drill

Three nouns are spelled drill: a boring tool, from Dutch; a furrow for seed, of unknown origin; and a twilled cloth, from German Drillich.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɹɪl/^[4]

drill¹ boring tool, training

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch dril (“a hole, instrument for boring”), drille, from drillen, to bore, turn around, whirl,^[1][2][3][5] from Middle Dutch drillen,^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *þreljanan,^[2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *tere- (“to rub, turn”), also the root of Latin terere, to rub, and English throw.^[1][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A tool for boring holes: 1611.^[2][6][1]

Semantic evolution

Training in military exercises is from before 1637,^[6][2] after Dutch drillen in the same sense,^[3] and the verb, to train soldiers, is 16th-century in Hoad.^[3] To pierce or bore a hole is from 1649.^[6] Rigorous training or exact routine is from 1815,^[6] and the drill, the recognized procedure, is colloquial from 1940.^[6] A shellfish that bores into oyster shells is from 1886.^[6]

Timeline

• 1611 – a boring tool.^[2]
• before 1637 – military training.^[6]
• 1649 – to bore a hole.^[6]
• 1815 – strict routine.^[6]
• 1940 – the drill, procedure.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A tool or machine with a rotating bit for boring holes.
2. Training by repeated exercises, especially in military procedures.
3. (informal) The correct or usual procedure.

Verb

1. To bore a hole with a drill.
2. To teach or train by repetition.

Word family

• driller
• drill sergeant

drill² seed furrow

Etymology

It is perhaps from obsolete drill, a rill, trickling stream (1641), of unknown origin,^[1][3] perhaps an alteration of trill, to trickle.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small furrow in which seed is sown: 1727.^[1][6]

Semantic evolution

A machine for sowing seed in rows is from 1731.^[6][1] The verb, to sow seed in drills rather than broadcast, is from before 1740.^[6]

Timeline

• 1641 – a rill (obsolete).^[6]
• 1727 – a seed furrow.^[6]
• 1731 – a sowing machine.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A shallow furrow in which seeds are sown, or a row of seeds so planted.
2. A machine for sowing seeds in rows.

Verb

1. To sow seed or plant a field in drills.

drill³ cloth

Etymology

It is a shortening of drilling (1640), an alteration of German Drillich (“a heavy, coarse cotton or linen fabric”),^[2][1][3] from Middle High German drilich, threefold,^[2][1] from Latin trilix (“having three threads”), from tri-, three, and licium, thread,^[2][1][3] in reference to its three-threaded weave.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A coarse twilled cotton or linen cloth: 1743.^[2][6][1]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline gives a French drill as the intermediate form.^[1]

Timeline

• 1640 – drilling.^[2]
• 1743 – drill.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A strong twilled cotton or linen fabric.

Related words

• drill bit
• twist drill
• drill press
• throw
• trill
• mandrill

Usage notes

The drill, a West African baboon (1644), is named from a West African word (compare mandrill).^[2][6] An obsolete verb drill, to delay or entice, is from before 1300.^[6][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press