Dictionary: DRAFF – DRAG'ON

a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z |

1234567891011121314151617181920
2122232425262728293031323334353637383940
4142434445464748495051525354555657585960
6162636465666768697071727374757677787980
81828384858687888990919293949596979899100
101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140
141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160
161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180
181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200
201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215

DRAFF, n. [D. draf, droef, dregs, grains. Shakspeare wrote draugh, and the French have drague, grains. The latter coincides in elements with draw, drag.]

Refuse; lees; dregs; the wash given to swine, or grains to cows; waste matter. – Milton. Dryden.

DRAFF'ISH, a.

Worthless.

DRAFF'Y, a.

Dreggy; waste; worthless.

DRAFT, n. [corrupted from draught, from drag, draw, but authorized by respectable use.]

  1. A drawing; as, this horse is good for draft. In this sense, draught is perhaps most common.
  2. A drawing of men from a military band; a selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or any part of it, or from a military post. Sometimes a drawing of men from other companies or societies. These important posts, in consequence of heavy drafts, were left weakly defended. Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year. – Marshall.
  3. An order from one man to another directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange. I thought it most prudent to defer the drafts, till advice was received of the progress of the loan. – Hamilton.
  4. A drawing of lines for a plan; a figure described on paper; delineation; sketch; plan delineated. [See Draught.]
  5. Depth of water necessary to float a ship. [See Draught.]
  6. A writing composed.

DRAFT, v.t.

  1. To draw the outline; to delineate.
  2. To compose and write; as, to draft a memorial or a lease.
  3. To draw men from a military band or post; to select; to detach.
  4. To draw men from any company, collection, or society. This Cohen-Caph-El was some royal seminary in Upper Egypt, from whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and temples. – Holwell's Dict.

DRAFT'ED, pp.

Drawn; delineated; detached.

DRAFT'-HORSE, n.

A horse employed in drawing, particularly in drawing heavy loads or in plowing.

DRAFT'ING, ppr.

Drawing; delineating; detaching.

DRAFT'-OX, n.

An ox employed in drawing.

DRAFTS, n.

A game played on checkers.

DRAG, n.

  1. Something to be drawn along the ground, as a net or a hook.
  2. A particular kind of harrow.
  3. A car; a low cart.
  4. In sea-language, a machine consisting of a sharp square frame of iron, encircled with a net, used to take the wheel off from the platform or bottom of the decks. – Mar. Dict. Encyc.
  5. Whatever is drawn; a boat in tow; whatever serves to retard a ship's way. – Encyc.

DRAG, v.i.

  1. To hang so low as to trail on the ground.
  2. To fish with a drag; as, they have been dragging for fish all day, with little success.
  3. To be drawn along; as, the anchor drags.
  4. To be moved slowly; to proceed heavily; as, this business drags.
  5. To hang or grate on the floor, as a door.

DRAG, v.t. [Sax. dragan; W. dragiaw; D. draagen; Sw. draga; Dan. drager; G. tragen; also Dan. trekker; D. trekken; Sax. dreogan; L. traho; Fr. traire; Malayan, tarek; It. treggia, a sled or drag; Sp. trago, a draught; tragar, to swallow; Eng. to drink. See Drink and Drench. The Russ. has dergayu, and torgayu, to draw, as truck is written torguyu. See Class Rg, No. 27, 37, 56.]

  1. To pull; to haul; to draw along the ground by main force; applied particularly to drawing heavy things with labor, along the ground or other surface; as, to drag stone or timber; to drag a net in fishing. – John xxi. 8.
  2. To break land by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; a common use of the word in New England.
  3. To draw along slowly or heavily; to draw any thing burdensome; as, to drag a lingering life. – Dryden.
  4. To draw along in contempt, as unworthy to be carried. He drags me at his chariot wheels. – Stillingfleet. To drag one in chains. – Milton.
  5. To pull or haul about roughly and forcibly. – Dryden. In seamen's language, to drag an anchor is to draw or trail it along the bottom when loosened, or when the anchor will not hold the ship.

DRAG'GED, pp.

Drawn on the ground; drawn with labor or force; drawn along slowly and heavily; raked with a drag or harrow.

DRAG'GING, ppr.

Drawing on the ground; drawing with labor or by force; drawing slowly or heavily; raking with a drag.

DRAG'GLE, v.i.

To be drawn on the ground; to become wet or dirty by being drawn on the mud or wet grass.

DRAG'GLE, v.t. [dim. of drag.]

To wet and dirty by drawing on the ground or mud, or on wet grass; to drabble. – Gray.

DRAG'GLED, pp.

Drawn on the ground; wet or dirtied by being drawn on the ground or mire.

DRAG'GLE-TAIL, n.

A slut. – Sherwood.

DRAG'GLING, ppr.

Drawing on the ground; making dirty by drawing on the ground or wet grass.

DRAG'MAN, n.

A fisherman that uses a dragnet. – Hale.

DRAG'NET, n.

A net to be drawn on the bottom of a river or pond for taking fish. Dryden. Watts.

DRAG'O-MAN, or DROG'MAN, n.

[It. dragomanno; Fr. trucheman; Sp. trujaman; Ch. תורגמן, Ar. تَرْجُمَانٌ, from תרגם, Ch. Ar. Syr. Eth. To interpret. An interpreter; a term in general use in the Levant and other parts of the East.

DRAG'ON, n. [L. draco; Gr. δρακων; It. dragone; Fr. dragon; D. draak; G. drache; Ir. draic or draig; W. draig; Sw. drake; Dan. drage. The origin of this word is not obvious. In Ir. drag is fire; in W. dragon is a leader, chief or sovereign, from dragiaw, to draw. In Scotch, the word signifies a paper kite, as also in Danish; probably from the notion of flying or shooting along, like a fiery meteor. In Welsh, draig is rendered by Owen a procreator or generating principle, a fiery serpent, a dragon, and the Supreme; and the plural dreigiau, silent lightnings, dreigiaw, to lighten silently. Hence I infer that the word originally signified a shooting meteor in the atmosphere, a fiery meteor, and hence a fiery or flying serpent, from a root which signified to shoot or draw out.]

  1. A kind of winged serpent, much celebrated in the romances of the middle ages. – Johnson.
  2. A fiery, shooting meteor, or imaginary serpent. Swift, swift, ye dragons of the night! that dawning / May bear the raven's eye. – Shak.
  3. A fierce, violent person, male or female; as, this man or woman is a dragon.
  4. A constellation of the northern hemisphere. [See Draco.] In Scripture, dragon seems sometimes to signify a large marine fish or serpent, Is. xxvii, where the leviathan is also mentioned; also Ps. lxxiv. Sometimes it seems to signify a venomous land serpent. Ps. xci. The dragon shalt thou trample under foot. It is often used for the devil, who is called the old serpent. – Rev. xx, 2.

DRAG'ON, n.

The popular name of a genus of saurian reptiles found only in the East Indies.