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dreg

[dreg]
noun
  1. dregs, the sediment of liquids; lees; grounds.
  2. Usually dregs. the least valuable part of anything: the dregs of society.
  3. a small remnant; any small quantity.
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Origin of dreg

1250–1300; Middle English < Old Norse dreg yeast (plural dreggjar dregs); cognate with Old Swedish dräg dregs
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dreg

residue, lees, dirt, slag, waste, settlings, outcast, riffraff, rabble, loser, scum, trash, draff

Examples from the Web for dreg

Historical Examples of dreg

  • Something will occur to dreg my expected draught of happiness with sorrow.

    Eventide

    Effie Afton

  • Surely he didn't tell you to dreg the stones on to the trep?

    Two Knapsacks

    John Campbell

  • I will drink the cup which thou hast mingled, and not a dreg of any of its ingredients shall be left for my people.

  • I will drink the cup which Thou hast mingled, and not a dreg of any of its ingredients shall be left for my people.

    Christmas Evans

    Paxton Hood

  • That friend, the spirit of thy themeExtracting for your ease, Will leave to me the dreg, in thoughtsToo common; such as these.

British Dictionary definitions for dreg

dreg

noun
  1. a small quantitynot a dreg of pity See also dregs
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Word Origin for dreg

see dregs
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dreg

n.

see dregs.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper