I. ˈstrā verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English straien, from Middle French estraier from (assumed) Vulgar Latin extragare, from Latin extra- outside + vagari to wander — more at extra- , vagary
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to wander from company, from confinement or restraint, or from the proper limits : rove at large
leaving a gate open so that cattle stray — Agnes M. Miall
the two had strayed apart where the woods were deepest — Mary Austin
b. : to leave a natural or accustomed habitat or environment
fruit trees and strayed garden flowers deep in the woods — Bernard DeVoto
the most courteous … of eighteenth-century grands seigneurs strayed out of his age into ours — Gerald Abraham
of adults … at least one-tenth might never had strayed outside in their lives — G.G.Coulton
2.
a. : to roam about without fixed direction or purpose : wander at random
fetid back alleys where we sometimes strayed — Marvin Barret
b. : to move in a winding course : meander
c. : to move without voluntary control or under external compulsion
my hand automatically strays towards my pocket — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
eyes straying absently around the room
3.
a.
(1) : to engage temporarily or momentarily in sinful, immoral, or other than praiseworthy actions or thoughts : err
(2) : to think or utter ideas contrary to or different from an accepted dogma
those who strayed from the party line — Kurt Glaser
b. : to become distracted from an argument or chain of thought : take up a tangential point
I have strayed from my … role of historian … to indulge in a bit of prophecy — J.B.Conant
4. : to wander accidentally from a direct or chosen route : lose one's way : deviate
strayed off the road … in the dark of the moon — Mary Webb
the unit strayed across the border by mistake — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
5. : to present a haphazard or unkempt appearance
black hair that strayed carelessly about her face — Liam O'Flaherty
a leading article (which regrettably strays from page to page among the advertisements) — Times Literary Supplement
transitive verb
1. archaic : to cause to stray
2. archaic : to roam through or over
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estray, from Old French estraié, past participle of estraier to stray
1.
a.
(1) : a domestic animal that has left an enclosure or its proper place and company and wanders at large or is lost subject to impoundment and if unredeemed to forfeiture : estray
(2) : an animal that has strayed
the shepherd rounded up the flock's strays
(3) : an unidentified domestic animal (as a dog or an unbranded steer) wandering at large
b.
(1) : a person or thing that strays or has strayed : a detached, isolated, or vagrant individual : straggler , waif
harbored white renegades and strays from hostile tribes — American Guide Series: Tennessee
do not own more than three books other than casual contemporary strays — J.W.Krutch
(2) : an animal or plant found outside its natural range or habitat or out of season
c. obsolete : a group of strayed animals, people, or things
hast thou seen a stray of bullocks and of heifers pass this way — Joseph Addison
2.
[Middle English, from straien to stray]
archaic : the act or process of going astray or of strolling aimlessly
I would not from your love make such a stray — Shakespeare
3. Britain : common land or pasturage ; also : the right to allow one's stock to stray and feed thereon
4.
a. : an electrical effect that is not produced by a transmitting station and that disturbs the reception of receiving apparatus
b. : an electric wave or current causing a stray — compare atmospherics
5. : an unexpected formation encountered in drilling an oil or gas well
III. adjective
Etymology: stray (II)
1.
a. : escaped from confinement, supervision, or restraint or from a group of its kind
stray cow
stray dog
stray child
b. : having been lost, misplaced, or forgotten
the other fellows take handkerchiefs home and stray coats sometimes — Janet Frame
2. : wandering lost, aimless, or isolated from the normal or principal body, habitat, or course
details picked up from stray survivors — John Mason Brown
account for every stray traveller in the mountains — Owen Wister
a stray enemy group may at any time swoop down — Ed Cunningham
3.
a. : occurring or appearing sporadically or at random
stray acquaintances met with in hotel rooms and aeroplanes — Geographical Journal
the white dogwood were stray handfuls of confetti in the young green — Horace Sutton
b. : touched upon or met with only in passing or in haste : occasional , incidental
a series of scenes that (except for stray ones) register honestly — John Kerry
one or two stray expressions that have evaded revision — Times Literary Supplement
a stray weekly hour of hygiene — Hortense Calisher
c. : scattered about
on our knees retrieving stray cigarettes — A. Conan Doyle
collecting stray hairs from the farm horses' tails — W.P.Smith
stray members of the congregation moved by the spirit may be prophesying in unknown tongues — W.L.Sperry
4. : not serving any useful purpose : unwanted
necessarily results in serious errors when stray light … is not absorbed by the optical system — H.A.Stahl
insulate them … so that no stray current is introduced into the circuit — A.C.Morrison
5. : written hastily or thoughtlessly and published in obscure or ephemeral journals
wrote only one complete novel and a few stray pieces and fragments — Henri Peyre