Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/82

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drechseln, vb., ‘to turn (on a lathe),’ deriv. of MidHG. drëhsel, drœhsel, ‘turner,’ in Goth. *þrêhsils; drehen (root þré, tré) cannot be closely allied to drechseln; it must rather be connected with a root containing a guttural, þrêhs- or þrêh. Gr. τρέπομαι (with π for k), and Lat. torqueo (Gr. ἄπρακτος, ‘spindle,’ Lat. torcular, ‘oil-press’), point to a root trek, ‘to turn.’ The OHG. drâhsil, ‘turner,’ is probably the only remains of this root in Teut.; in MidHG. and also in UpG. and LG. dialects drehen (MidHG. drœjen, drœn) signifies ‘to turn (on a lathe).’ See drehen.

Dreck, m., ‘dirt, mire, filth, dung,’ from the equiv. MidHG. drëc (gen. -ckes), m., ‘dirt’; OHG. *drëcch, Goth. *þrikk, m., are supported by OIc. þrekkr, m., ‘dirt’ (Dan. dräck). Perhaps derived from the meaning ‘sediment, lees,’ so that Gr. τρύξ, τρυγός, ‘lees, sediment, fresh must’ (with υ for o?), may perhaps be compared.

drehen, vb., ‘to turn, whirl, wind,’ from MidHG. drœjen, drœn, ‘to turn, turn round,’ OHG. drâjan. The Goth. form may have been þ aian (comp. wehen, Goth. waian; säen, Goth. saian); comp. Du. draaijen, ‘to turn (on a lathe)’; AS. þrâwan (comp. sâwan, wâwan), and MidE. þrâwen, ‘to turn,’ are str. vbs., while the ModHG. verb is wk. even in OHG. The assumed Goth. form *þraian, ‘to turn,’ was undoubtedly conjugated strong (pret. *þaíþrô). þrê is the verbal stem common to Teut., from which a subst., Draht, meaning ‘twisted thread,’ was formed by adding a dental suffix. This subst. proves most clearly that the root of drehen did not end in a guttural, and that therefore ModHG. Drechsler, from OHG. drâhsil, cannot be allied to drehen. In ModE., to throw (‘to turn’), is obsolete. The root þrê is from pre-Teut. trê, ter; this appears in Gr., with the meaning ‘to bore,’ in numerous derivatives. ‘To bore’ is a specialisation of the meaning ‘to turn,’ πολύτρητος, ‘porous,’ τρῆμα, ‘hole,’ συντρῆσαι, τετραίνω, ‘to bore through,’ τερέω, ‘to bore, turn on a lathe’ (comp. MidHG. drœjen, ‘to turn on a lathe’), τόρνος, ‘turner's chisel,’ τέρετρον, Lat. terebra, ‘borer.’ Comp. also Darm.

drei, num., ‘three,’ from MidHG. and OHG. drî, which is prop. simply the nom. masc.; the rest of the old cases are obsolete in ModHG.; AS. þrî, þreó, E. three, Goth. þreis, from *þrijis. It corresponds to Aryan trejes, equiv. to Sans. tráyas, Gr.

τρεῖς, from τρέγες, Lat. três, OSlov. trĭje. Drei, like the other units, is a primit. word. See Drillich, Dritte.

dreist, adj., ‘bold, audacious, self-confident,’ simply ModHG., from the equiv. LG. drîste (hence dreist is not found in the UpG. dialects); comp. OSax. thrîsti, Du. driest, AS. þrîste, ‘bold, daring.’ The similarity in the initial sound with Lat. tristis, ‘sad,’ is perhaps of no etymological value; as, however, a similar change of meaning is met with in the cognates of ModHG. tapfer, Lat. tristis and OSax. thrîsti may perhaps be derived from a common root. Otherwise it might well be connected with dringen, OSax. thrîsti, for thrîhsti, from þrinh-sti?.

dreißig, see zig.

dreschen, vb., ‘to thresh,’ from the equiv. MidHG. drëschen, OHG. drëskan; corresponds to Du. dorschen, AS. þërscan (for þrescan), E. to thrash, thresh (comp. MidHG. dreschen, which also means ‘to torment’); Goth. þriskan. Threshing was practised in primit. Teut. times, as this common term testifies. The Teutons, even before they became settlers, and hence while they were still migrating, were acquainted with the most elementary methods of agriculture; comp. the various kinds of corn, and also Pflug, Egge, Brot, &c. The Teut. cognates found their way into Rom. , — Ital. trescare, ‘to trample, move the feet about, dance,’ OFr. tresche, ‘chain-dance’ From these the OTeut. method of threshing may be easily inferred. The flail (Dreschflegel) came from Italy through the medium of Rom. (see Flegel); for this a simpler term is found in OHG. driscil, MidHG. and ModHG. drischel. The meaning of the Teut. base tresk is probably ‘to stamp noisily, tread’; comp. Lith. trasketi, ‘to rattle, clatter,’ OSlov. trěskŭ, ‘crack,’ troska, ‘thunderclap.’ E. threshold is mostly connected with dreschen, OTeut. þrëskan, regarding it as the threshing-staff, or as the place at the entrance to the house where corn was threshed.

drillen, vb., ‘to revolve, bore, drill,’ from MidHG. drillen, ‘to turn, make round’ (with the partic. gedrollen, ‘round’). The meaning ‘to bore’ comes from LG. drillen (see drehen, drechseln, for the connecting link between the meanings), akin to Du. drillen, E. to thrill, and also LG. drall (MidDu. drel), ‘round, turning,’ which is formed by gradation. The cog-