v. & n.
v.intr. 1 lack or lose compactness or tidiness. 2 be or become dispersed or sporadic. 3 trail behind others in a march or race etc. 4 (of a plant, beard, etc.) grow long and loose.
n. a body or group of straggling or scattered persons or things. straggler n. straggly adj. (stragglier, straggliest).
[ ME, perh. rel. to dial. strake go, rel. to STRETCH ]