dreich

Where “dreich” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   Extending for a long distance or time, especially when tedious or wearisome; long-drawn-out, protracted; also, of speech or writing: unnecessarily verbose; long-winded.
2. 2
   Not enjoyable or interesting; boring, dull.
3. 3
   Bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable.
4. 4
   suitably serious or solemn
5. 5
   of a person: patient, stoic, tolerant, resolute
6. 6
   Slow, sluggish; specifically, of a person: tending to delay or procrastinate (especially when paying for something).
7. 7
   Of a person: having a dejected or serious appearance or mood; dour, gloomy, moody, morose, sullen.
8. 8
   Of a task: laborious, tedious, troublesome; hence, needing concentration to understand; intricate.
9. 9
   Chiefly of rain: without pause or stop; continuous, incessant.
10. 10
    Of weather: dreary, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.).
11. 11
    Of a person: negotiating forcefully; driving a hard bargain.
12. 12
    Of a place (especially a hill or mountain): difficult to get through or reach; inaccessible.

Etymology

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”)

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