dreich

English

WOTD – 26 January 2024

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”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɹiːk/, /dɹiːx/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɹik/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /drix/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ðreː/, /driːx/
• Rhymes: -iːk, -iːx

Adjective

dreich (comparative dreicher, superlative dreichest) (Northern England, North Midlands, Northern Ireland, Scotland)

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.

   (long-winded): Synonyms: see Thesaurus:verbose

   (long-winded): Antonyms: see Thesaurus:concise

   • 1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon [pseudonym; James Leslie Mitchell], “Epilude: The Unfurrowed Field”, in Ian Campbell, editor, Sunset Song: A Novel (A Scots Quair; 1), Edinburgh: Polygon, Birlinn, published 2006, →ISBN, page 234:

     So Alec showed her the letter, 'twas long and dreich and went on and on; […]

2. Not enjoyable or interesting; boring, dull.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boring

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:exciting

   • 1786, Robert Burns, “The Auld Farmer’s New-year Morning Salutation to His Auld Mare, Maggie, on Giving Her the Accustomed Ripp of Corn to Hansel in the New-year”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 198:

     VVhen thou an' I vvere young an' ſkiegh, / An' ſtable-meals at Fairs vvere driegh, / Hovv thou vvad prance, an' ſnore, an' ſkriegh, / An' tak the road!

   • 1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Cluny’s Cage”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC, page 225:

     ["]My life is a bit driegh," says he, pouring out the brandy; "I see little company, and sit and twirl my thumbs, and mind upon a great day that is gone by, and weary for another great day that we all hope will be upon the road. And so here's a toast to ye: The Restoration!"

3. Bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable.
   • 1863, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, “Wedding Raiment”, in Sylvia’s Lovers. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 278:

     But he's lying i' such dree poverty,—and niver a friend to go near him,—niver a person to speak a kind word t' him.

   • 1889, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Summary of Events (continued)”, in The Master of Ballantrae. […], London, Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 22:

     Aweel, Wully was an unco praying kind o' man; a dreigh body, nane o' my kind, I never could abide the sight o' him; […]

   • [1917, John Buchan, “[Theocritus in Scots.] The Kirn (Idyll vii).”, in Poems: Scots and English (in Scots), London; Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack, →OCLC, book I (Scots), page 38:

     The dreichest saul could see he had sunlicht in his ee, / And there's no his marrow left in the toun.

     The most cheerless soul could see he had sunlight in his eye, / And there's none his equal left in the town.]

   • 1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon [pseudonym; James Leslie Mitchell], “Epilude: The Unfurrowed Field”, in Ian Campbell, editor, Sunset Song: A Novel (A Scots Quair; 1), Edinburgh: Polygon, Birlinn, published 2006, →ISBN, page 235:

     It looked a dreich, cold place as you rode by at night, near as lonesome as the old Mill was, and not near as handy.

   • 1941 January, C[uthbert] Hamilton Ellis, “The Scottish Station”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:

     There are many other species of Scottish station, from geranium-hung coastal termini to dreich places in the Black Country, but a concluding note must be reached, and it shall concern Glasgow.

   • 2004 June 3, Susan Hill, chapter 1, in The Various Haunts of Men (A Simon Serrailler Crime Novel), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, page 4:

     Angela Randall was not afraid of the dark, but driving home at this dreich hour and at the end of a difficult shift, she found the ectoplasmic fog unnerving.

   • 2020 February 11, Douglas Stuart, chapter 25, in Shuggie Bain, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, →ISBN, page 336:

     On dreich days Shuggie would take Agnes's wedding album and hide at the foot of her bed poring over the photos of his father.

4. Slow, sluggish; specifically, of a person: tending to delay or procrastinate (especially when paying for something).

   Synonyms: dilatory, tardy; see also Thesaurus:slow

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:speedy

   • 1818 July 25, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume III, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 88:

     What think ye o' yon bonny hill yonder, lifting its brow to the moon? […] [M]aybe we will win there the night yet, God sain us, though our minny [a horse] here's rather driegh in the upgang.

   • 1914, Neil Munro, “A Call to the North”, in The New Road, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 53:

     I have the bills o' men like Keppoch and Glengarry flourishing about the Lowlands in the place o' paper money; they're aye gettin' a' the dreicher at the payin', but whatever comes o't I have got them in my grasp.

5. Of a person: having a dejected or serious appearance or mood; dour, gloomy, moody, morose, sullen.
   • 1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume III (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 114:

     There they are that were capering on their prancing nags four days since, and they are now ganging as driegh and sober as oursells the day.

6. Of a task: laborious, tedious, troublesome; hence, needing concentration to understand; intricate.

   Synonyms: burdensome, taxing, toilsome

   • [1934], Lewis Grassic Gibbon [pseudonym; James Leslie Mitchell], “Forsaken”, in Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Hugh MacDiarmid [pseudonym; Christopher Murray Grieve], Scottish Scene or The Intelligent Man’s Guide to Albyn, London; Melbourne: National Book Association; Hutchinson & Co., →OCLC, 4th section, page 149:

     Right above your head some thing towered up with branching arms in the flow of the lights; and you saw that it was a cross of stone, overlaid with curlecues, strange, dreich signs, like the banners of the Roman robbers of men whom you'd preached against in Zion last night.

7. Chiefly of rain: without pause or stop; continuous, incessant.

   Synonyms: persistent, sustained, unceasing, unending, unremitting; see also Thesaurus:continuous

   • a. 1931 (date written), D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “A Hay Hut among the Mountains”, in Warren Roberts, Harry T. Moore, editors, Phoenix II: Uncollected, Unpublished, and Other Prose Works by D. H. Lawrence […], Viking Compass edition, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, published 1970, →ISBN, part I (Stories and Sketches), page 43:

     So, after two hours' running downhill, we came out in the level valley at Glashütte. It was raining now, a thick dree rain.

8. Of weather: dreary, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.).
   • 1863, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, “The Engagement”, in Sylvia’s Lovers. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 40:

     To be sure, t' winter's been a dree season, and thou'rt, maybe, in the right on't to make a late start.

   • 1969, George Mackay Brown, “Rackwick”, in An Orkney Tapestry, London: Victor Gollancz, →OCLC, page 40:

     Days are dreicher than January. / A dead lamb is dropped in the thaw. / Yet now we are glad / For all things turn to the sun.

   • 1992, Ian Rankin, “Up the River”, in Strip Jack (A Thomas Dunne Book), 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, published 1994, →ISBN, page 97:

     Burglary with violent assault: just the thing for a dreich Thursday morning.

   • 2023 November 29, Paul Clifton, “West is Best in the Highlands”, in Rail, number 997, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 39:

     Up here, it’s a ‘dreich’ day with steady drizzle. Deep drainage channels either side of the track are already more like streams: Rannoch Moor is a wet place.

9. (obsolete)
   1. Of a person: negotiating forcefully; driving a hard bargain.
   2. Of a place (especially a hill or mountain): difficult to get through or reach; inaccessible.

Alternative forms

• dree, dreigh
• dreegh (Scotland)

Derived terms

• dree (adverb)
• dreichly

Translations

extending for a long distance or time, especially when tedious or wearisome — see long-drawn-out,‎ protracted

of speech or writing: unnecessarily verbose — see long-winded

not enjoyable or interesting — see boring,‎ dull

bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable — see dreary,‎ miserable

slow, sluggish — see slow

of a person: tending to delay or procrastinate — see dilatory

of a person: having a dejected or serious appearance or mood — see gloomy,‎ sullen

of a task: laborious, tedious, troublesome — see laborious,‎ tedious,‎ troublesome

needing concentration to understand — see intricate

chiefly of rain: without pause or stop — see continuous,‎ incessant

of weather: dreary, gloomy — see dreary,‎ gloomy

Noun

dreich (countable and uncountable, plural dreiches)

1. (countable, Northern England, North Midlands) A tedious or troublesome task; also, the most tedious or troublesome part of a task.
2. (uncountable, Scotland) Bleakness, gloom; specifically, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.) weather.

Translations

tedious or troublesome task; most tedious or troublesome part of a task

• Finnish: suuri vaiva
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

bleakness, gloom — see bleakness,‎ gloom

gloomy weather — see bad weather

Further reading

• Joseph Wright, editor (1900), “DREE, adj.”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume II (D–G), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, pages 166–167.

Anagrams

• chider, herdic, riched

Irish

Noun

dreich f sg

1. dative singular of dreach (“front”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of dreich

radical	lenition	eclipsis
dreich	dhreich	ndreich

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “dreich”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English dregh, from Old English ġedrēog, *drēog, from Proto-West Germanic *dreug, from Proto-Germanic *dreugaz. Possibly influenced by Brythonic, e.g. Welsh drycin (“bad weather”) < drwg (“bad”) +‎ hin (“weather”).

Distantly cognate with English drudge, dree, and German trügen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /driːx/, /driːç/

Adjective

dreich (comparative mair dreich, superlative maist dreich)

1. persistent, continuous, relentless
2. slow, tardy
3. dismal, dowie, dreary, bleak
   • 2000, Matthew Fitt, But n Ben A-Go-Go, Luath, published 2000, page 132:

     The dreich inhuman blue on Nadia's lang-wheesht thocht-screen fizzed intae life.

     The dreary, inhuman blue on Nadia's long-silent thought-screen fizzed into life.

4. tedious, wearisome, drawn-out
5. reluctant, tight-fisted, driving a hard bargain

Derived terms

• dreichly
• deid dreich
• dreich in the draw