drag

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of dragging (pulling with force)

   the drag up the hill exhausted him

2. 2
   noun

   clothing that is conventionally worn by the opposite sex: especially women's clothing when worn by a man

   I went to the party dressed in drag.

3. 3
   noun

   something tedious and boring

   peeling potatoes is a drag

4. 4
   noun

   something that slows or delays progress

   taxation is a drag on the economy

5. 5
   verb

   proceed for an extended period of time

   The speech dragged on for two hours

6. 6
   verb

   persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting

   They dragged me away from the television set.

7. 7
   verb

   pull, as against a resistance

   They dragged the big suitcase behind them.

8. 8
   verb

   to lag or linger behind

   But in so many other areas we still are dragging

Etymology

From Middle English draggen (“to drag”), early Middle English dragen (“to draw, carry”), confluence of Old English dragan (“to drag, draw, draw oneself, go, protract”) and Old Norse draga (“to draw, attract”); both from Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to draw, drag”). Verb sense influenced due to association with the noun drag (“that which is hauled or dragged”), related to Low German dragge (“a drag-anchor, grapnel”). Cognate with Danish drægge (“to dredge”), Danish drage (“to draw, attract”), Swedish dragga (“to drag, drag anchor, sweep”), Swedi…