DRAFF

Etymology

Noun

draff (usually uncountable, plural draffs)

dregs; the wash given to swine or cows; hogwash or waste matter.

• Dante, Divine comedy, Inferno, Canto 18

Source: Wiktionary


Draff, n. Etym: [Cf. D. draf the sediment of ale, Icel. draf draff, husks. Cf. 1st Drab.]

Definition: Refuse; lees; dregs; the wash given to swine or cows; hogwash; waste matter. Prodigals lately come from swine keeping, from eating draff and husks. Shak. The draff and offal of a bygone age. Buckle. Mere chaff and draff, much better burnt. Tennyson.

Draff, n. Etym: [The same word as draught. OE. draught, draht, fr. AS. dragan to draw. See Draw, and cf. Draught.]

1. The act of drawing; also, the thing drawn. Same as Draught. Everything available for draft burden. S. G. Goodrich.

2. (Mil.)

Definition: A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or from any part of it, or from a military post; also from any district, or any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large; also, the body of men thus drafted. Several of the States had supplied the deficiency by drafts to serve for the year. Marshall.

3. An order from one person or party to another, directing the payment of money; a bill of exchange. I thought it most prudent to deter the drafts till advice was received of the progress of the loan. A. Hamilton.

4. An allowance or deduction made from the gross veight of goods. Simmonds.

5. A drawing of lines for a plan; a plan delineated, or drawn in outline; a delineation. See Draught.

6. The form of any writing as first drawn up; the first rough sketch of written composition, to be filled in, or completed. See Draught.

7. (Masonry) (a) A narrow border left on a finished stone, worked differently from the rest of its face. (b) A narrow border worked to a plane surface along the edge of a stone, or across its face, as a guide to the stone-cutter.

8. (Milling)

Definition: The slant given to the furrows in the dress of a millstone.

9. (Naut.)

Definition: Depth of water necessary to float a ship. See Draught.

10. A current of air. Same as Draught.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

31 March 2025

IMPROVISED

(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”


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Coffee Trivia

International Coffee Day (September 29) is an occasion to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage, with events occurring in places across the world. A day to promote fair trade coffee and raise awareness for the coffee growers’ plight. Other countries celebrate this event on October 1.

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