stray
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English
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Pronunciation
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English stray, strey, from Anglo-Norman estray, stray, Old French estrai, from the verb (see below).
Noun
[edit]stray (plural strays)
- Any domestic animal that has no enclosure nor proper place and company, but that instead wanders at large or is lost; an estray.
- One who is lost, literally or figuratively.
- An act of wandering off or going astray.
- (historical) An area of common land for use by domestic animals generally.
- (British, law, archaic) Often in the form waif(s) and stray(s): an article of movable property, of which the owner is not known (see waif).
- (radio) An instance of atmospheric interference.
- 1926, Popular Radio, volume 9, page 191:
- 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.
- 1942, John C. Mathisson, Radio Acoustic Ranging, page 652:
- 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 […]
- 1976, IEEE Power Engineering Society, Nuclear Power: Health, Safety, Waste Disposal, page 20:
- Electromagnetic interference EMI, radio interference RI, television interference TVI, and radio frequency interference RFI, can all be described as a confusion to received radio signals due to strays and undesirable signals.
- Ellipsis of stray bullet.
- 1993, “Just Another Day”, in Black Reign, performed by Queen Latifah:
- Hit by a stray, but I pray that there's a hood in heaven
- (slang) A casual or offhand insult.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]domestic animal at large or lost
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act of wandering or going astray
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area of common land
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Etymology 2
[edit]From Middle English strayen, partly from Old French estraier, from Vulgar Latin via strata,[1] and partly from Middle English strien, streyen, streyȝen (“to spread, scatter”), from Old English strēġan (“to strew”).
Verb
[edit]stray (third-person singular simple present strays, present participle straying, simple past and past participle strayed)
- (intransitive) To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.
- 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill:
- Thames among the wanton valleys strays.
- (intransitive) To wander from company or outside proper limits; to rove or roam at large; to go astray.
- (intransitive) 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.
- November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
- (transitive) To cause to stray; lead astray.
- c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], line 51:
- Hath not else his eye / Strayed his affection in unlawful love,
- 1899, John Buchan, No Man's Land:
- 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.
Translations
[edit]to wander from a direct course
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to wander from company or from proper limits
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to err
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Etymology 3
[edit]From Middle English stray, from the noun (see above).
Adjective
[edit]stray (not comparable)
- Having gone astray; strayed; wandering
- The alley is full of stray cats rummaging through the garbage.
- 2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian[1]:
- 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
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]having gone astray
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in the wrong place
References
[edit]- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stray”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/eɪ
- Rhymes:English/eɪ/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sterh₃-
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
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- English verbs
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