STRAYING
straying
(adjective) unable to find your way; “found the straying sheep”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Verb
straying
present participle of stray
Noun
straying (plural strayings)
The act of one who strays; deviation or sin - often sexual infidelity.
Anagrams
• stingray
Source: Wiktionary
STRAY
Stray, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Strayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Straying.] Etym:
[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.
While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray.
Cowper.
Syn.
– To deviate; err; swerve; rove; roam; wander.
Stray, v. t.
Definition: To cause to stray. [Obs.] Shak.
Stray, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. estraié, p.p. of estraier. See Stray, v. i.,
and cf. Astray, Estray.]
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition