Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for dreg on Thesaurus.com dregs, the sediment of liquids; lees; grounds. Usually dregs. the least valuable part of anything: the dregs of society. a small remnant; any small quantity. Show More
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 dregs residue ,
lees ,
dirt ,
slag ,
waste ,
settlings ,
outcast ,
riffraff ,
rabble ,
loser ,
scum ,
trash ,
draff Examples from the Web for dregs Contemporary Examples of dregs All the good stuff—the Oscar bait—comes out in November or December; the dregs are reserved for January and February.
They are not interested in the dregs from my stash of clothes.
Having drunk the Clinton Global Initiative to the dregs , a hopey-changey hangover ensues.
The fish dies and is brought back to life—along with grandpa—with the dregs of a bag of chips.
Historical Examples of dregs Malbone, greedy of emotion, was drinking to the dregs a passion that could have no to-morrow.
But Della drained her draught of joy to the dregs , and then tilted her cup anew.
The pimps of proxenetism are recruited from the dregs of society.
There cling to him still the limitations and dregs of his brute life.
The sins of man are generally the dregs of his brute ancestry.
British Dictionary definitions for dregs solid particles that tend to settle at the bottom of some liquids, such as wine or coffee residue or remains British slang a despicable person Show More
Word Origin for dregs C14 dreg, from Old Norse dregg; compare Icelandic dreggjar dregs, Latin fracēs oil dregs
a small quantity not a dreg of pity See also dregs Show More
Word Origin for dreg see dregs
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for dregs n. c.1300 (implied in surname Dryngedregges ), from Old Norse dregg "sediment," from Proto-Germanic *drag- (cf. Old High German trestir , German Trester "grapeskins, husks"), from PIE *dher- (1) "to make muddy." Replaced Old English cognate dræst , dærst "dregs, lees." Figurative use is from 1530s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
