DREGS

dregs, settlings

(noun) sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

dregs pl (plural only)

(collectively) The sediment settled at the bottom of a liquid; the lees in a container of unfiltered wine.

(figuratively, the dregs) The worst and lowest part of something.

Usage notes

• The singular form dreg is far less common, but the phrase to the last dreg still has currency.

Synonyms

• debris, deposit, draff, dross, exuviate, feculence, grounds, grouts, lees, loser, orts, outcast, rabble, refuse, residue, residuum, riffraff, rubbish, scum, sediment, settling, trash, trub

Source: Wiktionary

DREG

Dreg, n. Etym: [Prob. from Icel. dregg; akin to Sw. drägg, cf. Icel. & Sw. draga to draw. Cf. Draw.]

Definition: Corrupt or defiling matter contained in a liquid, or precipitated from it; refuse; feculence; lees; grounds; sediment; hence, the vilest and most worthless part of anything; as, the dregs of society. We, the dregs and rubbish of mankind. Dryden.

Note: Used formerly (rarely) in the singular, as by Spenser and Shakespeare, but now chiefly in the plural.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition