Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STRAG-GLE, v.i. [strag'l; This word seems to be formed on the root of stray. In Sax. strægan is to strew, to spread; D. strekken, to stretch; G. streichen, to pass, to migrate; W. treiglaw, to turn, revolve, wander.]

1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove. When troops are on the march, let not the men straggle.
2. To wander at large without any certain direction or object; to ramble. The wolf spied a struggling kid. – L'Estrange.
3. To exuberate; to shoot too far in growth. Prune the straggling branches of the hedge. Mortimer.
4. To be dispersed; to be apart from any main body. They came between Scylla and Charyhdis and the straggling rocks. – Ralegh.