Forms: 5 stragyll, 5–6 stragel, 5–8 stragle, 6– straggle. [Of somewhat uncertain etymology; perh. an alteration of *strackle frequentative f. STRAKE v.: see -LE. Cf. dial. strackle-brain, strackling, a giddy, thoughtless person (which, however, may be connected rather with stract DISTRACT a.) The dial. strag a vagabond, a stray pigeon, may perh. be a back-formation from the verb.]
1. intr. To wander or stray from the proper road, one’s companions, etc.; to rove without fixed direction; to go up and down dispersedly. Often conjugated with be. Often with adv., as about, abroad, away, behind.
c. 1400. Master of Game (MS. Digby 182), xxxv. Þe forster shulde haue men redely þere too meete with hym, þat þei go no ferther nor stragle aboute.
c. 1450. Brut, 576. Both horsemen and footemen, with huntyng of hem, were stragelt abrode ouer all þe feldys, and were al out of array.
1461. Paston Lett., II. 3. The have no capteyn ner rewler … and so thei stragyll abowte be them self.
1583. Stubbes, Anat. Abus., II. (1882), 89. [They] runne stragling and rouing … from towne to towne.
1589. Greene, Menaphon (Arb.), 23. To see if any of his ewes and lambes were straggled downe to the strond.
1642. Fuller, Holy & Prof. St., III. xi. 178. There is no danger that weak folks if they walk abroad will straggle farre.
1669. Dryden, Tempest, III. (1670), 34. He … looks about him like a Callow-bird Just straggl’d from the nest.
1707. Mortimer, Husb., 195. Turkeys being very apt to straggle will often be laying their Eggs in secret places.
1711. Addison, Spect., No. 130, ¶ 1. They [the gipsies] generally straggle into these Parts about this Time of the Year.
1768. G. White, Selborne, To Pennant, 28 Nov. It is very extraordinary … that a bird so common with us should never straggle to you.
1776. Pennant, Brit. Zool. (ed. 4), I. 142. When the first crowd [of seals] is past, they kill as many as straggle behind.
1788. G. Keate, Pelew Isl., x. 110–1. Captain Wilson’s servant, who was straggling about with his gun to kill some fowl for dinner.
1877. H. Saunders, in Proc. Zool. Soc. (1878), 171. An individual of this species [Larus affinis] which had straggled to Greenland.
b. spec. of a soldier: To wander from the line of march, stray from one’s company. Also of a ship: To stray from the line of battle. Of a sailor: To be absent from his ship without leave or overstay his leave.
1529. Rastell, Pastyme (1811), 227. .xx. archers whiche straggled from theyr companye.
1598. Barret, Theor. Warres, IV. i. 102. To be carefull that the souldiers straggle not.
1648. Gage, West Ind., 201. She was somewhat far stragled from the rest of the ships.
1760. Cautions & Advices to Officers of Army, 171. Keep then at the head of your Pelotoon … and suffer not the Men of it to straggle or break their Rank.
1790. Beatson, Nav. & Mil. Mem., I. 188. The Rear-Admiral’s division had straggled, and was a great way astern of the centre.
1831. Scott, Ct. Robt., vii. If any straggle from their standards, or insult the country by marauding.
1863. A. Young, Naut. Dict., 395. People who have overstaid their leave of absence, or straggled.
1913. Q. Rev., Oct., 555. They sickened or straggled or frankly deserted.
† c. Of a merchant: To intrude into a market where he has no licence to trade; to ‘interlope.’ Obs. Cf. STRAGGLER c, STRAGGLING ppl. a. b.
1588. Acts Privy Council, XVI. 83. The Merchauntes … goe straglinge about all the countrey adjoyninge, forstallinge, inhansinge, and raysinge the pryce of all kynd of commodytyes there.
1601, 1622. [see STRAGGLING vbl. sb.].
d. transf. and fig. (of persons and things).
1588. Greene, Metamorph. (1617), G 4 b. Be thou stedfast and no doubt thou shalt not finde him stragling.
1632. trans. Bruel’s Praxis Med., 329. The collicke … doth straggle ouer the whole region of the belly.
1641. Milton, Prel. Episc., Wks. 1851, III. 77. That sovran Book which we had fondly straggl’d from.
a. 1661. Fuller, Triana (1867), 188. Vices straggle not alone, but go in companies.
c. 1698. Locke, Cond. Underst., § 29, Wks. 1714, III. 414. He that will observe Children, will find, that even when they endeavour their utmost, they cannot keep their Minds from straggling.
1711. Addison, Spect., No. 129, ¶ 6. One of the last Year’s little Muffs had by some means or other straggled into those Parts.
1758. L. Temple, Sketches (ed. 2), 35. To compress within three Lines, what must otherwise straggle into four.
1848. Dickens, Haunted Man (1887), 5. Its sun-dial in a little bricked-up corner, where no sun had straggled for a hundred years.
1885. Athenæum, 7 Feb., 193. Goldsmith … straggled into literature as the humble hack of Griffiths the bookseller.
1891. C. E. Norton, Dante’s Hell, xxv. 138. Here let the novelly be my excuse if my pen straggle a little.
e. Of a plant, branch, etc.: To grow irregularly or loosely; to spread or shoot too far. Similarly of hair. Cf. STRAGGLING ppl. a. c.
1693. Evelyn, De la Quint. Compl. Gard., Culture Orange-trees, 25. To Cut away … all that part which grows out of due Rank, and stragles beyond its bound.
1762. R. Lloyd, Author’s Apol., 179. Though prudence, and our nature’s pride May wish our weaknesses to hide, And set their hedges up before ’em, Some sprouts will branch, and straggle o’er ’em.
1841. Browning, Pippa Passes, I. Poems (1905), 167. How these tall Naked geraniums straggle!
f. Of inanimate objects: To be arranged dispersedly or irregularly; to be situated apart from any main body or from one another. Or a town, building, etc.: To be built irregularly and without compactness. Of a road, river, fence, etc.: To wind in an irregular course.
1611. Speed, Theat. Gt. Brit., xx. (1614), 39/1. The forme thereof is somewhat circular, with many indents to fetch in those Townes that are dispersedly stragled into her next Shire.
1613. Purchas, Pilgrimage, VIII. i. 607. Sometimes they finde it [silver] straggling, in peeces, not holding any continuing Veine.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies, Norf. (1662), 250. This said William Paston…, lies buryed in Norwich; so that his corps … do straggle from the Sepulture of their Ancestors, who … were all interred at Paston.
1662. J. Davies, trans. Olearius’ Voy. Ambass., 31. The River Oder,… straggles so, as that to come to the City from Dam side, a man must pass over six bridges.
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., xii. A little hamlet which straggled along the side of a creek.
1850. Hawthorne, Scarlet L., xvi. The road,… straggled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest.
1866. G. Macdonald, Ann. Q. Neighb., iii. (1878), 26. In another direction the houses went straggling away into a wood.
1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer, xvi. The … township … straggled around the edge of a sombre watercourse.
¶ 2. Misused for STRADDLE v. rare–1.
Cf. dial. straggle-bug = straddle-bug, strag-legs (Ireland) = straddle-legs.
1609. Holland, Amm. Marcell., XXII. xi. 206. The whole multitude … came upon Georgius, whome they haled and tugged with his legs and feet wide stragling.
3. † a. trans. To scatter, disperse. Obs. rare.
1589. Bigges, Summarie Drake’s W. Ind. Voy., 19. The dead body of one of our boyes, found by them stragling all alone, from whom they had taken his head and his heart, and had stragled the other bowels about the place.
b. passive. To be placed stragglingly. U.S.
1898. Secretan, To Klondyke & Back, xx. 109–10. A perpetually frozen muskeg is the foundation which will support the proposed Dawson City. At this time the ‘City’ consisted of several hundred tents straggled along in the mud for about a mile and a half.
1902. Munsey’s Mag., XXVI. 479/2. Few have seen the little, old town straggled along the backwater.
Hence Straggled ppl. a.
1641. Shirley, Cardinal, V. iii. (1652), 62. Ha? if the Dutchess in her stragled wits, Let fall words to betray me to the Cardinal.
1682. Dryden & Tate, Abs. & Achit., II. 1124. Thronging and busie as Hyblæan Swarms, Or stragled Souldiers Summon’d to their Arms.
1787. P. Oliver, 18 March, in T. Hutchinson’s Diary, II. 424. Having nothing but a rusty straggled nail to write with.
1805. Collingwood, 24 Oct., in Nicolas, Disp. Nelson (1846), VII. 217. The remnant of the Combined Fleet … stood up to leeward of my shattered and straggled charge as if meaning to attack them.
1884. ‘Vernon Lee,’ C’tess Albany, iii. 27. Its [Rome’s] straggled, black and filthy streets.
1887. Pall Mall Gaz., 15 July, 5/1. A rocky, splashing streamlet … fringed with patches of gorse and straggled belts of natural wood.
