estray

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es·tray

 (ĭ-strā′)
n. Law
A stray.
intr.v. es·trayed, es·tray·ing, es·trays Archaic
To stray.

[Middle English astrai, from Anglo-Norman estray, from estraier, to stray, from Old French; see stray.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

estray

(ɪˈstreɪ)
n
(Law) law a stray domestic animal of unknown ownership
[C16: from Anglo-French, from Old French estraier to stray]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

es•tray

(ɪˈstreɪ)

n.
1. a stray.
v.i.
2. Archaic. to stray.
[1250–1300; Middle English astrai < Anglo-French estray, derivative of Old French estraier to stray]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in classic literature ?
The horse was accordingly taken possession of, as an estray; but a more vigilant watch than usual was kept round the camp at nights, lest his former owners should be upon the prowl.
No queerer estray ever drifted along the stream of life.
This is the picture you see spread far below you, with distance to soften it, the sun to glorify it, strong contrasts to heighten the effects, and over it and about it a drowsing air of repose to spiritualize it and make it seem rather a beautiful estray from the mysterious worlds we visit in dreams than a substantial tenant of our coarse, dull globe.
The reader will find many well-known songs within this collection, such as "The Strawberry Roan" and "The Cowboy's Christmas Ball," as well as lesser-known songs, such as "Jake and Roanie" and "The Stray" (a song Ohrlin composed based on the text of the poem "The Estrays," which he discovered in the magazine Bit and Spur in 1948).
All interest accruing from investment of the county school fund, the clear proceeds of all penalties, forfeitures and fines collected hereafter for any breach of the penal laws of the state, the net proceeds from the sale of estrays and all other moneys coming into said funds shall be distributed annually to the schools of the several counties according to law.
at *290-98 (providing special rules for "royal fish," "shipwrecks," "treasure-trove," "waifs," and "estrays").
CAERNARFON'S Court of Estrays, held outside the town's NFU office, was once well attended, and until 1977 a similar court was held in the yard of the Hotel Back Row, Denbigh.
Francisco Estrays spent most of his youth on the streets and only left at the age of 28.
Archival estrays are records which were created or received by NSW government organisations (including Departments, local councils or public hospitals) but which have 'strayed' from official custody and are now in private hands.
IT is a ceremony rich in tradition and steeped in religion: the annual Court of Estrays, once commonplace across North Wales but now on the margins of agricultural history.