dragn.
/dræɡ/ 1. Something heavy that is used by being dragged along the ground or over a surface.† b. A float or raft for conveyance of goods by water: see quot. 1607. Obsolete.
a. A heavy kind of harrow used for breaking up ground or breaking clods; a drag-harrow.
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the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > harrowing equipment > [noun] > harrow > types of harrow
drag1388
ox-harrow1465
drag-harrow1744
bush-harrow1770
twitch harrow1771
brake1786
crab-harrow1796
twitch drag1799
tormentor1808
flag-harrow1845
chain-harrow1870
pitch-pole1929
1388–9 Abingdon Acc. (Camden) 57 ij draggis cum dentibus ferreis.
1533 J. Stevard in F. W. Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 48 My dragge, olde plowe beme, my yokes and my ropes.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Dragge or instrument of husbandry with yron teeth to breake cloddes, some do cal it an harrowe.
1682 J. Collins Salt & Fishery 15 Then the Earth appears in Clods, which they Harrow, and bring on a Drag, and a Rowle.
a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 465 A large and strong harrow; here called a drag, with very stout iron teeth.
1875 A. Smith New Hist. Aberdeenshire II. 1120 The drag can easily be converted into a harrow, simply by changing the tines.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > vessels of primitive construction > [noun] > raft > types of raft
tablea1393
drag?a1400
wharfa1680
kelek1684
catamaran1697
pipery1698
wood-flat1785
moki1835
mokihi1844
wanigan1848
pae-pae1958
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3616 Dresses dromowndes and dragges, and drawene upe stonys.
1431 Act 9 Hen. VI c. 5 En Flotes autrement appellez dragges [16th c. transl., flotes commonly called dragges].
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Aa2v/1 Drags..seeme to be wood or timber so ioyned together, as swimming..vpon the water, they may beare a..load.
c. An overland conveyance without wheels; a rough kind of sledge: see dray n.1, and cf. drug n.2
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on runners > [noun] > for transport of goods
sleadc1374
draya1387
sled1388
slipe1488
slid1513
drag1576
sledge1684
skid1712
paddock1738
sleigh1748
train1783
bobsled1796
bobsleigh1841
bob1856
stone-boat1859
travois1873
slider1888
bobs1910
1576 Act 18 Eliz. c. 10 §4 Sleades, carres, or drags, furnished for..repairing..high wayes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Train,..a sled, a drag or dray without wheeles.
1750 R. Pococke Trav. (1888) 135 They have drags for drawing up the side of steep fields.
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 446/2 Two skids fastened together make a ‘drag’, or ‘sledge’.
1895 Capt. King Under Fire 452 The Indian households were piling their goods and chattels..on travois and drag of lodge-poles.
d. A kind of vehicle; the application has varied, and it is often not distinguished from a brake or break n.2; but in strict English use, applied to a private vehicle of the type of a stage coach, usually drawn by four horses, with seats inside and on the top. Cf. also dragsman n. 1.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > carriage for conveying persons > [noun] > types of carriage > covered > coach > other types of coach
hanging-waggon1585
glass-coach1667
carriage of respecta1680
shalloon1688
leading coach1704
curtain-coach1706
day coach1784
muddy1800
perch-coach1815
drag1820
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Drag..a kind of car drawn by the hand.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 169 Drag, a cart.
1820 Sporting Mag. 6 79 The prads are put to, and the drag is shoved forward.
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 86 Since she put down her tandem drag.
1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing iii, in Fraser's Mag. May 607/2 Behind her came..a drag, or private stage-coach, with four horses.
1865 Derby Mercury 1 Mar. A horse-breaker's drag or break.
1885 Manch. Examiner 3 June 5/4 The fine turnout of the Blues in their handsome drag at Hyde Park.
e. A motor car. Criminals' slang.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun]
buggy1888
motor vehicle1890
motor carriage1894
autocar1895
jam jar1895
motor car1895
car1896
traction1896
motor1899
bubble1901
machine1901
Lizzie1913
buzz-wagon1914
road car1914
short1914
scooter1917
buzz-box1920
ride1930
drag1935
bus1939
wagon1955
wheels1959
sheen1968
low rider1974
scoot1977
1935 R. T. Hopkins Life & Death at Old Bailey x. 269 When the car thief knocks off a drag (car) from some West End car park.
1947 Sci. News 4 50 There he was, ready with a ‘drag’ to transport you both at speed.
1960 Observer 25 Dec. 7/6 A stately great drag..with a smart chauffeur at the wheel.
f. (See quot. 19541.) Also attributive, as drag race, drag racer, drag racing, drag strip. Originally U.S.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > motor racing > [noun] > type of racing or race
autotest1901
Grand Prix1905
GP1908
grande épreuve1946
drag race1954
autocross1956
mud run1959
1954 Amer. Speech 29 95 Drag, a race between two cars to determine which can accelerate faster. The race is over a given distance, with few exceptions a quarter of a mile.
1954 Amer. Speech 29 95 There are different types of drag racing: (1) drags from a dead stop; (2) drags from a rolling start.
1954 Amer. Speech 29 95 Drag strip, a straight course used in drag racing, usually an abandoned air strip.
1962 Amer. Speech 37 273 An establishment where youthful drivers congregate to plan illegal activities such as highway drag-races.
1964 Guardian 9 Jan. 3/2 An international drag festival is to be held in Britain... Drag racing was first seen in Britain in September when two American cars gave exhibition bouts.
1967 Airfix Mag. June 356/2 Any one of four separate versions can be built from the kit namely a stock, custom, saloon racing, or drag racing car.
1971 Sunday Express (Johannesburg) 28 Mar. 7/1 Gerry..has donated a grandstand for Margo's Rainbow dragstrip.
1971 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 15 June 29 The start of a drag race.
1971 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 15 June 29 There have been reports of drag racing by youths on country roads.
1971 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 15 June 29 The drag racers are gone.
2. Something used to drag or pull a weight or obstruction.† a. A hook or the like with which anything is dragged or forcibly pulled. Obsolete.
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > [noun] > pulling > thing used in pulling
drag1483
draught1483
1483 Cath. Angl. 106/2 A Drag, arpax, luppus, trudes.
1577 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes i. f 2v It is taken out of the sea in greate peeces, with a dregge of Iron.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 78 The executioner prepared dragges and tortures.
1783 Ainsworth's Thes. Linguæ Latinæ (new ed.) ii Uncus..A drag, or iron hook, to drag traitors after execution about the streets.
1789 G. Vassa Life (1793) 357 Leg-bolts, drags, thumb-screws..instruments of torture.
b. A dragnet n.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > net > [noun] > drag-net
dray-netc1000
pullc1303
draw-net1386
dredge1471
drag1481
dragneta1542
train1576
tug-net1584
trainel1585
draught-net1630
trawl-net1697
trail1711
trawl1759
trail-net1820
pole trawl1836
train net1864
otter trawlc1870
turn-net1883
pair trawl1967
1481–90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 192 The..netter..had sent..a dragge of viij. fadom.
a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) iv. 18 Peter, and Andrew his broother, casting a drag into ye see.
1611 Bible (King James) Hab. i. 15 They catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 55 Casting Nets were spread in shallow Brooks, Drags in the Deep. View more context for this quotation
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling i. 8 A drag with a coil of string is..serviceable.
c. An apparatus for cleaning out and deepening the beds of rivers, etc.; a dredging apparatus; also for collecting oysters from the bed.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > earth-moving and excavating equipment > [noun] > dredging equipment
dredge1471
clam-shell1508
drag1611
steam dredge1801
dredging-machine1830
hedgehog1838
bag and spoon1840
hydrophore1842
dredger1863
gold dredge1881
gold dredger1897
suction dredge1901
bucket dredge1907
cutter-dredge1913
1611 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/5) For mending of the dyche dragg iiijd.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Drague, a drag, or instrument to clear the bottom of rivers and canals; also to catch oysters.
1846 H. Rogers Ess. I. iv. 162 His huge drag had brought up all sorts of fragments of antiquity.
d. An apparatus for recovering objects from the bottom of rivers or pools; esp. for recovering the bodies of drowned persons.
ΚΠ
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 238/2 in Chron. I Howbeit their bodies were afterwards drawne forth of the Loche with dragges.]
1797 Monthly Mag. 163 The Lancashire Humane Society..[has] 90 stations..where the sets of apparatus, cases, drags, boards, &c. belonging to the society, are established.
1804 Trans. Soc. Arts 22 15 Premium offered by the Society of Arts for a cheap and portable drag..for the purpose of taking up..the bodies of persons who have sunk under water.
1894 A. Conan Doyle Mem. Sherlock Holmes 109 We had the drags at once, and set to work to recover the remains.
e. Applied to certain agricultural implements, as a dung-drag or muck-rake, and an implement with two curving claws for pulling up turnips, etc.
ΚΠ
1795 Hull Advertiser 6 June 3/3 Striking him on the head with a dung drag.
1848 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 9 ii. 501 Turnips..are pulled up by a peculiar drag, or ‘hack’, as it is provincially called.
1881 Moore & Masters Epit. Gardening 118 The drag is..a light three-pronged tool,..used for loosening the soil amongst vegetable crops.
3. Something that drags, or hangs heavily, so as to impede motion.
a. Nautical (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1708 J. Kersey Dict. Anglo-Britannicum Drags..whatever hangs over a Ship, or hinders her sailing.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Drags.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk.
b. A drag-anchor (see drag-anchor n. at Compounds 2).
ΚΠ
1874 in E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.
c. A device for retarding the rotation of the wheels of a vehicle when descending a hill; esp. an iron shoe to receive the wheel and cause friction on the ground.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > devices to retard or stop motion > skid or lock to retard motion
trigger1591
drug1638
trigen1659
skid1766
drag1795
remskoen1816
slipper1827
shoe1837
sledge1839
hub1856
rough lock1858
spoke1858
wagon-drag1875
wagon-lock1875
wheel-lock1875
sprag1878
slipper-drag1883
slipper-brake1884
shod1893
1795 Trans. Soc. Arts 13 254 A Drag to prevent the Accidents..to Horses drawing loaded Carts down steep Hills.
1796 T. Twining Trav. Amer. (1894) 63 The wagon descended at a great rate, for..it was not provided with a drag to keep it back.
c1842 S. Smith Let. to Ld. J. Russell in Wks. (1859) II. 300/1 Gently down hill. Put on the drag.
1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters vi. 142 The drag that dishonesty claps upon the wheel of their conduct.
d. figurative. A heavy obstruction to progress. Also, an annoyance, a bore; a dull or boring person. (Cf. quot. 1813 at sense 7a).
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the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [noun] > cause of annoyance or vexation
thornc1230
dreicha1275
painc1375
cumbrance1377
diseasec1386
a hair in one's necka1450
molestationc1460
incommodity?a1475
melancholya1475
ensoigne1477
annoyance1502
traik1513
incommode1518
corsie1548
eyesore1548
fashery1558
cross1573
spite1577
corrosive1578
wasp1588
cumber1589
infliction1590
gall1591
distaste1602
plague1604
rub1642
disaccommodation1645
disgust1654
annoyment1659
bogle1663
rubber1699
noyancea1715
chagrins1716
ruffle1718
fasha1796
nuisance1814
vex1815
drag1857
bugbear1880
nark1918
pain in the neck (also arse, bum, etc.)1933
sod1940
chizz1953
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > hindering or retarding > that which or one who
delayer?1518
hold-back1581
pullback1584
tarriance1598
tarrier1622
retarder1644
checker1845
drag1857
liability1938
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull person
grub1653
noddeea1680
insipid1699
rocker1762
bore1812
Dryasdust1819
insipidity1822
prose1844
bagpipe1850
vampire1862
pill1865
jeff1870
terebrant1890
poop1893
stodger1905
club bore1910
nudnik1916
stodge1922
dreary1925
dreep1927
binder1930
drip1932
douchebag1946
drear1958
drag1959
noodge1968
anorak1984
1857 A. Mathews Tea-table Talk I. 106 There's that drag of a husband.
1885 Illustr. London News 9 May 492/2 I find it a drag upon me.
1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 141 In short, she was a drag on his career.
1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 109 Drag,..difficulté, embarras, partict une chose qui vous éprouve, vous épuise.
1936 ‘F. O'Connor’ Bones of Contention 157 As sure as God 'tis a drag.
1946 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really Blues viii. 106 They may have been a drag and a headache to their mothers.
1954 L. Armstrong Satchmo viii. 126 Life can be such a drag one minute and a solid sender the next.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 42 Old Vern..is such a drip-dry drag that no one would ever take him for the male of the establishment.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 130 The whole thing was becoming something of a drag.
1968 Listener 29 Feb. 265/2 I know so many people that before they took it [sc. LSD] were such a drag, and when they took it, they really opened up.
e. A street, road; esp. in the main drag. slang (now chiefly U.S.).
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun]
streetOE
rewa1350
gate1488
gate-row1598
calle1611
drive1799
drag1851
drum1851
plate of meat1857
stem1914
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > main
master streetc1385
high street1548
town-gate1570
main street1598
master way1726
the main drag1851
main drag1851
main stem1900
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 232/1 French news is generally liked in a fashionable drag.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 248/2 Another woman..whose husband has got a month for ‘griddling in the main drag’ (singing in the high street).
1905 J. London War of Classes 274 I battered on the drag and slammed back gates with them, or shivered with them in box cars and city parks.
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 30 Drag, a main thoroughfare in any community; the main street... ‘The boys are pivoting on the main drag’, i.e. begging on the street. ‘The muffs are cruising on the drag tonight’, i.e. soliciting on the street.
1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route 204 Drag, hobo term for the main street of the town, as distinguished from the main stem.
1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid xix. 188 If he could find the main drag and jump a bus before the bogies got him, he should be able to make a clean getaway.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed v. 38 You didn't just wander in off the drag to buy coffee.
1965 J. P. Carstairs Concrete Kimono ix. 79 We drove through..the main drag of Babaki.
f. The slow-moving portion of a cattle-herd which is being driven. Hence drag-driver. U.S.
ΚΠ
a1861 T. Winthrop John Brent (1883) viii. 71 Relieved from their drags, the herd frisked away with unwieldy gambolling.
1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Apr. 862/1 The rest [of the men] are in the rear to act as ‘drag-drivers’, and hurry up the phalanx of reluctant weaklings.
1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 44 I went up the trail twice, and drove the drag both times.
1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 151 All the men were in front of the cattle except myself, the drag driver, and the cook.
1920 J. M. Hunter Trail Drivers of Texas I. 172 We left the drags together in another herd.
1924 W. M. Raine Troubled Waters x. 101 I'm plumb fed up with the dust of the drag driver.
g. Feminine attire worn by a man; also, a party or dance attended by men wearing feminine attire; hence gen., clothes, clothing. slang.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > [noun]
clothesc888
hattersOE
shroudc1000
weedOE
shrouda1122
clothc1175
hatteringa1200
atourc1220
back-clout?c1225
habit?c1225
clothingc1275
cleadinga1300
dubbinga1300
shroudinga1300
attirec1300
coverturec1300
suitc1325
apparel1330
buskingc1330
farec1330
harness1340
tire1340
backs1341
geara1350
apparelmentc1374
attiringa1375
vesturec1385
heelinga1387
vestmentc1386
arraya1400
graitha1400
livery1399
tirementa1400
warnementa1400
arrayment1400
parelc1400
werlec1400
raiment?a1425
robinga1450
rayc1450
implements1454
willokc1460
habiliment1470
emparelc1475
atourement1481
indumenta1513
reparel1521
wearing gear1542
revesture1548
claesc1550
case1559
attirement1566
furniture1566
investuring1566
apparelling1567
dud1567
hilback1573
wear1576
dress1586
enfolding1586
caparison1589
plight1590
address1592
ward-ware1598
garnish1600
investments1600
ditement1603
dressing1603
waith1603
thing1605
vestry1606
garb1608
outwall1608
accoutrementa1610
wearing apparel1617
coutrement1621
vestament1632
vestiment1637
equipage1645
cask1646
aguise1647
back-timbera1656
investiture1660
rigging1664
drapery1686
vest1694
plumage1707
bussingc1712
hull1718
paraphernalia1736
togs1779
body clothing1802
slough1808
toggery1812
traps1813
garniture1827
body-clothes1828
garmenture1832
costume1838
fig1839
outfit1840
vestiture1841
outer womana1845
outward man1846
vestiary1846
rag1855
drag1870
clo'1874
parapherna1876
clobber1879
threads1926
mocker1939
schmatte1959
vine1959
kit1989
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific people > for men and women > for women > worn by a man
drag1870
1870 Reynolds's Newsp. 29 May 5/5 We shall come in drag.
1870 London Figaro 23 June 3/4 Not quite so low..as going about in ‘drag’.
1887 Referee 24 July 3/1 I don't like to see low coms. in drag parts.
1927 Sunday Express 13 Feb. 5/5 A drag is a rowdy party attended by abnormal men dressed in scanty feminine garments, singing jazz songs in high falsetto voices.
1942 M. McCarthy Company she Keeps (1943) iii. 80 A kind of masquerade of sexuality, like the rubber breasts homosexuals put on for drags.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 27 My Spartan hair-do and my teenage drag and all.
1959 J. Osborne World Paul Slickey ii. x. 80 You would never have the fag Of dressing up in drag You'd be a woman at the weekend.
1960 20th Cent. Mar. 255 Bad Taste, exemplified by..Henry Kendall in drag. This is by no means the first time that Mr. Kendall has appeared to reverse his sex.
1966 Listener 23 June 918/3 Laurence Olivier, doing his Othello voice and attired painstakingly in Arab drag.
1967 Spectator 14 July 54/1 The gear shops flip their decor as often as they do the pop tunes blaring out the newest hits as you try on the latest ‘drag’.
1968 R. Baker (title) Drag, a history of female impersonation on the stage.
h. Influence, ‘pull’. U.S. slang.
ΚΠ
1896 G. Ade Artie xii. 105 He knows I've got a drag in the precinct.
1896 G. Ade Artie xvii. 160 If you've got any drag with him.
1923 E. Hemingway In our Time (1926) 193 We had a big drag with the waiter because my old man drank whisky and it cost five francs, and that meant a good tip.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > [noun] > winning over > one employed to gather followers
drag1663
1663 J. Heath Briefe Chron. Intestine Warr (ed. 2) iii. f.732 Some young men and apprentices whom his drags had trepan'd.
5. In various technical applications: see quots.
ΚΠ
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 338 Drag, a thin plate of steel indented on the edge..used in working soft stone. [See 18761 at dragging n. a.].
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Drag..The carriage on which a log is dogged in a veneer saw-mill.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 128 s.v. The mould having been prepared in the two parts of the flask, the cope is put upon the drag before casting.
6. Hunting.
a. The line of scent left by a fox, etc.; the trail; spec. as in quot. 1888.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > [noun] > genus Vulpes > vulpes vulpes (fox) > track or trail
drag1735
tod-track1824
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Drag, a Fox's Tail [? read Trail]. So in Phillips, Bailey, Dyche, etc.]
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 47 Hark! on the Drag I hear Their doubtful Notes, preluding to a Cry More nobly full.
1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. i. 216 As the Drag or Trail mends, cast off more Dogs that you can confide in.
1858 Ld. Ravensworth Horace Odes i. i His bloodhounds snuff the drag Of timid hind or antlered stag.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Drag, in fox-hunting, the line of scent where a fox has been during the previous night, before he is found and started by the pack.
b. Any strong-smelling thing drawn along the ground, so as to leave a scent for animals; esp. for hounds to follow, instead of a fox.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > [noun] > drag
train1558
train-scent1593
trail-scent1682
trail1763
drag1841
scent bag1889
1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 145 Will advised that his stockings should be well rubbed with oil of aniseed, and the hounds let out to run him as a ‘drag’.
1843 C. J. Lever Jack Hinton xxi He was always ready to carry a drag, to stop an earth.
1856 C. J. Andersson Lake Ngami 127 [In trapping hyenas] A ‘drag’ consisting of tainted flesh, or other offal, is trailed from different points..directly up to the ‘toils’.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) A red-herring or a ferret's bed are the commonest drags used.
c. The hunt or chase with hounds following such a line of scent; a club or association for the prosecution of this sport.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > drag-hunting
drag1803
drag-hunting1849
1803 W. Taplin Sporting Dict. II. 486 A train scent, (that is, a drag across the country).
1851 Eureka; a sequel to Lord J. Russell's Post Bag 21 The necessity of keeping up the Drag [at Oxford].
1869 ‘W. Bradwood’ The O.V.H. v. (Farmer) He subscribed to the drag at Oxford.
1881 Morning Post 29 Sept. 5/5 The hounds..form two packs, one of harriers, the other for drag.
7.
a. The action or fact of dragging; slow, heavy, impeded motion; forcible motion or progress against resistance.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > [noun] > slow movement or progress
dragglinga1599
slaggering1622
drag1813
creep1818
dawdling1819
loitering1822
draggle1894
1813 W. Beattie Tales 34 (Jam.) Washing's naething but a drag. We hae sae short daylight.
1826 Examiner 559/1 The first stage..was..a miserable drag through mud and holes.
1859 T. J. Gullick & J. Timbs Painting 112 The ‘drag’ of the brush being evident.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) I. 989 The strain produced by the ‘drag’ of the bobbin whilst being spun.
1887 C. Darwin Life & Lett. I. 144 He..gave one the impression of working with pleasure, and not with any drag.
1891 Athenæum 26 Dec. 859/1 The book is good and refined; there is no drag about it.
b. The amount by which anything drags or hangs behind in its motion.
ΚΠ
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Drag..(Marine Engin.), the difference between the speed of a screw-ship under sail and that of the screw when the ship outruns the screw.
c. Billiards. Retarded motion given to the cue-ball.
ΚΠ
1873 J. Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 194 Drag is put on by striking the ball as low as possible, No 1 strength.
d. Angling. A dragging motion on a fishing-line; also concrete, a device in a fishing reel.
ΚΠ
1907 Westm. Gaz. 29 Nov. 3/1 The drag cannot be overcome—where the current fished into is far stronger than the current fished over.
1937 E. Hemingway To have & have Not i. i. 23 I felt his drag. He had it screwed down tight. You couldn't pull out any line.
e. Aeronautics and Hydrodynamics. The force resisting the motion of a body through a gas or a liquid; esp. the resistance along the line of flight to the motion of an aircraft, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > rubbing or friction > [noun] > friction or drag
friction1722
drag1909
society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > aerodynamic forces and concepts > [noun] > drag
drag1909
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > fluid dynamics > [noun] > lift or drag
lift1902
drag1909
1909 A. Williams Engin. Wonders of World III. 12/1 To prevent the resulting drag slewing the aeroplane round, the warping mechanism is linked up with the rudder.
1918 W. E. Dommett Dict. Aircraft 19 The horizontal component of the air pressure on a wing or aerofoil is known as the drag.
1931 Flight 1 May 384/2 And how little headway have made such conceptions as induced drag, profile drag and span loading.
1935 P. W. F. Mills Elem. Pract. Flying i. 4 The lift and drag forces act upwards and backwards respectively.
1948 Sci. News 7 25 For an aerofoil it is necessary to introduce also the induced drag, i.e. the part of the total resistance which depends entirely on the lift.
1948 V. L. Streeter Fluid Dynamics iv. 67 Any body passing through a real fluid experiences a resisting force, called drag, which depends upon the form of the body and its surface roughness.
1952 Economist 20 Dec. 852/2 The pilot, when he lifted the nose-wheel of the aircraft off the ground, did so at a sharper angle than usual. The result of this was to give high ‘drag’, that is, to increase the resistance of the air to the passage of the aircraft.
1971 Physics Bull. Mar. 157/2 Perturbations of the orbit of an artificial satellite by the earth's oblateness and atmospheric drag.
f. slang. An inhalation of (cigarette) smoke; the act of smoking a cigarette. (Cf. drag v. 1f.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > [noun] > a smoke or inhalation
whiff1600
quiff1617
draught1621
puffing1675
draw1823
shoch1831
pull1841
blow1855
reek1876
drag1914
inhale1934
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 30 Drag, an inhalation of smoke, tobacco or opium.
1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. ii. 61 The ponies took last drags at their cigarettes and slumped into place.
1926 L. H. Nason Chevrons (1927) x. 305 A long drag and a cloud of smoke rolled out into the aisle.
1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades i. v. 28 I lit up, took a deep drag, well down past the throat, holding the smoke in my lungs.
1962 Coast to Coast 1961–2 132 We stopped beside a little trickle of water for ten minutes' break and a drag.
g. Cricket . Back spin imparted to the ball by the bowler.
ΚΠ
1920 E. R. Wilson in P. F. Warner Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) ii. 84 The two other spins which can be put on the ball are what have been called the drag (or back spin) and top spin.
1922 W. W. Armstrong Art of Cricket i. 45 The ball on which drag has been put and which never seems to arrive as soon as it is expected.
h. A slow type of dance, or the music for this; also (slang), a dancing party. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > dance music > [noun] > others
galliard1545
passamezzo1568
pavane1591
passy-measure1597
rant1656
passacaglia1659
passacaille1667
chaconne1685
rigadoon1690
passepied1696
rigaudon1708
bourrée1776
minuet de la cour1783
quadrille1802
treble1805
pigeon wing1807
polka1825
redowa1843
polka time1844
écossaise1863
verbunkos1880
drag1901
foxtrot1915
burru1929
rumba1931
palais glide1936
Lambeth Walk1937
jitterbug1939
high life1942
Zydeco1949
hand jive1958
hand jiving1958
hokey-cokey1966
twist1966
chicken scratch1972
smoocher1976
funana1981
New Beat1988
trance dance1988
1901 Joplin & Hayden (title of song) Sun Flower Slow Drag.
1928 Melody Maker Feb. 178 (advt.) ‘Rain’ is a slow drag number.
1928 Melody Maker Feb. 179/3 ‘Sugar’, played in a nice drag rhythm.
1928 Melody Maker Feb. 183/2 A fascinating legato drag rhythm.
1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. x. 115 The cotillion orchestra and polite quartet that accompanied high society drags.
1952 B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. xviii. 220 The records they made (‘Harlem Fuss’ and ‘Minor Drag’) caused quite a stir.
i. Music. A drum-stroke consisting of two or more grace-notes preceding a beat.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > beating drum > [noun] > stroke on drum > types of stroke
flam1796
brush-work1868
drag1927
rimshot1934
1927 Melody Maker Aug. 807/2 A rudimentary beat—the open drag.
1927 Melody Maker Aug. 807/2 You must try this drag rhythm with the stick and the brush.
1931 G. Jacob Orchestral Technique vii. 71 The drag..may contain more than the two preliminary grace-notes (which really amount to an infinitesimally short roll).
1934 E. Little Mod. Rhythmic Drumming 13 The Crush Roll. Known variously as the ‘Crush’, ‘Press’ or ‘Drag’ Roll, this is a ‘fake’ beat which has found its way into drumming for a very good reason... The stick (held fairly loosely) is ‘crushed’ on to the drum head, and allowed to ‘bounce’ a number of times.
1961 J. Prebble Culloden i. 13 The sticks of the Main Guard came down on the skins in the drag and paradiddle of the General.
8. Criminals' slang.† a. Robbery of vehicles. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > from or of vehicles
drag1781
dragging1819
1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners II. 151 Rum Drag. The Rum Dragger generally follows broad-wheel waggons on horse-back.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 169 The drag, is the game of robbing carts, waggons, or carriages..of trunks, bale-goods, or any other property. Done for a drag, signifies convicted for a robbery of the before-mentioned nature.
b. A term of three months in gaol.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of > specific term of (month(s))
stretch1821
moon1830
sices1844
sixer1849
drag1851
carpet1917
carpet-bag1938
pontoon1948
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 219/2 Sometimes they are detected, and get a ‘drag’.
1891 Daily News 20 Nov. 6/4 Men who had actually served terms of penal servitude, ‘drags’ or ‘sixes’, as they were called, for their offences.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (see also 1f, 3f).
drag-boat n.
ΚΠ
1891 Daily News 4 Feb. 3/5 Sixteen more [bodies] were recovered by a drag-boat.
drag-cart n.
drag-harrow n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > harrowing equipment > [noun] > harrow > types of harrow
drag1388
ox-harrow1465
drag-harrow1744
bush-harrow1770
twitch harrow1771
brake1786
crab-harrow1796
twitch drag1799
tormentor1808
flag-harrow1845
chain-harrow1870
pitch-pole1929
1744 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Mar. vi. 49 They..harrow them in with one single Drag-harrow as they there call it.
drag-horse n.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cheval de traict, a drag-horse, draught-horse, cart-horse, coach-horse.
drag-hunt n. (cf. drag-hound n.)
drag-hunting n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > drag-hunting
drag1803
drag-hunting1849
1849 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour vii, in New Monthly Mag. Mar. 273 Drag-hunting..is not popular with sportsmen.
drag-man n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > using net > using drag-net
drayman1584
draggerman1630
drag-man1678
1678 M. Hale Historia Placitorum Coronæ xiv. §7 (T.) The great riots, committed by the foresters and Welsh on the dragmen of Severn, hewing all their boats to pieces.
drag-weight n.
C2. Also drag-chain n., drag-hook n., drag-hound n., dragnet n., drag-rope n., drag-staff n., dragsman n.
drag-anchor n. see quot. 1874, a drift-anchor.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Drag-anchor, a frame of wood, or of spars clothed with sails, attached to a hawser, and thrown overboard to drag in the water and diminish the lee-way of a vessel when drifting, or to keep the head of a ship to the wind when unmanageable by loss of sails or rudder.
drag-bar n. by which locomotive engines, tenders, and trucks are connected.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 154/2 Drag-bar, a strong iron rod with eye-holes at each end, connecting a locomotive engine and tender by means of the drag-bolt and spring.
drag-bolt n. see drag-bar n.
drag-box n. (a) the driver's seat in a drag or carriage (see box n.2 2e); (b) (see quot. 1864).
ΚΠ
1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing iii, in Fraser's Mag. May 608/1 The man on the drag-box said to the bugleman, ‘Now!’
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Drag..(Founding) The bottom part of a flask;—called also drag-box.
drag-chain n. see drag-bar n.
drag-fold n. Geology a small fold in a bed that forms part of a larger fold or a fault; esp. one with the appearance of having been formed by shearing when stronger or more massive beds on each side of the folded bed moved relative to each other.
ΚΠ
1911 U.S. Geol. Surv. Monogr. lii. v. 123 A common type of fold is a drag fold.., by which the formation becomes locally buckled along an axis lying in any direction in the plane of bedding.
1937 Geogr. Jrnl. 90 124 The repeated imbricate faults, shear-plan[e]s, and drag-folds.
1942 M. P. Billings Struct. Geol. xii. 221 The lineation results from the parallel arrangement of the crests of minute drag folds formed by the sliding of different layers over one another.
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xix. 342/2 The only folding has been in the form of drag-folds near major faults and gentle compactional folds in the lower Tertiary sediments.
drag-hook n. see drag-bar n.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 154/2 Drag-hook and chain, the strong chain and hook attached to the front of the engine buffer-bar, to connect it on to any other locomotive engine or tender; also attached to the drag-bars of goods waggons.
drag-line n. (a) Geology each of a series of fainter glacial striations forming a fringe on the lee-side of an older set and produced when one glacier crosses the path of another; (b) an excavator having a bucket which is pulled towards the machine by a wire rope; also, the wire rope itself; also attributive.
ΚΠ
1888 T. C. Chamberlin in 7th Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1885–6 201 It clearly shows the older set by the drag-lines on their lee sides.
1919 C. G. Raht Romance Davis Mts. 328 The intake canal was dug with..drag lines.
1922 Glasgow Herald 28 Sept. 7 Drag-line excavators.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 263/2 Drag-line excavator, a mechanical excavating appliance consisting of a steel scoop bucket which is suspended from a movable jib; after biting into the material to be excavated, it is dragged towards the machine by means of a wire rope.
1950 Engineering 17 Nov. 369/1 A drag shovel, a drag line, a grab crane.
1956 Planning 22 56 The largest type of draglines, which cost nearly £750,000, may remove ore at the rate of up to a million tons a year, depending on the depth.
drag-link n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 154/2 Drag-link, a link for connecting the cranks of two shafts..in marine engines.
drag-mill n. = arrastre n.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 271/2 Drag mill, another name for the arrastra.
drag-rake n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1760 in Notes & Queries (1887) 17 Sept. 226 ‘Great Rakes’..are now come in general use among the farmers, and are called drag-rakes.
1829 S. Glover Hist. County of Derby I. 188 The large drag-rake..for raking after the cart in hay and corn harvest.
drag-saw n. a saw in which the effective stroke is given in the pull, not in the thrust.
ΚΠ
1868 14th Ann. Rep. Iowa State Agric. Soc. 1867 220 Drag-saw, for cutting logs into fire-wood.
1893 Spons' Mech. Own Bk. (ed. 4) 355 The log is..brought under a drag-saw.
1945 B. Macdonald Egg & I (1946) i. iii. 50 The drag-saw barked and smoked.
Categories »
drag-seine n. U.S. a haul-ashore seine ( Cent. Dict. 1890 at seine1).
drag-seining n.
ΚΠ
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 179 The method chiefly practiced by the colonists of New England was that of drag-seining.
drag-sheet n. = drag-anchor n.
drag-shoe n. = shoe n. 5f.
ΚΠ
1844 J. Backhouse Narr. Visit Mauritius & S. Afr. vii. 138 The drag-shoe is not used on these occasions, lest the wheel should start out of it.
drag-spring n.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 154/2 Drag-spring, a strong spring placed near the back of the tender.
drag strut n. Aeronautics a strut designed to strengthen a wing against forces arising from drag.
ΚΠ
1935 C. G. Burge Compl. Bk. Aviation 592/2 The main planes would tend to fold back. This is prevented by dividing the space between the front and rear spars in each plane into rectangular panels by means of ‘drag struts’.
1964 A. C. Kermode Aeroplane Struct. (ed. 2) ix. 171 To prevent the backwards or forwards movement of the wings, the spars in the old-fashioned conventional structure were usually braced together by a system of struts and wires, the struts being called compression or drag struts.
drag-twist n. see quot. 1881.
ΚΠ
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 129 Drag-twist, a spiral hook at the end of a rod, for cleaning bore-holes.
drag-washer n. in a gun-carriage, a flat iron ring having an iron loop to which the drag-rope is attached.
ΚΠ
1828 J. M. Spearman Brit. Gunner 172 When a carriage is dismounted, all the small articles, such as elevating-screws, linch-pins, drag-washers, cap-squares, &c. must be carefully collected.
Draft additions December 2006
drag king n. [after drag n.] slang (originally in gay and lesbian usage) a woman who dresses up as a man; a male impersonator.
ΚΠ
1972 B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 67 Woman masquerading as a man... Drag king.
1996 Time Out N.Y. 19 June 60/3 By mocking male camp like the Village People and Kiss..the drag kings at Casanova capture the same glamour and excitement that the best drag queens create.
2006 Monterey County (Calif.) Herald (Nexis) 12 Mar. [She] had experimented once with a drag-king friend, passing as a man on the street.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
dragv.
/dræɡ/ I. Senses relating to drawing or pulling.
1.
a. transitive. To draw or pull (that which is heavy or resists motion); to haul; hence to draw with force, violence, or roughness; to draw slowly and with difficulty; to trail (anything) along the ground or other surface, where there is friction or resistance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > pull > with effort or slowly
druga1250
dragc1440
slepe1481
haikc1776
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 130/1 Draggyn or drawyn, trajicio.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Aiiiv/2 To Drag, extrahere.
1611 Bible (King James) John xxi. 8 The other disciples came..dragging the net with fishes. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. iii. 11 The bodies shall be dragg'd at my horse heeles. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 260 The arch foe subdu'd Or Captive drag'd in Chains. View more context for this quotation
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 244 Aligators..dragg'd him to the Bottom, and there devour'd him.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 315 Dragging a ponderous equipage over the rugged pavement.
1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. i. x. 124 To drag him off as a prisoner.
1896 Daily News 9 June 9/6 A ‘shot’ tint..is produced by sparsely ‘dragging’ a little colour over the surface.
b. Said of moving the body or limbs with difficulty, or of allowing a member to trail. Also figurative, esp. in to drag one's feet (also to drag one's heels) (originally U.S.), to delay deliberately, hold back deliberately.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > slowness > make (its way) slowly [verb (transitive)] > move (the body or limbs) along slowly or wearily
trail1562
drag1583
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)]
geleOE
studegieOE
abideOE
to do in or a (= on) fristc1175
dwellc1175
demurc1230
targec1250
dretcha1325
tarrya1375
sojourn1377
defer1382
letc1385
hinderc1386
blina1400
delay?a1400
honea1400
litea1400
overbidea1400
prolongc1425
supersede1433
hoverc1440
tarrowc1480
sunyie1488
stay?a1500
sleep1519
slack1530
protract1540
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
slug1565
jauk1568
temporize1579
detract1584
longering1587
sit1591
prorogue1593
to time it out1613
to lie out1640
crastinate1656
taigle17..
to hang fire1782
to hold off1790
to hang it on1819
prevaricate1854
to lie over1856
to tread water1942
to drag one's feet1946
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xviii. 105 We dragge our winges after vs as they say.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 115 [The Snake] retires. He drags his Tail.
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 146 His Brush he drags, And sweeps the mire impure.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville II. 228 So reduced that they could scarcely drag themselves along.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 24 Four wretched animals, who can hardly drag themselves.
a1897 Mod. I could scarcely drag one foot after the other.
1946 Life 20 May 69/1 The Soviets are frankly ‘dragging their feet’ in making the European peace in order to prolong chaos.
1948 News Chron. 16 Sept. 1/3 He indignantly denied that the Government was ‘dragging its feet’ as it had been suggested in the American Press.
1950 Hansard Commons 28 Mar. 197 It is widely thought..in America that the British Government are lacking in zeal for the whole plan—‘dragging their feet’ is, I believe, the American expression.
1970 Times 24 Mar. 12/1 Many local authorities drag their feet. They wait for their sewage works to become..overloaded.
1970 New Scientist 4 June 480/1 Many authorities are dragging their heels in setting up the zones.
c. Nautical. to drag the anchor: ‘To trail the anchor along the bottom after it is loosened from the ground, by the effort of the wind or current upon the ship.’ (Crabb, 1823.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor (a ship) [verb (transitive)] > anchor (a ship) > drag (anchor)
to drag the anchor1694
1694 Acct. Several Late Voy. (1711) ii. 11 The wind turned to North-west and west, and the single Anchor was dragg'd by the Ship.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 340 [We] threw out our Anchors..but the Wind increasing, we dragg'd 'em.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Anchor To drag the Anchors, implies the effort of making the anchor come home, when the violence of the wind, &c. strains the cable.
d. intransitive for reflexive = passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor [verb (intransitive)] > anchor > drag or come loose (of anchor)
to sheer home the anchor1644
drag1839
talk1914
1839 F. Marryat Phantom Ship II. xxiii. 237 The anchor still dragged from..bad holding-ground.
e. transitive. To take or escort (a person) to a particular place, event, etc., esp. against his will. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > guidance in travel > show (the way) [verb (transitive)] > bring or take to a place > as a guard
guard1600
drag1924
1924 P. Marks Plastic Age 136 No freshman was allowed to attend the Prom, but along with the other men who weren't ‘dragging women’ Hugh walked the streets and watched the girls.
1925 W. Deeping Sorrell & Son xxxviii. 385 ‘Sorry to drag you off like this.’ ‘Do you think I mind? —It was I who dragged you away.’
1952 J. Cannan Body in Beck vii. 142 In the evening I was dragged to an Olde Tyme Dance in the Town Hall.
f. To pull on or at (a cigarette); to inhale (cigarette smoke). colloquial (originally U.S.). (Cf. pull v. 17b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > use as material for smoking [verb (transitive)] > inhale
takec1175
drink1601
drawa1774
pull1837
drag1919
inhale1933
1919 H. Leverage White Cipher viii. 121 He waited and dragged at the cigarette.
1926 L. H. Nason Chevrons (1927) x. 306 Eadie dragged on the cigarette.
1957 H. Croome Forgotten Place xi. 139 He lit one cigarette from the butt of another and dragged at it nervously.
2. figurative. Said of other than physical force, or local motion. to drag in (into), to introduce (a subject) in a forced manner, or unnecessarily.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > interruption > interrupt (speech) [verb (transitive)] > interpose
interpone1523
interpose1605
to throw in1630
to edge in1683
to put in1693
interject1791
interjaculate1853
to drag in (into)1868
to chip in1872
interpolate1881
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iv. iii. 21 What impediments Drag backe our expedition. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 24 My Affaires Doe euen drag me home-ward. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 144 Dragg'd back again by cruel Destinies. View more context for this quotation
1725 I. Watts Logick ii. iii. 351 A Writer of great Name drags a thousand Followers after him into his own Mistakes.
1853 Parl. Deb. 3rd Ser. 127 1173 Everything that could possibly be dragged into the case.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) II. vii. 4 His habit of dragging in the most irrelevant tales.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 479 His pleasure is to drag words this way and that.
1876 F. E. Trollope Charming Fellow II. ix. 124 To know why she must be dragged out to these people's stupid parties.
3.
a. intransitive. To hang behind with a retarding tendency; to lag in the rear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)] > follow slowly
draga1513
draggle1577
drail1598
lag1651
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxxix. f. ciiii That none shuld dragge or tary after his hoost.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. KKii They that draggeth behynde, & gothe but slouly forwarde in the iourney of perfection.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 526/1 Thou draggest alwayes, tu fais tousjours la queue.
b. To lag behind in singing or playing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [verb (intransitive)] > keep time > fail to keep time
drag?a1500
to break time1591
?a1500 [implied in: ?a1500 in Audelay's Poems (Percy Soc.) Notes 85 Jangler cum jasper, lepar, galper quoque, draggar. (at dragger n. 1)].
1526 [implied in: W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. HHHiiii In the psalmody & hymnes..Begyn all at ones, and ende all at ones..beware of tayles or draggyng. (at dragging n. a)].
1863 Spectator 4 July 2203/1 The chorus..‘dragged’ unmistakeably in one or two passages.
1897 N.E.D. at Drag Mod. The quartet was not sung in time, the tenor dragged.
4. intransitive. To trail, to hang with its weight, while moving or being moved; to move with friction on the ground or surface.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > order of movement > following behind > follow behind [verb (intransitive)] > moving along a surface
trail1303
sweep1642
drag1666
1666 S. Pepys Diary 12 June (1972) VII. 162 Only for a long petticoat dragging under their men's coats, nobody could take them for women.
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ix. 161 To raise the Door that it drag not.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 384 Of sounding Lashes, and of dragging Chains.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 129 In Architecture, a Door is said to drag, when in opening and shutting it hangs upon the Floor.
1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 108 Elms, dragging along the twisted vines.
1820 W. Hazlitt Lect. Dramatic Lit. 119 There is the least colour possible used; the pencil drags.
1896 Daily News 23 July 8/5 The overturned coach dragged along the permanent way, and suffered considerable damage.
5. transitive. To protract or continue tediously; usually drag on. Also to drag out: to protract to a tedious end.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (transitive)] > cause to endure, sustain, or prolong
lengOE
drawOE
teec1200
forlengtha1300
lengtha1300
drivec1300
tarryc1320
proloynec1350
continuec1380
to draw alonga1382
longa1382
dretch1393
conservea1398
to draw (out) in, into, at, or on lengtha1400
prorogue1419
prolongc1425
aroomc1440
prorogate?a1475
protend?a1475
dilate1489
forlong1496
relong1523
to draw out1542
sustentate1542
linger1543
defer1546
pertract1548
propagate1548
protract1548
linger1550
lengthen1555
train1556
detract?a1562
to make forth (long, longer)1565
stretch1568
extend1574
extenuate1583
dree1584
wire-draw1598
to spin out1603
trail1604
disabridge1605
produce1605
continuate1611
out-length1617
spin1629
to eke out1641
producta1670
prolongate1671
drawl1694
drag1697
perennate1698
string1867
perennialize1898
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 260 'Tis long since I..have drag'd a ling'ring Life.
1707 E. J. Smith Phædra & Hippolitus ii. 19 Oh! can I drag a wretched Life without him?
1836 A. Combe Physiol. Digestion ii. iii. 254 Dragging out a painful existence.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate III. iv. 92 The events of the day drag themselves on tediously in such a country house.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 488 [It] dragged on a wretched existence for some centuries.
1892 Black & White 2 Apr. 424/2 Like too many vocalists..[he] ‘dragged’ certain passages until all sense of time was lost.
6.
a. intransitive. To advance or progress slowly and painfully; to be tediously protracted; to become tedious by protraction. to drag on, along: to go on with painful or wearisome protraction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > grow longer or extend > be tediously protracted
in a person's fingers1469
defer1546
drag1735
linger1836
1735 A. Pope Epist. Lady 29 Long open panegyrick drags at best.
1795 R. Southey Vision Maid of Orleans iii. 290 He shall not drag Forlorn and friendless, along life's long path.
1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III xxxii. 19 The day drags through though storms keep out the sun.
1830 Examiner 472/2 He..continued to drag round the course till he had made sixty-five circuits.
1836 C. Dickens Let. ?23 Jan. (1965) I. 120 I did set to work yesterday, and dragged on as well as I could.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. i. 10 A correspondence..had already lasted through the long vacation..without sensibly dragging.
b. Stock Market. To be sluggish or inactive.
ΚΠ
1906 Daily Chron. 19 Sept. 1/7 Stock markets were heavy. Consols dragged.
II. To use or put a drag to.
7.
a. transitive. To draw some contrivance over the bottom of (a river, etc.), so as to bring up any loose matter; to dredge; to sweep with a dragnet; to search by means of a drag or grapnel as for the body of a person drowned. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > diving or dredging > dive or dredge [verb (transitive)] > dredge
drag1577
sweep1820
dredge1844
swipe1881
1577 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 392 Such freemen..shall..scoure, clense, and dragge..all the ryvers.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Draguer l'ancre, to drag, or sweep the bottom, for an anchor which is lost.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. ii. 32 Having dragged the whole neighbourhood for every man, woman and child.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 72 While I dragg'd my brains for such a song.
b. absol. To use a grapnel or drag; to use a dragnet; to dredge.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > diving or dredging > dive or dredge [verb (intransitive)] > dredge
drag1530
dredge1681
sweep1748
creep1813
swipe1881
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 526/1 Cannest thou dragge for fysshe, scays tu bien pescher pour les poyssons?
1630 Order in R. Griffiths Ess. Jurisdict. Thames (1746) 77 No Draggerman that..doth use to drag for Shrimps.
1768 G. Washington Writings (1889) II. 241 Went to my Plantation..and dragd for Sturgeon & catchd one.
1790 Trans. Soc. Arts 8 84 Bricks are said to be sometimes raised by the fishermen dragging off this coast.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. (at cited word) Creeper, a small grapnel..for dragging for articles dropped overboard.
c. transitive. To catch with a dragnet or dredge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (transitive)] > catch fish with net
netOE
dredge1508
drag1698
tuck1785
gillnet1837
amphibolize1854
gill1868
trawl1883
seine1887
poke1899
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 49 This is the place where they drag Pearl.
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace i. vi. 13 Go drive the Deer, and drag the finny-prey.
8. To break up (the surface of lands, clods, etc.) with a drag or heavy harrow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > harrow
harrow1377
to-harrow1393
draga1722
ox-harrow1778
bush1787
bush-harrow1788
brake1800
chip1802
crab-harrow1844
tine1854
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 101 Ground which I had ploughed, thwarted and dragged.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Drag 2. To break land by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; a common use of the word in New-England.
1846 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 7 i. 51 The lands are dragged with a heavy crab-harrow.
9.
a. To put a drag upon (wheels or vehicles); to retard as by a drag.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > drive a wheeled vehicle > apply brake to wheel
trig1591
notch1674
skid1674
roughlock1828
drag1829
spoke1854
brake1868
1829 R. Southey Lett. IV. 156 Our endeavours must be to drag the wheels.
1884 Law Times 6 Dec. 97 The wheels of the waggons were chained and breaks applied, and these dragged wheels wore the road more rapidly.
b. Australian and New Zealand slang. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1939 in E. Partridge Dict. Slang (1961) II. 1071/2.
1941 S. J. Baker N.Z. Slang v. 39 From the New Zealand shearing sheds came those effective expressions to drag the chain and swing the gate, phrases applied to the slowest and the fastest shearer in a shed respectively.
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 25 Drag the chain, to be slow, to be inferior, to ‘tail’ the field in any work or contest.
1959 G. Slatter Gun in my Hand 91 Stop dragging the chain and have one with me.
10. Criminals' slang.
a. To rob vehicles. Cf. drag n. 8a, dragger n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > rob [verb (intransitive)] > rob vehicles
drag1819
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 169 Dragsman, a thief who follows the game of dragging.
1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid ii. 18 I'm a screwsman and not on the dragging lark.
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad 330 Dragging, stealing from vans.
b. transitive. To arrest.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)]
at-holda1230
attacha1325
resta1325
takec1330
arrest1393
restay?a1400
tachec1400
seisinc1425
to take upa1438
stowc1450
seize1471
to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515
deprehend1532
apprehend1548
nipa1566
upsnatcha1566
finger1572
to make stay of1572
embarge1585
cap1590
reprehend1598
prehenda1605
embar1647
nap1665
nab1686
bone1699
roast1699
do1784
touch1785
pinch1789
to pull up1799
grab1800
nick1806
pull1811
hobble1819
nail1823
nipper1823
bag1824
lag1847
tap1859
snaffle1860
to put the collar on1865
copper1872
to take in1878
lumber1882
to pick up1887
to pull in1893
lift1923
drag1924
to knock off1926
to put the sleeve on1930
bust1940
pop1960
vamp1970
1924 E. Wallace Room 13 ii. 31 After they dragged you I did some hard thinking.
1928 E. Wallace Gunner xxii. 185 If you particularly want him dragged, you'll tell me what I can drag him on.
11. (From drag n. 6a) To follow the line of scent of (an animal); to trail.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > work done by hounds > action of hounds [verb (transitive)] > follow scent or trail
scenta1425
run1593
drag1773
road1841
quest1842
1773 G. Washington Diary 22 Dec. (1925) II. 133 Went out after Breakfast with the Dogs, dragd a fox an hour or two, but never found [it].
1786 G. Washington Diary 9 Feb. (1925) III. 12 Never got a fox afoot, tho I dragged one to Mr. Robt. Alexander's Pocoson.
III. Idiomatic uses.
12. colloquial. to drag up: to rear roughly or without delicacy: to bring up ‘anyhow’.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > upbringing > [verb (transitive)] > badly
misnurture1623
to drag up1699
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Dragg'd up, as the Rakes call it, educated or brought up.
1802 M. Moore Lascelles II. 5 Lavinia..has been wretchedly dragged up by the old curate.
1826 C. Lamb in New Monthly Mag. Mar. 263 Poor people..do not bring up their children; they drag them up.
1867 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 3 ii. 532 They must be tenderly reared and not ‘dragged up’, as the saying is.
13. to drag along, on: see sense 6a; drag in: see sense 2; to drag on, out: see sense 5.
Derivatives
dragged adj. /dræɡd/ esp. (colloquial) in sense ‘physically exhausted’.
/dræɡd/ esp. (colloquial) in sense ‘physically exhausted’.ΚΠ
1651 H. More Second Lash of Alazanomastix in Enthusiasmus Triumphatus (1656) 195 The disjoynted limbs of dragg'd Hippolytus.
1884 Law Times 6 Dec. 97 The wheels of the waggons were chained and breaks applied, and these dragged wheels wore the road more rapidly.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 21 The seafog rolled back from the cliffs in trailed wreaths and dragged patches.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed vii. 49 ‘I'm dragged,’ she said. ‘Real dragged.’
1963 Sunday Express 13 Oct. 5/7 ‘She is having “dragged” walls—the latest technique in distressed paintwork.’ ‘Distressing’ is a decorator's term for applying a top coat of the paint so that the tone of the undercoat shines through.
1965 House & Garden Feb. 47/2 The bedroom..has walls of pale aquamarine dragged paint.
dragged out adj.
ΚΠ
1833 S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing 118 The poor Huntonites seemed to be a most dragged out.
1866 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 374 I needed some more pungent food in my rather dragged-out condition.
1938 J. Steinbeck Long Valley 138 I'm kind of dragged out.
Draft additions 1993
[See sense 1f] intransitive. To take part in a drag race. North American slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > racing with vehicles > motor racing > take part in motor racing [verb (intransitive)] > take part in drag race
drag1950
1950 M. Bradley Let. in Hot Rod Mag. Jan. 28/3 There ought to be a place to drag in every city... There would be no excuse to drag on the streets.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 17 Apr. 16/2 Joggers are considered antisocial beings by certain groups... I have been pelted with eggs..by a passing car and challenged to drag by cars with engines in full rev.
Draft additions March 2003
transitive. Computing. In a graphical user interface: to move or copy (an image, icon, text, etc.) across a display screen using a mouse or similar device; to move the borders of (a window, graphic, etc.) in order to alter its dimensions. Also intransitive.
ΚΠ
1983 Byte Feb. 33 Finally, I pick up the title with the cursor, ‘drag’ it to a new location and leave it there.
1990 Computer Buyer's Guide & Handbk. vi. 63/2 Columns are resized by merely dragging their borders with the mouse.
1997 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 29 June 5 The user is asked to identify three milk cartons, five apple cores and so on, and drag them into an on-screen trash can.
2001 Computer Music May (Getting Started Suppl.) 17/1 Adding these videos to your arrangement is simple: simply drag your .avi files onto new tracks in the arrangement area.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
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