Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- waste matter; refuse.
- Metallurgy. a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character.
- British. coal of little value.
noun
- the scum formed, usually by oxidation, on the surfaces of molten metals
- worthless matter; waste
“dirt, dregs,” Old English dros “the scum thrown off from metals in smelting,” from Proto-Germanic *drohs- (cf. Middle Dutch droes, Dutch droesem, Middle Low German dros, Old High German truosana, German Drusen “dregs, husks”), from PIE dher- (1) “to make muddy.” Meaning “refuse, rubbish” is mid-15c.