Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - stray

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estraie, past participle of estraier  Date: 13th century  1.  a. a domestic animal that is wandering at large or is lost  b. a person or thing that ~s  2. Middle English, from straien to ~ archaic the act of going a~  II. intransitive verb  Etymology: Middle English straien, from Anglo-French estraier, from Vulgar Latin *extravagare, from Latin extra- outside + vagari to wander — more at extra-  Date: 14th century wander: as  a. to wander from company, restraint, or proper limits  b. to roam about without fixed direction or purpose  c. to move in a winding course ; meander  d. to move without conscious or intentional effort eyes ~ing absently around the room  e. to become distracted from an argument or chain of thought ~ed from the point  f. to wander accidentally from a fixed or chosen route  g. err, sin  • ~er noun  III. adjective  Date: 1589  1. having ~ed or escaped from a proper or intended place a ~ dog hit by a ~ bullet fixed a few ~ hairs  2. occurring at random or sporadically a few ~ thoughts  3. not serving any useful purpose ; unwanted ~ light