stray(动词/形容词)常指“走失、迷路;偏离(路线/主题)”,也可形容“走失的(动物等)”或“零散的、偶然的(想法/光线等)”。(另有名词用法:走失者/流浪动物等。)
/streɪ/
A stray dog followed me home.
一只走失的狗跟着我回了家。
His thoughts began to stray from the main topic as the meeting went on.
会议进行下去时,他的思路开始偏离主要话题。
stray源自古法语 estraier(“离开正路、徘徊、走失”),进一步可追溯到拉丁语 extra(“在外面”)相关的词根意义,核心概念是“从原本的路径/范围跑到外面”。