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Dreich

//dɹiːk// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective

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. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"So Alec showed her the letter, 'twas long and dreich and went on and on; […]"
2
Not enjoyable or interesting; boring, dull. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"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!"
3
Bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"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."
4
suitably serious or solemn Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
5
of a person: patient, stoic, tolerant, resolute Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland

Show 7 more definitions

6
Slow, sluggish; specifically, of a person: tending to delay or procrastinate (especially when paying for something). Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"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."
7
Of a person: having a dejected or serious appearance or mood; dour, gloomy, moody, morose, sullen. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"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."
8
Of a task: laborious, tedious, troublesome; hence, needing concentration to understand; intricate. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"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."
9
Chiefly of rain: without pause or stop; continuous, incessant. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"So, after two hours' running downhill, we came out in the level valley at Glashütte. It was raining now, a thick dree rain."
10
Of weather: dreary, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.). Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland
"To be sure, t' winter's been a dree season, and thou'rt, maybe, in the right on't to make a late start."
11
Of a person: negotiating forcefully; driving a hard bargain. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, obsolete
12
Of a place (especially a hill or mountain): difficult to get through or reach; inaccessible. Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, obsolete

Noun

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

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”)

Etymology 2

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