strangle

Etymology

From Middle English stranglen, from Old French estrangler, from Latin strangulō, strangulāre, from Ancient Greek στραγγαλόομαι (strangalóomai, “to strangle”), from στραγγάλη (strangálē, “a halter”); compare στραγγός (strangós, “twisted”) and string. Displaced Middle English wirien, awurien (“to strangle”) (> English worry).

verb

1. (transitive) To kill someone by squeezing the throat so as to cut off the oxygen supply; to choke, suffocate or throttle.
   He strangled his wife and dissolved the body in acid.
2. (transitive) To stifle or suppress.
   She strangled a scream.
3. (intransitive) To be killed by strangulation, or become strangled.
   The cat slipped from the branch and strangled on its bell-collar.
4. (intransitive) To be stifled, choked, or suffocated in any manner.

noun

1. (finance) A trading strategy using options, constructed through taking equal positions in a put and a call with different strike prices, such that there is a payoff if the underlying asset's value moves beyond the range of the two strike prices.