dross

Etymology

Came into English via Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs, meaning ‘dregs, sediment’. Compare also Old English drōsna, drōsne, meaning ‘a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax’, from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō, meaning ‘dregs, sediment’, itself derived from *drōhs. Alternatively, it may come from *dragjō plus *-snō, meaning ‘yeast, sediment’ (compare *dragjō, meaning ‘yeast’), as if from *drēcg plus -sn, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks, meaning ‘sediment, yeast’. It is cognate with Scots dros, drose, drosse, meaning ‘small particles, fragments, dross’, Middle Dutch droes, meaning ‘dregs’, Dutch droesem, meaning ‘dregs’, German Drusen, meaning ‘lees, dregs’, and Latin fracēs, meaning ‘grounds or dregs of oil’. It is also related to drast and dregs.