stray
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English, from Old French estraier (v), and estrai (noun), from Vulgar Latin via strata, paved road[1].
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
stray (plural strays)
- Any domestic animal that has an enclosure, or its proper place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an estray.
- (figuratively) One who is lost, either literally or metaphorically.
- The act of wandering or going astray.
- (historical) An area of common land or place administered for the use of general domestic animals, i.e. "the stray"
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
domestic animal at large or lost
act of wandering or going astray
area of common land
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Verb[edit]
stray (third-person singular simple present strays, present participle straying, simple past and past participle strayed)
- (intransitive) To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.
- (intransitive) To wander from company, or from the proper limits; to rove at large; to roam; to go astray.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To wander from the path of duty or rectitude; to err.
- (transitive) To cause to stray.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
Translations[edit]
to wander from a direct course
to wander from company or from proper limits
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figuratively: to err
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Synonyms[edit]
Adjective[edit]
stray (not comparable)
- Having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a stray horse or sheep.
- In the wrong place; misplaced.
- a stray comma
Translations[edit]
having gone astray
