STRAGGLE

straggle

(noun) a wandering or disorderly grouping (of things or persons); “a straggle of outbuildings”; “a straggle of followers”

sprawl, straggle

(verb) go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way; “Branches straggling out quite far”

sidetrack, depart, digress, straggle

(verb) wander from a direct or straight course

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

straggle (third-person singular simple present straggles, present participle straggling, simple past and past participle straggled)

To stray from the road, course or line of march.

To wander about; ramble.

To spread at irregular intervals.

To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth.

To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.

Noun

straggle (plural straggles)

An irregular, spread-out group.

An outlier; something that has strayed beyond the normal limits.

Source: Wiktionary

Strag"gle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Straggled; p. pr. & vb. n. Straggling.] Etym: [Freq. of OE. straken to roam, to stroke. See Stroke, v. t.]

1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove; to stray; to wander from the line of march or desert the line of battle; as, when troops are on the march, the men should not straggle. Dryden.

2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble. The wolf spied out a straggling kid. L'Estrange.

3. To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth. Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out. Mortimer.

4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals. "Straggling pistol shots." Sir W. Scott. They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the straggling rocks. Sir W. Raleigh.

Strag"gle, n.

Definition: The act of straggling. [R.] Carlyle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition