estray

[ih-strey]

noun

1. a person or animal that has strayed.

2. Law.,  a domestic animal, as a horse or a sheep, found wandering or without an owner.

verb (used without object)

1. Archaic.,  to stray.

estray

/ ɪˈstreɪ /

noun

1. law a stray domestic animal of unknown ownership

Word History and Origins

Origin of estray¹

1250–1300; Middle English astrai < Anglo-French estray, derivative of Old French estraier to stray

Word History and Origins

Origin of estray¹

C16: from Anglo-French, from Old French estraier to _stray

Example Sentences

“Throughout the past year, we offered real solutions to the Forest Service for the Gila estray problem. Those solutions would address the immediate issue, provide long-term resolution and would be humane.”

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Ott says she looks forward to working with the group in their shared goal of a sustainable, long-term solution for managing the more than 2,000 state-owned, estray horses in the Virginia Range.

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A 19-year-old from Springfield was eventually charged with “taking up an estray without first notifying the Department of Agriculture.”

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An estray from the Polar North, he had been blown far out to sea in a hurricane.

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Estray, e-strā′, n. a beast found within a manor or lordship, and not owned.—v.i. to stray.

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