DRUDGE

drudge, peon, navvy, galley slave

(noun) a laborer who is obliged to do menial work

hack, drudge, hacker

(noun) one who works hard at boring tasks

labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil

(verb) work hard; “She was digging away at her math homework”; “Lexicographers drudge all day long”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

drudge (plural drudges)

A person who works in a low servile job.

(pejorative) Someone who works for (and may be taken advantage of by) someone else.

Verb

drudge (third-person singular simple present drudges, present participle drudging, simple past and past participle drudged)

(intransitive) To labour in (or as in) a low servile job.

Source: Wiktionary

Drudge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drudged; p. pr. & vb. n. Drudging.] Etym: [OE. druggen; prob not akin to E. drag, v. t., but fr. Celtic; cf. Ir. drugaire a slave or drudge.]

Definition: To perform menial work; to labor in mean or unpleasant offices with toil and fatigue. He gradually rose in the estimation of the booksellers for whom he drudged. Macaulay.

Drudge, v. t.

Definition: To consume laboriously; -- with away. Rise to our toils and drudge away the day. Otway.

Drudge, n.

Definition: One who drudges; one who works hard in servile employment; a mental servant. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition