Estrays

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Animals that have wandered away from their owner or proper place ; items or goods found abandoned and unclaimed ; livestock or property that is lost or strayed from its original location
2. Domestic creatures that have become separated from their keeper or usual environment ; objects or possessions discovered without an apparent owner ; farm animals or belongings that have moved beyond their designated boundaries
3. Animals lost or missing from their owner's control ; goods or chattels that have been left unattended ; stray livestock or property that has wandered off from its intended area

Etymology: "Estrays" is simply the plural of "estray", a term for a domestic animal that has wandered away from its owner and been found by someone else. The singular came into Middle English as "astrai", borrowed from Anglo-Norman "estray", which in turn came from the Old French verb "estraier", meaning to wander or go astray. The word is a doublet of "stray", meaning that both words descend from the same Old French verb but reached English by different routes. "Stray" came in more directly, while "estray" kept a more legal and specialised sense, which is why it survives mainly for livestock found wandering on another person's land. The two forms share a single ancestor but took on separate lives in English.

Synonyms: strays, lost animals, wanderers, vagrants

Antonyms: owned animals, domesticated animals