "strike through," meaning the noun came from the verb rather than the other way round. "Strike" here carries its old sense of drawing a stroke or line across something, the same action a scribe performs with a pen, and "through" describes the line passing across the text. The phrase "strike through" was in use first, and the compact noun grew out of it. The reversal is the surprising part. In at least some cases, the verb "to strikethrough" appears to be a back-formation from the noun, even though it duplicates what "strike through" already says. Speakers apparently took the noun, which named the mark, and turned it into a verb for making the mark, so a shorter form of an existing phrase ended up producing a new verb.

Synonyms: strikeout, cross out, delete line

Antonyms: underline, highlight