Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

DREG, n.¹, v.¹ Sc. usages. Also dregg, draig. [drɛg, dreg Sc., but Fif. + drəig]

I. n.

1. The refuse of malt from the still in distilleries (Sc. 1855 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 620; Ayr.⁴ 1928).Sc. 1743 R. Maxwell Select Trans. Agric. 288:
The Dreg or Barm you distil off, occasions the Houtgout in the Spirits.Sc. 1814 Farmer's Mag. (Nov.) 430:
There is no offal from sugar distillation except dreg, a little of which is sometimes given to wintering cattle that are eating straw.Fif. 1875 A. Burgess Bk. of Nettercaps 16:
Horse legs — draff — dregg — auld shune an' lethir Nae thing kums wrang.Edb. 1866 J. Smith Merry Bridal 100:
Mountains o' draff an' dreg.Peb. 1793 Carlop Green (ed. R. D. C. Brown 1832) ii. 17:
Up tae the een and riggin bane In bedding dreg and draff.

2. A small quantity of any liquid, esp. of spirits, a drop (Sc. 1825 Jam.², dreg; Fif. 1926 Wilson Cent. Scot. 239, 1949 (per Abd.²⁷), draig). Used fig. = a trifle, a paltry sum. Derivs. dreggle (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Ayr.⁴ 1928, obsol.), dreglin (Cld. 1880 Jam.⁵), draigle, draiglin (Ayr. Ib.; Fif.¹⁰ 1940). In pl. dreglins = dregs (Abd.²⁷ 1947; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 244).Sc. 1868 G. Webster Strathbrachan III. 820:
The dreg o' tea that you and Lady Katy leaves in your cups.Ags. 1819 A. Balfour Campbell I. 140:
It's no possible that ye can be in a strait for sic a draigle as forty punds.Fif. 1896 D. S. Meldrum Grey Mantle 199:
Ay: an' so the stane at the boulder-well said, very like, “What's to hinder me keeping whole because a bit draigle o' water fa's on me?”Lnk. 1881 D. Thomson Musings 171:
Ye in yer dreg o' ink micht dip it, An' write tae me.Lnk. 1881 D. Thomson Musings 176:
I dinna like strong drink mysel', But think they are tae blame Wha backbite them that tak' a dreg.Ayr.⁴ 1928:
A'll just hae a wee dreg mair.Dmf. 1821 T. Carlyle Letters (ed. Norton) II. 10:
Go down the house every night and make yourself a comfortable dreg [of tea].

3. Combs.: †(1) dreg-pot, a tea-pot (Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems, Gl.); (2) dregg-salt, refuse salt (Sh. 1899 Sh. News (12 Aug.)).

4 Fine powdery lime after slaking.Sc. 1837 Trans. Highl. Soc. 64:
90 of stones and 23 of coal to a whole kiln, which will yield about 110 bolls of shells, besides a quantity of dreg, at 1s. 3d. per cart. Edb. 1841 Trans. Highl. Soc. 274:
One half of which was small lime, commonly called dreg, and the other half of the large shells.

II. v. To strip a cow, to extract the last drops or dregs of milk (Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 244).