stray
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L28053 on Wikidata ↗adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L28054 on Wikidata ↗verb
- wander
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /stɹeɪ/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English stray, from the noun (see above).
- Having gone astray; strayed; wandering.
“The alley is full of stray cats rummaging through the garbage.”
“The organisation fills many gaps left by the state, operating a dizzying array of services, including homes for victims of domestic violence, food banks and a shelter for stray animals.”
- In the wrong place; misplaced.
“a stray comma”
“a stray bullet”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below).
- Any domestic animal that lacks an enclosure, proper place, or company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.
- A person who is lost.
“But vvhat a vvretched, and diſconſolate Hermitage is that Houſe, vvhich is not viſited by thee [God], and vvhat a VVayue, and Stray is that Man, that hath not thy Markes vpon him?”
- An act of wandering off or going astray.
- An area of common land for use by domestic animals.
- An article of movable property, of which the owner is not known (see waif).
“waifs and strays”
- An instance of atmospheric interference.
“This invention relates broadly to radio communication, but more particularly to a radio receiving system used for the reception of high frequency current signals wherever they are subject to interference from "static" or strays of an untuned or aperiodic character.”
“Because of their shortness, such signals are usually easy to distinguish from the bomb returns but, when such a stray is recorded just before the bomb return, too close to be distinguished by ear […]”
- A casual or offhand insult.
- A submissive that has not committed to submit to any particular dominant, particulary in petplay.
- Ellipsis of stray bullet.
“catch a stray”
“Hit by a stray, but I pray that there's a hood in heaven”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English strayen, partly from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin via strata, and partly from Middle English strien, streyen, streyȝen (“to spread, scatter”), from Old English strēġan (“to strew”).
- To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.
“Thames among the wanton valleys strays.”
- To wander from company or outside proper limits; to rove or roam at large; to go astray.
- To wander from the path of duty or rectitude; to err.
“November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk It was a derby that left Manchester United a long way back in Manchester City’s wing-mirrors and, in the worst moments, straying dangerously close to being their own worst enemy.”
- To cause to stray; lead astray.
“Hath not else his eye / Strayed his affection in unlawful love,”
“To ease myself I was compelled to leave my basket behind me, trusting to return and find it, if I should ever reach safety and discover on what pathless hill I had been strayed.”