dross

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Worthless or trivial matter.

   What thou lovest well remains, the rest is dross.

From Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs (“dregs, sediment”). Also compare Old English drōsna, drōsne (“a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax”), from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō (“dregs, sediment”), derived from *drōhs. Alternatively, this may be from *dragjō + *-snō (“yeast, sediment”; compare *dragjō (“yeast”)), as if from *drēcg + -sn. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment, yeast”). Cognate with Scots dros, drose, drosse (“small particles, fragments, dross”), Middle Dutch droes (“dregs”), Dutch droesem (“dregs”), Ge...

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