dreg Meaning, Definition & Usage

Dreg noun

Etymology

Prob. from Icel. dregg; akin to Sw. drägg, cf. Icel. & Sw. draga to draw. Cf. Draw.

Definitions

1. Corrupt or defiling matter contained in a liquid, or precipitated from it; refuse; feculence; lees; grounds; sediment; hence, the vilest and most worthless part of anything; as, the dregs of society.

   We, the dregs and rubbish of mankind. Dryden.

   ✍ Used formerly (rarely) in the singular, as by Spenser and Shakespeare, but now chiefly in the plural.