draught
/drɑːft
/- Loft insulation prevents heat from rising and going straight through the roof, while draught proofing cuts out unpleasant draughts from around windows, external doors, letterboxes, keyholes and cat flaps.
- He offered her a small wave, then left, shutting the door so quickly that it blew a draught across the room.
- The medical bay was actually an old khaki army tent, so whenever the breeze blew a draught came through the front entrance flaps.
Synonyms
- He filled three cups from a large flask, passing them round and drinking a long draught from his own, before introducing himself as Seth.
- Then they gave him a groat, which he put in his pocket; a crust of bread, which he ate; and a full bowl of ale, which he drank off at a draught.
- He ended, and emptied his tankard in a single draught.
- He produced a bottle of wine, took a deep draught, and burst into a heartfelt rendition of Je Ne Regrette Rien.
- Time to pull myself together, swig a good deep draught of Andrew's Liver Salts, and get cracking.
- He took a deep draught from his mug, setting it down empty.
Synonyms
- There was a boyish grin on Raphael's face, something that he often had when he was making draughts or medicines for his own amusement.
- I suspected Claudius had mixed a draught with his medicine.
- Before Luke's horrified eyes, Jaid swallowed the immortality draught and, with a shocked gasped, collapsed onto the ground before him, unconscious.
- The shallow draught of these ships meant that they were able to reach far inland by river and stream, striking and moving on before local forces could muster.
- The shallow draft of 0.9m to 2.3m allows the ship to access very shallow waters denied to other vessels.
- The docking facilities must be big enough to cope with the 26 foot draught of Liberty ships and at the same time provide sheltered water for smaller vessels, such as landing craft, to operate.
- Sales of draught beer and cider have fallen by 11.5% in the first four months of this year in pubs, according to figures from the Irish Brewers' Association.
- The festival provides an opportunity to relish the distinctive flavours of this dish along with barrels of chilled draught beer accompanied by soul-stirring live ghazals.
- The micro-brewery at the Foresters Arms at Carlton-in-Coverdale produces draught ales and a new range of bottled beers which will be unveiled next month.
- The number of horses was scarcely up to the average, the heavy draught horses being not quite so plentiful.
- He was diminutive, and how he managed to lift the heavy harness on the draught horses for ploughing was more than I could understand.
- In 1954, British Railways had stopped using the Nelson Street stables for their draught horses.
Phrases
feel the draught
on draught
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'drawing, pulling'; also 'something drawn, a load'): from Old Norse dráttr, of Germanic origin; related to German Tracht, also to draw. Compare with draft.
drag from Middle English:
The word drag comes from the same Old Norse root as draw (Old English), draught (Middle English), the type of cart known as a dray (Late Middle English), and possibly drudge (Middle English). The sense ‘a boring or tiresome person or thing’ developed in the early 19th century from the idea of an attachment that drags and hinders progress. The cumbersomeness of contemporary women's dress may also be behind the use of drag for ‘women's clothing worn by a man’, which is recorded from the 1870s. A street has been a drag since the middle of the 19th century. A description of London life in 1851 records a woman ‘whose husband has got a month for “griddling in the main drag” (singing in the high street)’. The term later became better known in the USA, especially in the main drag.