dragonet 
1757 
drain 
They are of swift, strong flight, predatory habits, and great 
voracity. Some of the species rival imtu-rllirs in the 
2. Tin' English name of fishes of the genus of the tincture tawny when blazoning is done sel in a heavy gale, formed of a square b,.< . -,, 
Calliiiiii/Hiiis. fninily I'nlliiiniiinidte. The appella- by the heavenly bodies False dragon's-head, a kept stretched r>y metallic bars, and attached 
tlon drii'i/imft. w milistitutrd liy Pennant tor yellow gur- plant of the I'nited States, I'hysuttriiia VinjiiHea, which to a beam which serves to float it. Also called 
nnrit, u name l>y whirh tin < l <i/i;<i/ntmitti lyra was previ- was originally referred to the genus Dracocephalum. 
oiisiy known, jinn. ANo </.<>,/ ,n-fih. see cut under cuin dragon-shell (drag'on-shel), n. The shell of 
""'"""" Ci,/>r<i;i H/li,ln. K.'i). 
3. A name of the very large lizards of South dragon's-tail (clrag'onz-tal), H. 1. In her., the 
America of tho genus Crocodilurus (or Ada), name of the tincture" wiurrfw when blazoning is 
hr]. .nging to the family Teiidte or Ameirida. done by the heavenly bodies. 2. In palmistry, 
dragon-fish (drag'on-flah), n. Same as drag- game as discriminal line. See discriminal. 
'""' - dragon-standard (drag'on-stau*dard),n. Same 
dragon-fly (drag ou-fli), n. The common name as dragon, 6. 
of any ueuropterous insect of the group Libel- dragon-tree 'drag'on-tre), n. The Dracama 
litlina or Odonata, and families Libellulidti; Drmeo. SIT Uracima. 
&scfmida!,^ii<l Agrionida. They have a long^lcn- dragon-water (drag'on-wii'ter), n. A medici- 
nal remedy very popular in the earlier half of 
the seventeenth century. 
Ran Into Bucklersbury for two ounces of dragon-water, 
some spermaceti and treacle. 
Dekker and Webster, Westward Ho, iii. S. 
Carduus Benedictus 
Or dragon-water may doe good upon him. 
Randolph, Amyntas (1640). 
dragonwort (drag'on-wert), n. The 
bistort. Potygonitm Bistorta, and with 
the old herbalists the green dragon, 
Dracunculus vulgaris. 
dragony (dreg'o-ni), a. Same as dra- 
gonne'. Cotgrave. 
dragoon (dra-g6n'), n. [Introduced 
toward the end of the 17th century 
(formerly also dragooner = D. dragon- 
der = G. dragoner = Dan. Sw. dragon), 
< P. dragon (= Sp. dragon = Pg. dranSo 
= It. dragone, in this sense after P.), 
a dragoon, so called, it is said, "from 
dragon, a short species of carbine car- 
ried by the original dragoons raised 
by Marshal Brissac in 1554, on the 
muzzle of which, from the old fable that the 
dragon spouts fire, the head of the monster 
was worked " ; but Littre' dates the sense ' dra- 
A common Dragon-fly (Libellula trfmticutata], natural size. 
i of aquatic plants, j ust below the sur- - 
Th larva Is predaceous, and lives on goon from 1585, and the name probably arose 
brilliancy of their hues. The great dragon-fly, 
gramlis, is about 4 inches long. Most of the species are 
considerably smaller than this. The eggs are usually at- 
tached to the stems of aquatic plants, just below the sur- 
face of the water. The larva Is predaceous, and lives on 
other water-insects ; the pupa Is active, and crawls from 
the water to a plant-stem or rock, where it transforms 
into the Imago. The adult is also predaceous, catching 
its prey upon the wing. Libcllula trimaculata is a com- 
mon species in the United States. Also called damsel- 
fly, devil's darning-needle, and mosquito-hawk. 
And it may be that the delicate-coloured dragon-flies 
may have likewise some corrosive quality. 
ll,i, -mi. Mat. Hist., g 729. 
The burnished dragon-fly is thine attendant, 
And tilts against the field. 
And down the listed sunbeam rides resplendent. 
With steel-blue mail and shield. 
Longfellow, Flower-de-Luce. 
dragoniert, n. [OP., also dragonnier, < dragon, 
a dragon : see dragon."] Same as dragon. 
dragonish (drag'pn-ish), a. [< dragon + -4sh.~] 
In the form of a ilragon ; dragon-like. 
Sometime we see a cloud that's dragonish: 
A vapour, sometime, like a tear or lion. 
from dragon in the sense of ' standard ' : see dray- 
on, 6.] 1. A cavalry soldier. Originally dragoons 
were a mongrel force, a sort of mounted infantry, armed 
with musquetoons or carbines, and serving on foot as well 
as on horseback ; but now they serve as cavalry only. In 
the British army they are classed as heavy or light dra- 
goons, according to the weight of men, horses, and equip- 
ments. The term Is not used in the United States army. 
Reports and judgments will not do 't, 
But 'tis dragoons, and horse and foot. 
Brome, On Sir O. B. his defeat. 
We drave him back to Bonnybrigs, 
Dragoons, and foot, and a'. 
Up and War Them A', H'itlit (Child's Ballads, VII. 26). 
2f. A dragonade. 
Endeavour to bring men to the catholick faith (as they 
pretend) by dragoons and imprisonments, not by demon- 
strations and reasons out of Scripture. 
Sp. Barlow, Remains, p. 266. 
3. Same as dragon, 2 (e). 
Shak., A. andc., Iv. 12. dragoon (dra-g8n'), v. t [< dragoon, n., after 
dragon-leech (drag'on-lech), n. A kind of me- T-aragonner, dragoon, harass, persecute, lit. 
subject to the violence of dragoons, < dragon, 
dragoon: see dragoon, n., dragonade.} 1. To 
set dragoons or soldiers upon, as in the drag- 
onades (see dragonade); pewecute or oppress 
by armed force. 2. To cause to submit, as by 
persistent threats; compel by repeated acts of 
any kind ; harass. 
Deny to have your free-born Toe 
Dragoon'd Into a wooden Shoe. 
Prior, To Fleetwood Shephard. 
Mr. Gladstone is not the only minister who has defied 
public opinion, but he is almost the only one in recent 
times who has dragooned a majority of Parliament Into 
sustaining him in It for the lack of any representative 
man to supplant him. ff. A. Rev., CXXXIX. 104. 
dragon's-blood (drag'pnz-blud), w. The name dragoonadet (drag-JJ-nad'), n. Same as drag- 
, . 
of several resins of a 3ark-red color. The drag- **** Bi>. Burnet. 
dicinal leech, Hirudo interrupta. E. D. 
dragonnade, n. See dragonade. 
dragonne' (drag-o-na'), a. [P., < dragon, drag- 
on: see dragon.} In her., having the hinder 
or lower half that of a dragon : said of a crea- 
ture used as a bearing, whose fore part is that 
of a lion or the like : as, a lion dragonne. Also 
drayont/. 
dragon-piece (drag'on-pes), w. Same as dragon- 
dragon-root (drag'on-r8t), n. A name giren in 
the United States to the plant Ariseema Dracon- 
tinm, and to the root of the Indian turnip, Ari- 
K(ema trii>lu/l/nn 
staining marble, etc. It is largely used by the Chinese. 
The dragon's-blood of the island of Socotra in the Indian 
met-like crest of feathers. Also called um- 
brella-bird. 
ocean known from a very early date under this name (tho dragOOnert (dra-go'ner), n. A dragoon. 
mutter of Dioscorides), and supposed to be the product j 5 t /ilnur'nllcl A lanrn lieaw 
of species of Dntfaiui, is now but little sought. The ttrag-raKO (drag raK), n. A large neavy 
dragon's-blood of the Canary islands is the astringent in- having crowded curved teeth like a dredge, 
qiissatrd juii-i' of tin iiru, -irnii iintm. and is no longer in dragged principally in search of clams. Also 
use. The name has also been applied toan exudation ob- palled clam-scraper. 
euphorblaceuus tree of Mexico; but neither substance is 
mrt with in commerce. 
dragon's-eye (drag'onz-i), . The fruit of the 
\</iliiliiiw I.oiii/nniim of China, much resem- 
blingthe litchi, but smaller. Also called longaii. 
dragon's-head (drag'pnz-hed), n. 1. A name 
of plants of the genus DracooepkahMH, of which 
term it is a translation. 2. In her., the name 
one end and wooden handles inserted 
between the strands at intervals, used by sol- 
diers for dragging pieces of artillery, etc. 
drag-saw (drag'sa), n. A saw the effective 
stroke of which is given by a drag or pull instead 
of a thrust. 
drag-sheet (drag'shet), n. Naut., a sort of 
floating anchor for checking the drift of a ves- 
anchor-drag and sea-anchor. 
dragsman (dragz'man), H.; pi. dragsmen (-men). 
1. The driver of a drag or coach. 
He had a word for the hostler, ... a nod for tin- 
shooter or guard, and a liow for the dragtman. 
Thackeray, Shabby' i;i-nt<-i-l story, I. 
2. A thief who follows carriages to cut away 
luggage from behind. [Eng. slang.] 
drag-spring (drag' spring), . In rail. : (a) A 
strong spring placed near the back of the ten- 
der. It is attached by the ends to the drag-bar which 
connects the engine and tender, and by the renter to tin- 
drag-bar which connects the train to the tender. (6) A 
spring attached to the drag-bar to lessen tho 
jerk when starting or increasing speed. [Eng. ] 
drag-staff (drag'staf), . A pole pivoted to 
the rear axle of a vehicle and trailing on the 
ground behind it, designed to prevent a back- 
ward movement of the vehicle when it stops on 
a steep hill. 
drag-twist (drag'twist), n. See drag, 1 (g). 
drag-washer (drag'wosh'er), n. A flat iron 
ring on the axle-arm of a gun-carriage, having 
an iron loop attached for the purpose of fasten- 
ing the drag-rope when necessary. Farrow, 
Mil. Encyc. 
draigle (dra'gl), . ; pret. and pp. draigled, ppr. 
drawling. A dialectal form of draggle. 
drailt (dral), t;. [A contr. of draggle (cf. dratcl). 
prob. due in part to association with trail.] I. 
trans. To trail ; drag. 
He returned . . . towards his sheep on the top of tho 
hill, drailing his sheephook behind him. 
Dr. II. More, Epistles to the Seven Churches, To the 
[Reader. 
II. intrans. To be trailed or dragged. 
If we would keep our garment clean, It is not sufficient 
to wash it only, unless we have a continual care to keep it 
from drailing in the dirt. South, Sermons, VI. 449. 
drail (dral), n. [< drail, v.} 1 . A toothed iron 
projecting from the beam of a plow for hitching 
the horses to. [Prov. Eng.] 2. A large piece 
of lead placed around the shank of a large-sized 
fish-hook, in the form of a cone : used in fishing 
for bluefish. At the upper end a loop of wire is intro- 
duced to hold the line, and the lower end tapers until it 
meets the shank opposite the point of the hook. When 
attached to the line a pickled eelskin is drawn over it 
until the lower end just covers the head. 
drain (dran), v. [E. dial, also drcan, dreen ; < 
ME. "drainen, 'dreinen, 'drcgnen (not found), < 
AS. drehnian, dreahnian, drenianj ONorth. dreh- 
nia, drain, a secondary verb (ong. 'dragnan = 
Icel. dragna, intr., draw, trail along), < AS. dra- 
onn=Icel. draper, draw: seedraw&nddrag. The 
P. drainer, G. draniren, Dan. dra'ne are from E. 
drain.] I. trans. 1. To draw off gradually, as 
a liquid ; remove or convey away by degrees, 
as through conduits, by filtration, or by any 
comparable process: as, to drain water from 
land, wine from the lees, or blood from the body ; 
to drain away the specie of a country. 
Salt water, drained through twenty vessels of earth, 
hath become fresh. Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
Colonies, by draining away the brave and enterprising, 
leave the country in the hands of the timid and avari- 
cious. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xxv. 
2. To free, clear, or deprive by degrees, as of 
a liquid ; empty or exhaust gradually : as, to 
drain land of water (the most familiar use of 
the word); to drain a vessel of its contents; to 
drain a country of its resources. 
Rouse thee, my soul ; and drain thee from the dregs 
Of vulgar thoughts. Quarleg, Emblems, t, Invoc. 
He [the king] protested that he had been so drained in 
the late Wars that his Chests are yet very empty. 
Hawell, Letters, I. vi. 5. 
We will drain our dearest veins 
But they shall be free ! 
Burns, Scots wha ha'e. 
Ida stood, . . . drain'd of her force 
By many a varying influence. 
Tennyson, Princess, rt. 
To drain the cup to the bottom. See cup. 
n. intrans. 1. To flow off gradually. 
It Ithe meat] was then laid in such a position as to per- 
mit the juices to drain from It Coot, Voyages, VI. Ill 8. 
2. To be gradually emptied, as of a liquid: as, 
the cask slowly il'mint. 
drain (dran), n. [< drain, -.] 1. The at of 
draining or drawing off, or of emptying by 
drawing off ; gradual or continuous outflow, 
withdrawal, or expenditure. 
The drain on agricultural laliour for mill-hands, and 
the vast cost of machinery, which two or three sand-storms 
disabled, soon demonstrated his mistake. 
Saturday ficv., Sept. 9, 1865. 
