drag-bolt 
drag-bolt (drag'bolt), n. A strong bolt cou- 
pling the drag-bars of a locomotive engine and 
tender, or those of freight-cars, together, and 
removable at pleasure. In the United States 
called coupling-inn. 
drag-chain (drag'chan), n. A strong chain at- 
tached to the front of the buffer-bar of a loco- 
motive engine, to connect it with another en- 
gine or a tender; also, the chain attached to 
the drag-bar of goods-wagons or freight-cars. 
[Eng.] 
drag-driver (drag'drl"ver), n. One who drives 
in the stragglers of a herd of cattle. [Western 
U.S.] 
The rest [of the cowboys) are in the rear to act as draff- 
drivers, and hurry up the phalanx of reluctant weaklings. 
T. Roosevelt, The Century, XXXV. 882. 
dragge (dra-zha'), n. [F.: see dredge 1 ^.] A sugar- 
plum ; in phar., a sugar-coated medicine. Dun- 
glison. 
dragenallt, . A dredger. 
dragger (drag'er), n. One who drags. 
draggle (drag'l), . ; pret. and pp. draggled, ppr. 
draggling. [Early mod. E. (of. ME. drakelyn, 
var. of drabelyn, drabble, in Prompt. Parv.), 
freq. of drag : see drag. v. Cf. drawl, similar- 
ly related to draw.] I. trans. 1. To drag or 
draw along on damp ground or mud, or on wet 
grass; drabble. 
With draggled nets down hanging to the tide. 
Trench, Herring-Fishers of Lochfyne. 
2. To wet or befoul, as by dragging the gar- 
ments through dew, mud, or dirt. 
She's got from the pond, and draggled up to the waist 
like a mermaid. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, v. 
Yesterday was a very bad, draggling day, and Paris Is 
not pleasant at such a time. 
Sydney Smith, To Mrs. Sydney Smith. 
A bough of brier-rose, whose pale blossoms sweet 
Were draggled in the dust. 
William. Morris, Earthly Paradise, II. 219. 
II. intrans. To be drawn along the ground so 
as to become wet or dirty. 
His draggling tail hung to the dirt, 
Which on his rider lie would flirt. 
S. Butter, Hudibras, I. i. 449. 
draggletail (drag'l-tal), w. [Early mod. E. 
dragletail; < draggle, v., + obj. taifl-.] Abe- 
draggled or untidy person ; a slut. 
draggletailed (drag ' 1 - tald), a. Untidy; be- 
draggled. 
Do you think that such a fine proper gentleman as he 
cares for a flddlecome tale of a dragyletailetl girl? 
Sir J. Vanbrtigh, The Relapse, iv. 2. 
draggly (drag'li), a. [< draggle + -yl.] Be- 
draggled. 
A strange draggly-wick'tl tallow caudle. 
Carlyle, in Froude, II. 56. 
drag-hook (drag'huk), . The hook of the 
drag-chain by which locomotive engines, ten- 
ders, and goods-wagons or freight-cars are at- 
tached to each other. [Eng.] 
drag-hound (drag'hound), n. A hound trained 
to tollow a drag or artificial scent. See drag, 
!(/)- 
What is often spoken of as fox-hunting around New 
York is not fox-hunting at all, in the English sense of the 
term, but an entirely different, although allied form of 
sport, namely, riding to drag-hounds. 
The Century, XXXII. 335. 
drag-hunt (drag'hunt), n. A hunt in which a 
drag or artificial scent, as an anise-seed bag, 
is substituted for a fox ; a drag. See drag, n. , 4. 
The advantage of a drag-hunt is that many men are 
limited in time, and cannot potter round in the woods for 
hours looking for foxes. The Century, XXXII. 345. 
drag-link (drag'lingk), n. 1 . In marine engines, 
a link connecting the crank of the main shaft 
with that of the inner paddle-shaft. 2. A 
drag-bar. 
dragman (drag'man), n. ; pi. dragmen (-men). 
A fisherman who uses a drag-net. 
To which may be added the great riots committed by 
the Foresters and Welsh on the dragmen of Severn, hew- 
ing all their boats to pieces. 
Sir M. Hale, Hist Plac. Cor., xiv. 7. 
drag-net (drag'net), n. [< drag + net; AS. 
drcegnet = Icel. dragnet = Sw. Dan. dragnot.] 
A net designed to be drawn on the bottom of 
a river or pond for taking fish, etc. 
dragoman (drag'o-mau), n. ; pi. dragomans 
(-manz) (sometimes dragomen, by confusion 
with E. man; cf. Mussulman). [In several 
forms: (1) E. dragoman = Q. Dan. Sw. drago- 
man, < F. dragoman = Sp. draaomdn = Pg. 
dragomano = U. dragommanno; ML. dragoman- 
nus, dragumanus = MGr. Spayovfiavos ; (2) obs. 
E. dragoman, drogman, < ME. drogman (= G. 
1756 
drogeman (MHG. trougemitnt, tragemunt) = Sw. 
drogman), < OF. drogue-man, drogeman, drugue- 
ment, F. drogman = Pr. drogoman = Sp. drog- 
man = It. drogmanno = ML. drogamanus, droga- 
mimdus; (3) obs. E. druggerman; (4) obs. E. 
trugman, trudgeman, truckman, truchement = 
G. trugman, < F. truelieman, truchement = Sp. 
trujamdn = It. twrcimanno; all nit. = Turk. 
Pers. tarjuman, < Ar. tarjumdn, an interpreter, 
translator, < tarjama, formerly targama, inter- 
pret, < Chald. targem, interpret, explain, > tar- 
gum, explanation, interpretation, > E. targum, 
q. v.] An interpreter. Specifically (u) An Inter- 
preter and guide or agent for travelers. 
Dragomans in Syria are more than mere interpreters: 
they are contractors for the management of tours and of 
caravans, and they relieve the traveller of all the difficul- 
ties of preparation and of intercourse with the natives. 
Baedeker's Guide to Palestine, etc. 
But an Englishman journeying in the East must neces- 
sarily have with him Dragomen capable of interpreting 
the Oriental language. Kinylake, Eothen, Pref. 
(b) An interpreter attached to an embassy or a consulate. 
The term is in general use among travelers in the Levant 
and other parts of the East. 
We meet in state, accompanied by the Consul, with two 
janissaries in front, bearing silver maces, and a dragoman 
behind. B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 204. 
dragon (drag'on), n. and a. [< ME. dragon, 
dragun, dragoun. < OF. dragon, a dragon, a 
standard, = Pr. Sp. dragon = Pg. dragSo = It. 
dragone (see the Teut. forms under drake%), < 
L. draco(n-), a dragon, ML. also a standard so 
called, < Gr. dpamw, a serpent, also a sea-fish, a 
serpent-shaped bracelet or necklace, a bandage 
for the ankle, etc., lit. the seeing one, 2d aor. 
part. (cf. 2d aor. inf. ipa.K.elv) of SepKcaBcu, see, 
= Skt. dare, see. Cf. Dorcas. The older E. 
form is drake 2 , q. v. ; a later form with another 
sense is dragoon, q. v.] I. n. 1. A fabulous 
animal common to the conceptions of many 
primitive races and times, or, as in the Bible, 
an indefinite creature of great size or fierceness. 
When described or depicted, it is represented as either a 
monstrous serpent or a lizard (like an 
exaggerated crocodile), or a compound 
of both, or (as in heraldry) as a com- 
bination of mammalian and reptilian 
characters; but always as winged, with 
fiery eyes, crested head, and terrible 
claws. It is often represented as blood- 
red and spouting fire, and sometimes 
with several heads, like the Hydra ; 
and in the myths of the Scandinavians 
and other races, dragons are often the 
guardians of treasures, etc. The kill- 
ing of a dragon was reckoned among the greatest feats of 
heroes in both ancient and medieval times ; thus, the le- 
gend of St. George and the dragon is one of the most cele- 
brated in Christian literature. The dragon is the imperial 
emblem of China, and is regarded by the Chinese as a sort 
of divinity, but by other peoples generally as the type and 
embodiment of fierceness and cruelty or watchful malice. 
In the Apocalypse "the dragon, that old serpent" is a 
synonym of Satan (Rev. xx. 2). In the Old Testament it 
is either a large land-animal or a great marine fish (Isa. 
xxxiv. 13 revised version, jackal; Ps. Ixxiv. 13 revised 
version, dragon), a venomous land-serpent (Ps. xci. 13 
revised version, serpent), or the crocodile (Ezek. xxix. 3 
revised version, dragon). The same Hebrew word, than- 
nim, is also sometimes translated lehale (Gen. i. 21 re- 
vised version, sea-monster ; Job vii. 12 revised version, 
sea-monster). The extinct pterodactyl comes nearest of 
all known creatures to the most prevalent conception of a 
dragon. 
Eftsoones that dreadful Dragon they espyde, 
Where stretcht he lay upon the sunny side 
Of a great lull, himselfe like a great hill. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. xi. 4. 
2. In eool. : (a) A lizard of the genus Draco, 
specifically called the flying-dragon, it is a harm- 
less creature, of 
about 4 inches 
in length of head 
and body, with a 
long slender tail, 
making the whole 
length about 10 
inches. It has a 
large frill on each 
side of the body, 
formed of skin 
stretched over six 
elongated hinder 
ribs, which like a 
parachute sus- 
tain the creature 
in the air for a few 
moments. The 
structure is not a 
wing, and the ani- 
mal does not prop- 
erly fly, the ar- 
rangement some- 
what resembling 
that in the flying- 
squirrel, flying- 
lemur, etc. The 
species are con- 
fined to the old 
world. (6) Any Flying-dragonf .Draw 
Heraldic Dragon. 
dragonet 
one of the monitor-lizards. Griffith's Cuvier. 
(c) In ornitli., a kind of carrier-pigeon. Also 
called dragoon. 
The English Dragon differs from the improved English 
Carrier in being smaller in all its dimensions. 
Darwin, Var. of Animals and Plants, p. 146. 
3. A fierce, violent person, male or female ; 
now, more generally (from the part of guardian 
often played by th'e dragon in mythology), a 
spiteful, watchful woman ; a duenna. 
Peggy O'Dowd is indeed the same as ever ; . . . a tyrant 
over her Michael ; a dragon amongst all the ladies of the 
regiment. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xliii. 
4. [cap.] An ancient northern constellation, 
Draco. The figure is that of a serpent with several small 
coils. It appears at a very ancient date to have had wings 
in the space now occupied by the Little Bear. 
5. A short firearm used by dragoons in the sev- 
enteenth century, described as having a barrel 
16 inches long, with a large bore. Grose. 6. 
An old kind of standard or military ensign, so 
called because it was decorated with a dragon 
painted or embroidered upon it, or because it 
consisted (like the Anglo-Saxon standard at 
Hastings, as seen in the Bayeux tapestry) of a 
figure of a dragon carried upon a staff. A similar 
standard was in use as late as the reign of Richard I. in 
England, and is especially mentioned as being in his cru- 
sading army. Also called dragon-standard. Seedra*e2,2. 
Edmond ydygt hys standard. . . . And hys dragon up 
yset. Robert of Gloucester, p. 303. 
Ther genfanouns and her penselles 
Wer weel wroght off grene sendels, 
And on everylkon a dragoun 
As he fought with a lyoun. 
Richard Coer de Lion, 1. 2967. 
7. A name given to various araceous plants, 
as in England to Arum maculatum ; the brown 
dragon, Arisarma triphyllum; the green dragon, 
Dracnnculus vulgaris, and in the United States 
Arisafma Dracontium ; the female or water drag- 
on, Calla palustris. 8. In Scotland, a paper 
kite. 9f. See the extract. 
A dragon Is a small Malacca cane, so called from its 
blood-red colour. 
Dobson, Selections from Steele, p. 479, note. 
Demi-dragon, in her., the upper half of a dragon with 
head and fore paws (see demi-), but always including the 
extremity of the tail, which appears brought up behind 
the back. Dragon china, in ceram., a table porcelain 
made at Broseley in England, decorated with a design of 
dragons imitated from Oriental patterns. See 'porcelain. 
Dragon's head and tail, in axtrol., the nodes of the 
planets, especially of the moon, or the two points in which 
the orbits of the planets intersect the ecliptic : so called 
because the figure representing the passage of a planet 
from one node to the other was fancied to resemble that 
of a dragon. The dragon's head was the point where the 
planet passes from the southern to the northern side of 
the ecliptic; the dragon's tail, the other. Dragon's 
wings, in her., the two wings of a dragon used as a bear- 
ing. They are generally represented as displayed, and 
sometimes a spear or other object is shown between them. 
Gum dragon. See tragacanth. 
II. a. Pertaining to or resembling dragons ; 
performed by dragons ; fierce ; formidable. 
The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth. 
Skak., T. and C., v. 9. 
Beauty . . . had need the guard 
Of dro^ore-watch with unenchantcd eye. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 395. 
dragonade, dragonnade (drag-o-nad'), . [Also 
written dragoonade; < F. dragonnade, < dragon, 
a dragoon; from the use of dragoons in such 
persecutions: see dragoon.] One of a series 
of persecutions of the Protestants, chiefly in 
the south of France, in the reign of Louis XIV., 
carried on by raids of dragoons, who were 
quartered upon the heretics and exercised 
great cruelty toward them; hence, any perse- 
cution carried on with the aid of troops. 
He learnt it as he watched the dragonnades, the tortures, 
the massacres of the Netherlands. Kingsley. 
dragon-beam (drag'on-bem), M. In arch., a 
beam or piece of timber bisecting the angle 
formed by the wall-plate at a corner, and serv- 
ing to receive and support the foot of a hip- 
rafter. Also called dragon-piece. 
dragoness (drag'on-es), . [< dragon + -ess.] 
A female dragon. 
Instantly she gaue command 
(111 to ill adding) that the dragoHOU 
Should bring it vp. Chapman, Hymn to Apollo. 
dragonet (drag'qn-et), n. [< ME. dragonet, a 
young dragon, ^ OF. dragonet, dragonnet (= 
Pr. dragonat), < dragon, a dragon : see dragon.] 
1. A little or young dragon. 
Or in his wombe might lurke some hidden nest 
Of many dragonettes, his frnitfull seede. 
Spemer, F. Q., I. xii. 10. 
So when great Cox, at his mechanic call, 
Bids orient pearls from golden dragons fall, 
Each little dniimwt. with brazen grin, 
Gapes for the precious prize and gulps it in. 
Mason, Epistle to Ur. Shebbeare. 
