'strobe' originates from Modern English, specifically as a shortening of the word 'stroboscope', where the Greek root 'strob-' (from 'strobos') meant 'whirling, turning'.

'strobe' changed from the word 'stroboscope' (coined in the 19th century from Greek 'strobos' + 'skopein') and was later shortened to the modern English word 'strobe' in the 20th century.

Initially, it referred to the instrument for observing or producing rapid flashes of light ('stroboscope'), but over time it evolved into its current meanings of a flashing light device/flash and the action of flashing ('to strobe').