Origin and history of draw-string

"give motion to by the act of pulling," c. 1200, drauen, spelling alteration of Old English dragan "to drag, to draw, protract" (class VI strong verb; past tense drog, past participle dragen), from Proto-Germanic *draganan "to draw, pull" (source also of Old Norse draga "to draw, drag, pull," Old Saxon dragan "to carry," Old Frisian drega, draga, Middle Dutch draghen "to carry, bring, throw," Old High German tragan "carry, bring, lead," German tragen "to carry, bear"), from PIE root *dhregh- (see drag (v.)).

Sense of "make a line or figure" (by "drawing" a pencil across paper) is from c. 1200. Meaning "remove or extract (a weapon) by pulling" is from late 12c., originally of a sword. Sense of "to pull (a bowstring)" is from c. 1200. To draw a criminal (drag him at the tail of a horse to the place of execution) is from c. 1300.

Meaning "select one (from a number of lots, etc.)" is from c. 1300. Sense of "bring (a crowd, an audience, etc.) by inducement or attraction" is from 1580s. Of a ship or boat, "to displace (a specified amount) of water," 1550s. In card-playing, "to take or receive (a card)," by 1772; draw-poker is by 1850. To draw out "lengthen, protract" is from 1550s; to draw the line in the figurative sense of "make a limit" is by 1793. To draw blood is from c. 1400.

The difference between [Draw Poker] and Poker is, that the player can draw from the pack as many cards as he may wish,—not exceeding five,—which must be given him by the dealer; but previous to drawing he must take from his original hand the game number as he may wish to draw, and lay them in the centre of the table. ["Bohn's New Hand-Book of Games," Philadelphia, 1850]

Middle English streng, from Old English streng "line, slender cord, thick thread," also a rope, also the string of a bow or harp, which tightly stretched produces the tone; in plural "tackle, rigging;" also "lineage, race." This is from Proto-Germanic *strangiz (source also of Old Norse strengr, Danish streng, Middle Dutch strenge, Dutch streng, Old High German strang, German Strang "rope, cord"). This is reconstructed to be from *strang- "taut, stiff," from a PIE root *strenk- "tight, narrow."

The sense gradually restricted by early Middle English to lines that are smaller than a rope. The meaning "a number of objects arranged in a file or on a string" is recorded by late 15c.; of successes, disasters, etc., "continuous series or succession," by 1710.

The Old English meaning "ligaments, tendons" is preserved in hamstring (n.), heart-strings.

To pull strings "control the course of affairs" (1860) is an image from marionette theater.

The meaning "limitation, stipulation" (1888) is American English, in political jargon, and could be from the (then-)common April Fool's prank of setting down a money-purse as though dropped, then from seclusion tugging it away with a hidden string when someone stoops to pick it up. Hence the figurative phrase no strings attached (by 1951), though this is confusable with the notion of puppet strings.

First string, second string, etc. in athletics (1863) is said to be from archers carrying a spare bowstring in the event the other broke. The figure of have two strings to one's bow "have alternative resources" is in English by 1540s.

Strings "stringed instruments" is attested from mid-14c.; string-band "band composed of stringed instruments" is by 1889, American English. String bean is from 1759, probably so called for its fibrous threads; string bikini is by 1974, for the straps that hold the fabric together.