Wiktionary

drain

See also: Drain

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Storm drain.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English dreinen, from Old English drēahnian (“to drain, strain, filter”), from Proto-Germanic *drauhnōną (“to strain, sieve”), from Proto-Germanic *draugiz (“dry, parched”). Akin to Old English drūgian (“to dry up”), Old English drūgaþ (“dryness, drought”), Old English drȳġe (“dry”). More at dry.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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drain (plural drains)

  1. (chiefly US, Canada) A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
    The drain in the kitchen sink is clogged.
    • 2013 March, Frank Fish, George Lauder, “Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 114:
      An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.
  2. (chiefly UK) An access point or conduit for rainwater that drains directly downstream in a (drainage) basin without going through sewers or water treatment in order to prevent or belay floods.
  3. A natural or artificial watercourse which drains a tract of land.
    Saganing Drain, Vermuyden's Drain, the South Drain river, Najafgarh drain
    • 1770 (printed in 1834), George Washington, The Writings of George Washington: pt. I. Official letters ..., page 531:
      […] the little runs and drains, that come through the hills, and to the sources of the creeks and their branches.
    • 1877, Verney Lovett Cameron, Across Africa, page 299:
      The main drain of the country is the Walé nullah, which afterwards joins the Southern Ngombé and forms part of the system of the Malagarazi.
  4. Something consuming resources and providing nothing in return.
    That rental property is a drain on our finances.
  5. (vulgar) An act of urination.
  6. (electronics) One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
  7. (pinball) An outhole.
  8. (UK, slang, dated) A drink.
    • 1850 September 14, [Charles Dickens], “Three “Detective” Anecdotes”, in Charles Dickens, editor, Household Words. A Weekly Journal., volume I, number 25, London: Office, […], →OCLC:
      When the play was over, we came out together, and I said, "We've been very companionable and agreeable, and perhaps you wouldn't object to a drain?"
    • 1966, Henry Mayhew, Peter Quennell, London's Underworld, page 48:
      What did she want with money, except now and then for a drain of white satin.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → French: drain
  • → Irish: draein
  • → Welsh: draen

Translations

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Verb

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drain (third-person singular simple present drains, present participle draining, simple past and past participle drained)

  1. (intransitive) To lose liquid.
    The clogged sink drained slowly.
    Knock knock. / Who’s there? / Dwayne. / Dwayne who? / Drain the bathtub, I’m drowning.
  2. (intransitive) To flow gradually.
    The water of low ground drains off.
  3. (transitive, ergative) To cause liquid to flow out of.
    Please drain the sink. It’s full of dirty water.
  4. (transitive, ergative) To convert a perennially wet place into a dry one.
    They had to drain the swampy land before the parking lot could be built.
  5. (transitive) To deplete of energy or resources.
    The stress of this job is really draining me.
  6. (transitive) To draw off by degrees; to cause to flow gradually out or off; hence, to exhaust.
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
      Fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent.
    • 1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 45:
      At leaſt, I'm ſure I can fiſh it out of her. She's the very Sluce to her Lady's Secrets;—'Tis but ſetting her Mill agoing, and I can drein her of 'em all.
    • 1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
      But it was not alone that he drained their treasure and hampered their industry.
  7. (transitive, obsolete) To filter.
    • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
      Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, hath become fresh.
  8. (intransitive, pinball) To fall off the bottom of the playfield.
    • 1990, Steven A. Schwartz, Compute's Nintendo Secrets:
      When a ball finally drains, it's gulped down by a giant gator beneath the set of flippers.
  9. (slang, archaic, transitive) To drink.
    • Bet the Coaley's Daughter (traditional song)
      But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, 'Come, stow that patter, / If you're a cove wot likes a gal, / Vy don't you stand some gatter?' / In course I instantly complied— / Two brimming quarts of porter, / With sev'ral goes of gin beside, / Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter.
  10. (transitive, basketball, slang) To make a shot.

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → French: drainer (see there for further descendants)

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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  1. ^ Bingham, Caleb (1808) “Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England”, in The Child's Companion; Being a Conciſe Spelling-book […] ‎[1], 12th edition, Boston: Manning & Loring, →OCLC, page 75.

Anagrams

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Cimbrian

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Numeral

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drain

  1. dative of drai
    Bar zèinan in drain.
    There are three of us.
    (literally, “We are in three.”)

French

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Etymology

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From English drain.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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drain m (plural drains)

  1. (electronics) drain

Further reading

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Welsh

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Brythonic *draɣen, from Proto-Celtic *dragenā (“sloetree, blackthorn, Prunus spinosa”) (compare Old Irish draigen, modern Irish draighean), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰergʰ- (“blackbush, sloe tree”).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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drain f (collective, singulative draenen)[2][3]

  1. (botany) thorns

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutated forms of drain
radical soft nasal aspirate
drain ddrain nrain unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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  1. ^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) “dragena”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 104
  2. ^ * Griffiths, Bruce, Glyn Jones, Dafydd (1995) Geiriadur yr Academi: The Welsh Academy English–Welsh Dictionary‎[2], Cardiff: University of Wales Press, →ISBN
  3. ^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “drain”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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