Etymologically
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drudge

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɹʌd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English druggen (“to labour”),[2][3][4][5] apparently related to Old English drēogan (“to work, suffer, endure”).[2][3][4] It is related to Old Norse drýgja “to accomplish” and Gothic driugan “to serve as a soldier”.[3][4] Barnhart notes that the spelling drudge implies an Old English *drycgean, which is not recorded.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To do menial or monotonous work (about 1385).[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun, one employed in servile or distasteful work, followed in 1494,[6][3][4] and drudgery in 1550.[3] The sense has stayed close to the original.[6][2][5]

Timeline

  • before 1250 – druggunge, drudging.[3][4]
  • about 1385 – verb, to do menial work.[3][4]
  • 1494 – noun, a toiler at servile work.[6][3][4]
  • 1550 – drudgery.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who does tedious, menial or hard work.
  2. A person whose work is dull and routine.
  3. Tedious work; drudgery.

Verb

  1. To do tedious, menial or unpleasant work; to toil.

Word family

  • drudger
  • drudgingly
  • drudgery
  • dree

Usage notes

Random House gives toil, hack, grub, plod and slave as synonyms.[7] The American Heritage Dictionary notes that oyster fishermen on Chesapeake Bay pronounce dredge as drudge.[2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House