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stray

[strey]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stray ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

noun

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

depart, wander, diverge, swerve, err, drift, roam, meander, deviate, digress, divagate, ramble, sin, traipse, turn, range, rove, straggle, gad, gallivant

Origin of stray

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English strayen, aphetic variant of astraien, estraien < Middle French estraier < Vulgar Latin *extrāvagāre to wander out of bounds (see extravagant); (noun) Middle English, in part derivative of the v., in part < Anglo-French stray, Middle French estrai, derivative of estraier
Related formsstray·er, nounun·stray·ing, adjective

Synonyms for stray

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stray ON THESAURUS.COM
1. rove, range. 2. meander. 3. err.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for strays

strays

pl n

Also called: stray capacitance electronics undesired capacitance in equipment, occurring between the wiring, between the wiring and the chassis, or between components and the chassis
telecomm another word for static (def. 9)

stray

verb (intr)

to wander away, as from the correct path or from a given area
to wander haphazardly
to digress from the point, lose concentration, etc
to deviate from certain moral standards

noun

  1. a domestic animal, fowl, etc, that has wandered away from its place of keeping and is lost
  2. (as modifier)stray dogs
a lost or homeless person, esp a childwaifs and strays
an isolated or random occurrence, specimen, etc, that is out of place or outside the usual pattern

adjective

scattered, random, or haphazarda stray bullet grazed his thigh
Derived Formsstrayer, noun

Word Origin for stray

C14: from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin estragāre (unattested), from Latin extrā- outside + vagāri to roam; see astray, extravagant, stravaig
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for strays

stray

v.

c.1300, a shortening of Old French estraier "wander about," literally "go about the streets," from estree "route, highway," from Late Latin via strata "paved road" (see street). On another theory, the Old French word is from Vulgar Latin *estragare, a contraction of *estravagare, representing Latin extra vagari "to wander outside" (see extravagant). Figurative sense of "to wander from the path of rectitude" is attested from early 14c.

stray

n.

"domestic animal found wandering," early 13c., from Old French estraié "strayed," past participle of estraier (see stray (v.)). The adjective is first recorded c.1600.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper