A long narrow piece. Also to remove what covers — the same word for a band and for taking away.
Middle Dutch strippe (a strap, a narrow band) stands beside Middle Low German strippen (to strip off); English kept both senses under one spelling, the narrow piece and the removing of a covering.
A long narrow piece, and the act of removing what covers something. One spelling carries a band and a bareness, and only the sentence around it says which.