dree

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɹiː/
  • Rhymes: -iː

Etymology 1

From Middle English dreen, dreghen, dreogen, from Old English drēogan, from Proto-Germanic *dreuganą (“to work, act, do military service”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to hold fast”). Cognate with Scots dree, drie (“to endure, thole, suffer, bear”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (driugan, “to do military service”), Icelandic drýgja (“to commit, connect, perpetrate, lengthen”). See also dright, drighten.

Verb

dree (third-person singular simple present drees, present participle dreeing, simple past and past participle dreed)

  1. (transitive, chiefly dialectal, North England and Scotland) To suffer; bear; endure; put up with; undergo.
    • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume 8:
      And redoubled pine for its dwellers I dree.
  2. (intransitive, chiefly dialectal, North England and Scotland) To endure; brook; be able to do or continue.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English dreȝ, dregh, dryȝ (“long, extended, great”), from Old English *drēog (“fit, sober, earnest”) and/or Old Norse drjúgr (“extensive, sufficient”); both from Proto-Germanic *dreugaz (“extensive, firm”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- (“to hold fast”). Cognate with Scots dreich (“extensive, lasting, long-lasting, tedious, tiresome, slow”), West Frisian drege (“extensive, long-lasting”), Danish drøj (“tough, solid, heavy”), Swedish dryg (“lasting, liberal, hard, large, ample”), Icelandic drjúgur (“long, substantial, ample, heavy”).

Alternative forms

  • dreigh, dreegh (Scotland)

Adjective

dree (comparative more dree, superlative most dree)

  1. (now chiefly dialectal) Long; large; ample; great.
  2. (now chiefly dialectal) Great; of serious moment.
  3. (now chiefly dialectal) Tedious; wearisome; tiresome.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Middle English dreghe, dregh, from dregh, dreȝ (“long, extended, great”). See above.

Noun

dree (plural drees)

  1. (now chiefly dialectal) Length; extension; the longest part.

Anagrams

Low German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle Low German drê, drî, drie.

Numeral

dree

  1. three
  • (ordinal numeral) darde, drüdde, drüdd', drütt, drütte (in Dithmarschen)

Luxembourgish

Verb

dree

  1. second-person singular imperative of dreeën

Plautdietsch

Etymology

From Middle Low German drê, drî, drie.

Numeral

dree

  1. (cardinal) three

Scots

Etymology

From Old English drēogan.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /driː/

Verb

dree (third-person singular present drees, present participle dreein, past dreed, past participle dreed)

  1. to endure, suffer, put up with, undergo

Derived terms

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