Straggling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Trailing far from others or being disorganized in movement
2. Moving at a slow pace while being disconnected from a main group or direction
3. Being behind others in a line or group while moving ; distributed unevenly or loosely over an area

Etymology: The verb "straggle" has an origin that resists certainty. Its Middle English form, "straglen", is of uncertain origin, and one possibility is that it is related to a Norwegian dialect word, "stragla", meaning to walk laboriously. If that link holds, the sense of heavy, uneven walking came first and the idea of falling behind a group grew out of it. The "-ing" ending is a simple addition to the base verb, so the word's meaning comes entirely from "straggle" itself. Its core idea is wandering off from the rest, whether that is a soldier lagging behind a column, a plant growing in an untidy direction, or a village spreading out past its edges.

Synonyms: lagging, dawdling, trailing

Antonyms: leading, hurrying, rushing