▪ I. dree, v. Now Sc. and north. dial. or arch.
(driː)
Forms: 1 dréoᵹan, 2 dreoȝen, 2–5 dreȝe(n, 3 drehe(n, dreȝhenn (Orm.), 3–4 driȝe(n, 3–6 drei(e, 3–9 drie, 4 drey(e, dryȝ(e, 4–5 dregh(e, 4–6 drighe, dry(e, dre (5 dryee), 4– dree. pa. tense 1 dreáᵹ, dreáh, pl. druᵹon, 2–3 dreȝ, pl. druhen, drehen, 3 dreih, 4 dreiȝh, dreȝh, dreyȝ, drey, (drogh, drow, drie). β. 3 drehde, 4 dried, 5 dreghit, (6 Sc. dreit), 5– dreed. pa. pple. 1–3 droȝen, 2 idreȝen, 4 drowen, (droun). β. 5– dreed.
[OE. dréoᵹan (3rd sing. dr{iacu}ehþ, dr{yacu}hð); a strong vb. of 2nd ablaut series, (OTeut. type *dreug-, draug-, drug-), elsewhere represented only by Gothic driugan to do military service (gadrauhts a soldier), and the ON. derivative vb. dr{yacu}gja to perform, perpetrate, lengthen, f. drj{uacu}g- enduring, lasting, etc. In the 13th c., a weak pa. tense is found, and the strong inflexions do not occur after 1400. The verb has lived on in Sc. and north Eng. dialects, and has been revived as a literary archaism by Sir Walter Scott and his imitators.
In ME. there was some tendency to confuse dree and draw, arising prob. from form-association of drōȝ, drōgh, drōw, pa. tense of draw, with druȝen, pl. of pa. tense, and droȝen, drowen pa. pple., of dree. Hence drogh, drow occur for dreȝ, dreigh; see also draw v.
c 1340 Cursor M. 9398 (Trin.) Þerynne he dreyȝe aftir bale [Laud MS. drie, Gött. drow, Cott. drogh.]]
† 1. trans. To do, perform (service, duty, any one's will); to commit (sin). Obs.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) liv. 8 Druᵹon þæt on burᵹum, dæᵹes and nihtes. c 1000 Guthlac 386 Se þe in þrowingum þeodnes willan dæᵹhwam dreoᵹeð. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 23 Þa sun⁓fulle monne þe dreȝeð a heore uuele werkes. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 37 Þe wapmen and wimmen þe hordom drien. Ibid. 191 Neddre doð þre þing lichamliche..þe þe deuel driȝeð gostliche. |
2. To endure, undergo, suffer, bear (something burdensome, grievous, or painful).
| a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 2978 Seo menᵹeo fæsten dreah fela missera. a 1200 Moral Ode 288 Al þat man mai here dreoȝen [v.r. drie]. a 1225 Ancr. R. 136 Uor þe luue of him þet dreih more uor þe. Ibid. 356 Wouh of scheome þet mon drihð. c 1230 Hali Meid. 37 Hare weanen þat ure alre modres drehden on us seluen. a 1300 Cursor M. 23225 (Cott.) Þe thrid pine es hard to drei [v. rr. drie, dreȝe, dreye]. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2660 He telde hire the sorewe that he dregh. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3115 For peynes gret, disese and thought, Fro day to day he doth me drye. c 1400 Melayne 1055 Pity the dole we dree for thee. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. x. heading, Quhat sorow dreis queyne Dido all the nycht. a 1774 Fergusson Election Poems (1845) 40 His buik has dree'd a sair, sair fa'. 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton xxv, To dree all the cruel slander they'll put upon him. 1855 Browning Old Pictures in Florence xxv, While their pictures dree Such doom. |
† b. with inf. or subord. clause. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1300 (Gött.) Langer to liue may he noght drei. c 1330 King of Tars 235, I nul no lengor drye That Cristene men schul for me dye. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 950 (R.) Never they ne seygh Man that myghte dreygh To justy wyth Gyffroun. |
c. to dree (one's) weird: to endure one's fate, suffer or submit to one's destiny. arch.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1224 In dongoun be don to dreȝe þer his wyrdes. ? c 1485 Prophecy of Waldhaue in Whole Prophecie of Scotland (1603) C j b, Heere in wildernes I dwell, my weird for to dree. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxxii, ‘Ohon! we're dreeing a sair weird; we hae had a heavy dispensation.’ 1886 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew xxxv, French must dree his weird as a brave man should. |
† d. intr. To suffer. Obs.
| a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xvi. 5 Of duill and dolour so I dry. |
3. trans. To do, perform, suffer (penance, shrift). arch.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 51 Er he hefde idreȝen þet scrift. a 1300 Cursor M. 496 (Cott.) Þai drei ful harde schrift. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16613 He schulde go to Rome..penaunce to drye. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xi, God hase grauntut me grace, To dre my penawunse in this place. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ix. 210 The slaers..sulde be banist to ffrance and drie thair pennance thair. 1810 Scott Lett. 30 Mar. (1894) I. 174, I was dreeing penance for some undiscovered sin at a family party. 1866 Newman Gerontius v. 39 He dreed his penance age by age. |
4. intr. To endure, last, hold out, continue. Now Sc. and north. dial.
| a 1225 Juliana 26 Six men beateð hire hwil ha mahten drehen. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1772 Fled as fast homward as fet miȝt drie. 1375 Barbour Bruce xviii. 53 Sall na man say, quhill I may dre, That strynth of men sall ger me fle. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 156 [Symeon] Welle is me that I shalle dre Tylle I have sene hym with myn ee. 1570 Levins Manip. 46/26 To Dree, last, durare. 1868 Atkinson Cleveland Gloss., Dree, to endure, to last. 1871 Waddell Ps. lxxxviii. 15, I..kenna nae langer how till dree. |
5. trans. To last through (time); to pass, spend, live (one's life, days); esp. with the notion of endurance. Also with forth, out. Obs. or arch.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2404 An hundred ȝer..Haue ic her droȝen in werlde wo. 1340–70 Alisaunder 242 With doole dried hee so his dayes. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 5842 God lyf schalt þou drye. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 44 To drie Her voyage out. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems vii. 1 Drie furth the inch as thou hes done the span. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. ii. v, Would'st thou thy every future year In ceaseless prayer and penance drie. |
6. To ‘spin out’, protract. dial.
| 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., ‘He dreed a lang drone’, delivered a tiresome dissertation. |
Hence ˈdreeing vbl. n.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 919 For dreȝing of þis duel. |
▪ II. dree, n. Sc.
[f. dree v.]
The action of the verb dree; suffering, grief, trouble. (Mostly a modern archaism.)
| [c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 45 The first yere wedlokk is called pleye, The second dreye, and the thrid yere deye.] 1871 Waddell Ps. xxvii. 5, I' the day o' dule an' dree. 1890 R. Bridges Shorter Poems iv. 4 The half-moon..Shrinketh her face of dree. |
▪ III. dree, dreigh, a. Now Sc. and north. dial. or arch.
(driː, driːx)
Forms: 3 dreiȝ, drih, 3–5 dreȝ, 4 drye, dryȝ, 4–5 drey, 5 dregh, drie, 5– dreich, 6– dreigh, 7– dree, (8 dreech, dreegh, 8–9 driegh, 9 driche, driech).
[ME. dreȝ, dregh:—OE. type *dréoᵹ, corresp. to ON. drj{uacu}gr enduring, lasting, substantial, ample, rich (Sw. dryg heavy, long, large, rich, etc., Da. dröi lasting, durable, great); from stem of dree v.]
† 1. Enduring, patient, long-suffering. Obs.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 49 Lomb is drih þing and milde. c 1250 Hymn Virg. 34 Ibid. App. 256 Maide dreiȝ & wel itaucht. |
† 2. Heavy, mighty, great; doughty, fierce. Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 342 In dryȝ dred and daunger. c 1400 Rowland & O. 696 His dynttys were full dreghe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5322 Dreghist in armys, And the strongest in stoure. Ibid. 11890 Þe key..the durres to vndo of the dregh horse. a 1400–50 Alexander 5568 Þe dreȝest deele of þaim died of his dukis handis. |
3. a. Long; slow, tedious, wearisome; persistent; difficult to surmount or get over, ‘stiff’, severe. b. Dreary, cheerless, doleful.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1622 The draghtes, the dyse, and oþer dregh gaumes. Ibid. 3320 Elan..driet the dropis of hir dregh teris. a 1400–50 Alexander 4441 Ȝoure surfete of drinkis..gers ȝow die or ȝoure day many dreȝe wyntir. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 22 Þerof us þenkiþ þe wey to drie. ? 14.. MS. Harl. 2252, fo. 118 (Halliwell) A ryver brode and dreghe. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 357 The craige was vgly, stay and dreich. 1674 Ray N.C. Words 15 Dree: Long, seeming tedious beyond expectation, spoken of a way. A hard bargainer, spoken of a person. a 1774 Fergusson Leith Races Poems (1845) 35 There's lang and dreech contestin. 1794 Burns ‘There was a lass’ i, The moor was driegh, and Meg was skiegh. 1807 J. Stagg Poems 19 Six dree years had Susan languish'd. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxix, ‘Our minny here's rather driech in the upgang.’ 1857 E. Waugh Lanc. Life 207 The rains are heavy and dree upon Ashworth moors. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xxiii, ‘My life is a bit driegh..I see little company’. |
† 4. At a tedious distance, far off. Obs. rare.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12205 Þe lasse hil was nought so drey ffro þe more, but euene ney. |
▪ IV. dree, dreigh, adv. Obs. or dial.
[ME. dreȝe:—OE. type *dréoᵹe.]
† 1. Heavily, severely, mightily, vehemently. Obs.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 3035 Þou louest tristrem dreiȝe. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2663 Hade hit [weapon] dryuen adoun, as dreȝ as he atled, Þer hade ben ded of his dynt. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. (Irel.) xl, Querto draues thou so dreȝghe? |
2. Persistently, ‘doggedly’. dial.
| 1844 S. Bamford Life of Radical 110 The rain having set in dree. 1865 E. Waugh Lanc. Songs 7 Th' rain's comin' deawn very dree. |