stranger

Etymology 1

adj

1. comparative form of strange: more strange
   Truth is stranger than fiction.

Etymology 2

From Middle English straunger, from Old French estrangier (“foreign, alien”), from estrange, from Latin extraneus (“foreign, external”) (whence also English estrange), from extra (“outside of”). Cognate with French étranger (“foreigner, stranger”) and Spanish extranjero (“foreigner”). Displaced native Old English fremde (literally “strange or unfamiliar person”).

noun

1. A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance.
   That gentleman is a stranger to me.
   Children are taught not to talk to strangers.
2. An outsider or foreigner.
   Melons on beds of ice are taught to bear, / And strangers to the sun yet ripen here. 1726, George Granville, Written in a Garden in the North
   I like to be a stranger myself—it was my destiny; but I wish to be the only stranger. 1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic
3. One not admitted to communion or fellowship.
4. A newcomer.
   Wearing number 66 for his club side, Alexander-Arnold is no stranger to an unusual shirt number. Regardless, the sight of the right-back wearing 10 in central midfield for England was guaranteed to catch the eye. 17 June 2023, Emma Smith, “Malta 0-4 England”, in BBC Sport
5. (humorous) One who has not been seen for a long time.
   Hello, stranger!
6. (obsolete) One not belonging to the family or household; a guest; a visitor.
7. (law) One not privy or party to an act, contract, or title; a mere intruder or intermeddler; one who interferes without right.
   Actual possession of land gives a good title against a stranger having no title.
8. (obsolete) A superstitious premonition of the coming of a visitor by a bit of stalk in a cup of tea, the guttering of a candle, etc.

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To estrange; to alienate.