Astray
/əˈstreɪ/noun
Away from the right path, direction, or course; in error or misled.
Did you know?Astray comes from the old sense of being physically scattered or driven off course, and it later became a powerful metaphor for moral and spiritual wandering.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
on strǣte
“on the street; on a paved road”
Late Old English / Early Middle English
English
a strēg / astray
“off the road, off course”
14th Century
English
astray
“wandering or lost”
Modern English
English
astray
“away from the right path, direction, or course”