*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of dreg

Borrowed from Old Norse dregg (“sediment”), from Proto-Germanic *dragjō (whence also Icelandic dregg, Swedish drägg), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment”); see also Latin fraces (“lees of oil”), Albanian ndrag

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

singular of dregs (“sediment in a liquid”)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Old Norse dregg (“sediment”), from Proto-Germanic *dragjō (whence also Icelandic dregg, Swedish drägg), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment”); see also Latin fraces (“lees of oil”), Albanian ndrag (“to make dirty, foul”), dra (“sediments of dairy products or liquids”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "dregg",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sediment"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Old Norse dregg (“sediment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*dragjō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *dragjō"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "dregg"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic dregg"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "drägg"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish drägg"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰrā́ks",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sediment"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "fraces",
        "3": "",
        "4": "lees of oil"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin fraces (“lees of oil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "ndrag",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to make dirty, foul"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian ndrag (“to make dirty, foul”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "dregg",
      "dregg#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*dragjō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/dragjō"
    ],
    [
      "dregg",
      "dregg#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "drägg",
      "drägg#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰrā́ks",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰrā́ks"
    ],
    [
      "fraces",
      "fraces#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ndrag",
      "ndrag#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "dra",
      "dra#Albanian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "singular of dregs (“sediment in a liquid”)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "form-of",
        "in-plural",
        "singular",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "0ce74e0bf3d50c81fe7f5bacb3385c31b93121b7a8e45bd1c94c4092caa9ded9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6bc9706ae1d5be36e441df9f262c8469f4a3da1991c6c9270312cfb65d977ad0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 226849
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for dreg →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZHJlZw