Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AS-TRAY', adv. [a and stray. See Stray.]

Out of the right way or proper place, both in a literal and figurative sense. In morals and religion, it signifies wandering from the path of rectitude, from duty and happiness. Before I was afflicted, I went astray. – Ps. cxix. Cattle go astray when they leave their proper owners or inclosures. See Deut. xxii.