Stray word meaning and definition

[noun] homeless cat
[adjective] not close together in time; "isolated instances of rebellion"; "scattered fire"; "a stray bullet grazed his thigh"
[verb] lose clarity or turn aside esp. from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking; "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture"
[verb] move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"
[verb] wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"
[verb] wander from a direct or straight course

\Stray\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Strayed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Straying}.] [OF. estraier, estraer, to stray, or as adj., stray, fr. (assumed) L. stratarius roving the streets, fr. L. strata (sc. via) a paved road. See {Street}, and {Stray}, a.] 1. To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way. Thames among the wanton valleys strays. --Denham. 2. To wander from company, or from the proper limits; to rove at large; to roam; to go astray. Now, until the break of day, Through this house each fairy stray. --Shak. A sheep doth very often stray. --Shak. 3. Figuratively, to wander from the path of duty or rectitude; to err. We have erred and strayed from thy ways. --??? of Com. Prayer. While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray. --Cowper. Syn: To deviate; err; swerve; rove; roam; wander.
\Stray\, v. t. To cause to stray. [Obs.] --Shak.
\Stray\, a. [Cf. OF. estrai['e], p. p. of estraier. See {Stray}, v. i., and cf. {Astray}, {Estray}.] Having gone astray; strayed; wandering; as, a strayhorse or sheep. {Stray line} (Naut.), that portion of the log line which is veered from the reel to allow the chip to get clear of the stern eddies before the glass is turned. {Stray mark} (Naut.), the mark indicating the end of the stray line.
\Stray\, n. 1. Any domestic animal that has an inclosure, or its proper place and company, and wanders at large, or is lost; an estray. Used also figuratively. Seeing him wander about, I took him up for a stray. --Dryden. 2. The act of wandering or going astray. [R.] --Shak.

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