straggle
/ˈstɹæɡl̩/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.44 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An irregular, spread-out group.
Example Sentences
- "He straggled away from the crowd and went off on his own."
- "What, feareful coward, ſtragling from the camp, When Kings themſelues are preſent in the field?"
- "The wolf spy'd out a straggling Kid."
- "Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out."
- "Our Authors ſay there are no Elephants in China, which muſt be underſtood of the Provinces they knew, where, in truth, there are none. Father Martini writes, that they begin to be met with at Nanning, in the Province of Quangli, where the Inhabitants uſe them for War and for Carriage. Some there are alſo in the Province of Junnan ; nor is it a wonder that theſe Creatures, who ſo ſwarm in the Indies, and in Tungkin or Tonquin, ſhould ſtraggle hither."
- "The roses had been allowed to straggle across the path."
Etymology
From Middle English straglen, of uncertain origin, possibly from (or cognate to) dialectal Norwegian stragla (“to walk laboriously”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: straglen, stragla