dreich

The story

1. Middle English · derived fromdri
2. Scots · borrowed fromdreich“dreariness, gloom”
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*dreugaz
4. Old Norse · derived fromdrjúgr“sufficient; excessive, very; great; strong”
5. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰrewgʰ-“to serve one’s tribe; loyal”
6. Proto-Germanic · derived from*dreugaz“enduring, lasting”
7. Old English · derived fromġedrēog“calm, quiet; sober; fit, suitable”
8. Old English · derived from*drēog
9. Middle English · derived fromdregh
10. Scots · borrowed fromdreich“hard to bear, dreary, tedious, wearisome; interminable, long-winded; dull, uninteresting; slow, tardy; doleful, gloomy; baffling, difficult; difficult to reach, inaccessible”
11. English todaydreich

The adjective is borrowed from Scots dreich (“hard to bear, dreary, tedious, wearisome; interminable, long-winded; dull, uninteresting; slow, tardy; doleful, gloomy; baffling, difficult; difficult to reach, inaccessible”), from Middle English dregh, dri, drie (“burdensome; depressing, dismal; large, tall; lasting, long; long-suffering, patient; tedious; of blows: hard, heavy; of the face: unchanging, unmoved; of a person: strong, valorous”) [and other forms], from Old English *drēog, drēoh (“earnest; fit; sober”), and then probably partly: * shortened from Old English ġedrēog (“calm, quiet; sober; fit, suitable”, adjective), from ġe- (prefix forming adjectives of association or similarity) + Proto-Germanic *dreugaz (“enduring, lasting”) (from *dreuganą (“to serve, be a retainer”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to serve one’s tribe; loyal”)); and * influenced by Old Norse drjúgr (“sufficient; excessive, very; great; strong”), from Proto-Germanic *dreugaz (see above). The noun is probably partly derived: * from the adjective; and * borrowed from Scots dreich (“dreariness, gloom”) (rare), probably from Middle English dri, drie (“annoyance, trouble; grief; period of time”) [and other forms], possibly from dri, drie (adjective) (see above). (Compare Old English ġedrēog (“seemliness; seriousness, sobriety; something appropriate or required”, noun), which did not survive into Middle English.) Cognates * German Low German drēg, drēge * Icelandic drjúgur (“ample; heavy, substantial; long”) * North Frisian drech * Old Danish drygh (modern Danish drøj (“heavy; solid, tough”)) * Old Swedish drygher (modern Swedish dryg (“ample, liberal; hard; large; lasting”)) * Saterland Frisian drjooch * Scots dreich * West Frisian dreech, drege (“extensive; long-lasting”)

Words from the same roots