Etymology

drab

D2R1A1B3

Today it means: A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour. Full definition →

Old French drap ← Late Latin drappus ← Gaulish *drappo
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

drab · noun, adjective1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰrebʰ-“to beat, crush; to make or become thick”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*drap-
  3. Frankish · derived from*drapi
  4. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*drep-“to scratch, tear”
  5. Gaulish · derived from*drappo
  6. Late Latin · derived fromdrappus“drabcloth, kerchief; piece of cloth”
  7. Old French · derived fromdrap“cloth”
  8. English todaydrab

Probably from Middle French and Old French drap (“cloth”), either: * from Late Latin drappus (“drabcloth, kerchief; piece of cloth”), most likely from Gaulish *drappo, from Proto-Indo-European *drep- (“to scratch, tear”); or * from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”), from Proto-Germanic *drap-, *drēp- (“something beaten”), from *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to beat, crush; to make or become thick”). The English word is cognate with Ancient Greek δρέπω (drépō, “to pluck”), Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬀𐬟𐬱𐬀 (drafša, “banner, flag”), Lithuanian drãpanos (“household linens”), Old Norse trefja (“to rub, wear out”), trof (“fringes”), Sanskrit द्रापि (drāpi, “mantle, gown”), Serbo-Croatian drápati (“to scratch, scrape”)).

drab · noun, verb2

The origin of the noun is uncertain; compare Middle English drabelen, drablen, draplen (“to soil; make dirty; to drag on the ground or through mud”), and Low German drabbe (“dirt, mud”), drabbeln (“to soil”), and Old Norse drabba (“to make drab; make dirty”), the latter three ultimately from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to hit, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb- (“to crush, grind; to kill”). The word is also likely to be related to Dutch drab (“dregs, sediment”), Irish drabog, Scottish Gaelic drabag (“dirty woman; slattern”). The verb is derived from the noun.

drab · noun3

Probably related to drop (“small mass of liquid”).

drab · noun4

Unknown.

drab · noun5

Alteration of drag, possibly via the folk-etymological backronym "DRessed As a Girl" (with boy replacing girl).

drab · noun, verb6

Of Romany origin.

Words from the same roots

Late Latindrappus all →

drape

Proto-Indo-European*dʰrebʰ- all →

dropdreve

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.