strafe

Meanings

Verb

• To attack (ground targets) with automatic gunfire from a low-flying aircraft.
• To sidestep; to move sideways without turning (a core mechanic of most first-person shooters).

Noun

• An attack of machine-gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft.
• A sideways movement without turning.

Origin

• From German strafen ("punish") (a conjugated form of strafen), from phrases like "Gott strafe England" ("God punish England") which the British saw during the First World War.