Etymologically
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drill

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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.
  • 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