English Explanatory Dictionary

dross

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Waste or impure matter.
  2. Residue that forms as a scum on the surface of molten metal from oxidation.
  3. The impurities in metal.
  4. A waste product from working with metal.
  5. Worthless or trivial matter.
  6. Residual raw opium left in an opium pipe which can be recycled for further sale or use.
verb
  1. To remove dross from.

Pronunciation

/dɹɒs/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dross.wav /dɹɔs/ /dɹɑs/

Word forms

dross drosses drosse drossing drossed

Etymology

From Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs (“dregs, sediment”). Also compare Old English drōsna, drōsne (“a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax”), from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō (“dregs, sediment”), derived from *drōhs. Alternatively, this may be from *dragjō + *-snō (“yeast, sediment”; compare *dragjō (“yeast”)), as if from *drēcg + -sn. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment, yeast”). Cognate with Scots dros, drose, drosse (“small particles, fragments, dross”), Middle Dutch droes (“dregs”), Dutch droesem (“dregs”), German Drusen (“lees, dregs”), Latin fracēs (“grounds or dregs of oil”). Related also to drast, dregs.

Synonyms

slag scoria junk rubbish

Derived words

drosser drossless drossy human dross Windross

Translations

Bulgarian: отпадъци Czech: odpad Czech: škvár Czech: brak Czech: šmejd German: Müll German: Schrott Greek: περιττό Persian: تفاله Persian: لوث Polish: nieczystości Polish: odpady Russian: отбро́сы Serbo-Croatian: о̏тпа̄д Serbo-Croatian: о̀тпадак Serbo-Croatian: ȍtpād Serbo-Croatian: òtpadak Swedish: slagg Ottoman Turkish: بوق
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