Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dretch

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
dretch
IPA
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To vex; grill; trouble; oppress.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To delay; linger; tarry.

Intransitive verb; Obsolete

verb

To move slowly and heavily; dawdle; loiter.

British usage; Intransitive verb

noun

An idle wench; a slattern.

noun

A person slow in the execution of a job; a dawdler.

British usage

Etymology

From Middle English dretchen, drecchen, drechen, from Old English dreċċan (“to vex, irritate, trouble, torment, torture, oppress, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *drakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *drakjaną (“to torment”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrag-, *dʰragʰ- (“to bother, torment”). Cognate with Russian раздража́ть (razdražátʹ, “to irritate”), Sanskrit द्राघते (drāghate, “to exert oneself, be tired, torment”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: dretchen, dreċċan, *drakkjan, *drakjaną, *dʰrag-, *dreċċan

Usage

Inflected Forms

dretches (present, singular) dretching (participle, present) dretched (participle, past) dretched (past) draitch (alternative, Scotland) drich (alternative, Scotland) dretches (plural)

Rhymes With

catch stretch sketch fetch wretch etch lech fletch ketch vetch retch letch

Questions

What does dretch mean?
To vex; grill; trouble; oppress.
Where does dretch come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce dretch

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  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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