drain 
2. That which drains, or by means of which 
draining is immediately effected. 
When there are no such Natural Drains of Charity as 
Children and near Relations which need onr Assistance. 
Stillingjteet, Sermons, III. x. 
Specifically (a) A passage, pipe, or open channel for the 
removal of water or other liquid ; especially, a pipe or 
channel for removing the surplus water from soils. Drains 
may be open ditches or sunken pipes or conduits. Those 
for wet lands are so made as to permit the percolation into 
them of water from the adjacent soil, as by the use in a 
covered conduit of porous earthen pipes or tiles, or of a 
filling of small stones, of an open cut where there is a 
sufficient slope, etc. See sewer. 
Here also it receiueth the Baston dreane, Longtoft 
dreane, . . . and thence goeth by Micliham into the sea, 
taking withall on the right hand sundry other dreanes. 
flolinshed, Descrip. of Britaine, xv. 
(6) The trench in which the melted metal flows from a 
furnace to the molds, (e) In sury., a hollow sound or 
canula used to draw off purulent matter from a deep- 
seated abscess. 
3. pi. The grain from the mash-tub: distinc- 
tively called brewers' drains Gun-barrel drain, 
a cylindrical drain of small diameter. Rubble drain, in 
agri., a drain formed of a layer of rubble-stones laid in a 
trench. 
drainable (dra'na-bl), a. [< drain + -able.] 
Capable of being drained, as land. 
drainage (dra'naj), n. [s drain + -age.'] 1. 
The act or process of draining ; a gradual flow- 
ing off, as of a liquid. 2. The system of con- 
duits, channels, or passages by means of which 
something is drained. 
Their [the Etruscans'] drainage works and their bridges, 
as well as those of the kindred Pelasgians in Greece, still 
remain monuments of their industrial science and skill, 
which their successors never surpassed. 
J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 283. 
3. That which is drained off; that which is 
carried away by a system of drains ; the water 
carried off by the systems of rivers and their mi- 
nor affluents in any drainage-basin, or area of 
catchment, or in any part thereof. See basin, 
8, and catchment. 4. In surg., the draining of 
the pus and other morbid products from an ac- 
cidental or artificial wound Land-drainage Act. 
See land-drainage. 
drainage-basin (dra'naj-ba/sn), n. Same as 
basin, 8. 
drainage-tube (dra'naj-tub), re. In surg., a 
tube, usually of india-rubber, introduced to se- 
cure efficient drainage of a wound. 
drain-cap (dran'kap), n. A vessel for collect- 
ing the drainings or water of condensation from 
a steam-cylinder. 
drain-cock (dran'kok), n. A small cock at the 
lower end of the cylinder of a steam-engine, 
for removing water of condensation. 
drain-curb (dran'kerb), n. A circular caisson 
used to support the earth in sinking a shaft. 
It is loaded with masonry, and gradually sinks through 
the removal of the earth below it. It forms the base of 
the shaft-lining. 
drainer (dra'ner), n. [Early mod. E. also drayn- 
er.] 1. One who drains; one who constructs 
channels for draining land: as, a ditcher and 
drainer. 
But I am informed that the drayners of the fenns have 
ol late . . . wrested the mace out of this bayliff's hand, 
and have secured this county against his power for the 
luture. Fuller, Worthies, Bedfordshire. 
I beg the reader to take the word of an old drainer that 
it [water] does get in. The Century, XXIX. 47. 
2. A natural or artificial channel by which 
drainage is effected. 
drain-gage (dran'gaj), n. A device for esti- 
mating the amount of moisture which perco- 
lates through the soil. 
drain-gate (dran'gat), n. A grid or grated 
opening to a sewer. 
draining-engine (dra'ning-en";jin), n. A pump- 
ing-engine for removing water from mines, 
low-lying lands, etc. 
draining-machine (dra'ning-ma-shen' 7 ), . A 
centrifugal drier. See drier. 
draining-plow (dra'ning-plou), re. A kind of 
plow used in making drains. A form in common 
use in England has three colters, two mold-boards, and a 
share. The middle colter is vertical and splits the soil in 
the middle of the furrow; the two side colters are in- 
clined, to cut the sloping sides of the drain; and the 
mold-boards lift the soil in two slices, which are delivered 
on each side of the ditch. The usual dimensions of a 
ditch thus made are 12 inches deep, 15 wide at top and 8 
at bottom. 
draining-pot (dra'ning-pot), n. In sugar- 
manuf., an inverted cone-shaped vessel in which 
wet sugar is drained. Also draining-vat. 
draining-pump (dra'ning-pump), n. A special 
form of pump used for raising water contain- 
ing mud and sand. See pump. 
draining-vat (dra'ning-vat), n. Same as drain- 
ing-pot. 
1758 drama 
A T>h>e used in drain- At their landing, the captains, with their companies in 
arms, entertained them with a guard, and divers vollies of 
shot, and three drakes. 
Winthrop, Hist. Sew England, I. 80. 
Drain-traps, shown in section. 
drain-pipe (dran'pip), 
ing. 
All gas accumulating within drain-pipes is carried off 
above the house. Sci. Amer. Supp., p. 8785. 
drain-tile (dran'til), n. A kind of tile employed 
in the formation of drains. 
drain-trap (dran'trap), n. A contrivance to 
prevent the escape of foul air from drains, while 
allowing the 
passage of wa- 
ter into them. 
Drain-traps are 
of various forms. 
In those repre- 
sented in the cuts 
it will be seen 
that there must 
always be a cer- 
tain quantity of water maintained to bar the way against 
the escape of the gas from the drain or sewer. When ad- 
ditional liquid is conveyed to the trap, there is of course 
an overflow into the drain. In the left-hand figure the 
gas is prevented from escaping by a metal plate thrown 
obliquely over the drain-mouth and dipping into the 
water in the vessel beyond it. 
drain-well (dran'wel), n. A pit sunk through 
an impervious stratum of earth or stone to a 
porous substratum, to draw off through the lat- 
ter the water which gathers upon the former. 
See absorbing^well, under absorb. 
draisine (dra-zen'), n. [< G. draisine = F. 
draisienne: see def.] An early form of the 
velocipede, invented in 1817 by Baron Karl von 
Drais of Mannheim in Germany, which was 
propelled by the rider's striking his feet on the 
ground. See velocipede. Sometimes spelled 
draisene. 
drait, re. [A dial, form of draft 1 , draught' 1 .'] A 
team of horses with the wagon or cart. Grose. 
[North. Eng.] 
drake 1 (drak), n. [< ME. drake (= LG. drake), 
an abbrev., by apheresis, of "endrake or *an- 
drake (not found in ME. or AS.) (= MLG. ant- 
drake, anderik = MD. endtrick = OHG. anetre- 
clio, antrecho, antrache, MHG. antreche, antra- 
che, antreich, G. enterich, entrich, dial, antrach 
= Icel. andriki (Haldorsen) (mod. Icel. andar- 
steggi ; stegg, male : see steg, stag) = Dan. an- 
drik = Sw. andrake), a drake, < AS. ened, (Ened, 
enid, ME. ened, ende (displaced in mod. E. by 
duck : see duck 2 ) (= MD. ende, endte, D. eend 
= MLG. anet, ant, pi. ende, LG. aante = OHG. 
anut, anot, unit, MHG. ant, ante, ente, G. ente = 
Icel. o'nd (and-) = Sw. Dan. and, a duck ; = L. 
anas (anat-) (see Anas) = Gr. vijaaa (for*ai^rz) 
= OBulg. antui = Russ. dim. utka = OPruss. 
antis = Lith. antis, a duck, = Skt. ati, a water- 
fowl), + -rice, later -rike, -rake, a masc. suffix 
appearing also in G. ganserich, a gander (G. 
ganser, gans = E. goose), tduberich (= Icel. du- 
riki = Dan. durik), cock-pigeon (G. taube = Icel. 
dufa = Dan. due = E. done 1 ), and in some prop- 
er names (as G. Friedrich (> ult. E. Frederick) 
= Goth. Frithareiks; G. Dietrich = D. Derrijk: 
see derrick), < Goth, reiks, chief, mighty, ruling, 
= AS. rice, mighty, etc., E. rich : see rich and 
-ric.J 1. The male of the duck kind; specifi- 
cally, the mallard. 
Smiled she to see the stately drake 
Lead forth his fleet upon the lake. 
Scott, L. of the L., ii. 5. 
2. The silver shilling of the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, having a martlet, popularly called a 
drake, as the mint-mark. It is commonly supposed 
that the mark is in allusion to Sir Francis Drake, the 
famous admiral, but it is really the armorial cognizance 
of Sir Richard Martin, who was made warden of the mint 
in the fourteenth year of Elizabeth's reign. 
3. A large flat stone on which the duck is 
placed in the game of duck on drake. See 
duck 2 TO make ducks and drakes. See ductf. 
drake 2 (drak), n. [< ME. drake, a dragon, also 
a standard (see dragon), < AS. draca = MD. 
draeck, D. draak = LG. drake, OHG. tracho, 
dracho, MHG. trache, G. drache = Sw. drake = 
Dan. drage = Icel. dreki (see the Rom. forms 
under dragon), < L. draco, < Gr. SpaKuv, a ser- 
pent : see dragon. Ct. fire-drake.] If. A fabu- 
lous animal: same as dragon, 1. 
Lo, where the flry drake alofte 
Fleeth up in thair [the air]. 
Gower, Conf. Amant., III. %. 
And as hee wolde awei fle, 
His thought* ther stode Diveles thre, 
Al brennyng as a drake. 
Kyng of Tars, 1. 408 (Ritson's Metr. Rom.). 
2f. A battle-standard having the figure of a 
drake or dragon. Layamon, II. 340, III. 85. 
3f. A small piece of artillery. See dragon, 5. 
Two or three shots, made at them by a couple of drakes 
made them stagger. Clarendon, Great Rebellion! 
4. A species of fly, apparently the dragon-fly, 
used as a bait in angling. Also called drake- 
fly- 
The drake will mount steeple-height into the air; though 
he is to be found in flags and grass too, and indeed every- 
where, high and low, in the river. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler. 
drake 3 f, . A Middle English form of drawk 1 . 
drake-fly (drak'fll), n. Same as drake 2 , 4. 
drake-Stone (drak'ston), . [In reference to 
the play of ducks and drakes : see under duck 2 .] 
A stone made to skim along the surface of the 
water ; the sport of making stones skim in such 
a way. 
dram (dram), n. [Now also spelled drachm, after 
the L. spelling; < ME. drame, a dram (weight), 
< OF. drame, also spelled, in imitation of the 
L., dragme, drachme, mod. F. drachme = Sp. 
dracma = Pg. drachma = It. dramma = D. 
drachma = G. drachme = Dan. drakme (cf. Dan. 
dram in sense 4, < E.) = Sw. drachma, < L. 
drachma, ML. also dragma, < Gr. Spaxf'/, later 
also Spayiir/, an Attic weight, a Grecian silver 
coin.] 1. A unit of weight .less than an ounce. 
The dram is generally supposed to be of Greek origin. 
Many weights of this denomination and its multiples 
have been exhumed at Athens, belonging to different sys- 
tems, of 57, 67, 75, and 78 grains troy, and there were 
doubtless others. The Solonic dram, the Athenian mone- 
tary weight, had at first 67.4, later 66.6 grains troy. The 
jSginetan weight was greater, and is fixed by the latest 
authorities as normally 97 grains. A dram afterward ap- 
pears in Fhenician systems as a half or quarter of a shek- 
el ; and under the Ptolemies there was in Egypt a dram 
of 54.6 grains troy. Under the early Roman emperors a 
dram was introduced into the Roman system as $ of an 
ounce, equal to 63.2 grains troy. This relation to the 
ounce has been preserved in several modern systems. 
Thus, in apothecaries' weight, a dram is of an ounce, or 
60 grains, divided into 3 scruples of 20 grains each. The 
avoirdupois drain, however (derived from the Spanish 
adarme), is only ^ of an ounce, or 27JJ grains. In the old 
Spanish apothecaries' weight a dram was J of an ounce. 
In the Neapolitan system 10 drams made an ounce of 412J 
grains troy. The Nuremberg drachm was 57.5grains troy. 
The Tuscan dramma was 54.6 grains troy. In the Arabian 
systems the dram is properly represented by the mitral, 
but the derham is often called a dram, and was in fact de- 
rived from the Attic drachma. Abbreviated dr. 
We are not dieted by drachms and scruples, for we can- 
not take too much. Donne, Letters, xxvii. 
2. A small quantity. [Rare.] 
An inhuman wretch 
Uncapable of pity, void and empty 
From any dram of mercy. 
Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. 
For (concerning the divine nature) here was not a dram 
of glory in this union. Donne, Sermons, i. 
3. As much liquid as is drunk at once ; specifi- 
cally, a drink of spirits : as, a dram of brandy. 
I could do this ; and that with no rash potion, 
But with a ling'ring dram, that should not work 
Maliciously like poison. Sliak., W. T., i. 2. 
I was served with marmalade, a dram, and coffee, and 
about an hour after with a light collation. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 225. 
From the strong fate of drains if thou get free, 
Another Durfey, Ward 1 shall sing in thee. 
Pope, Dunciad, iii. 145. 
4. A division (one twentieth) of a raft of staves. 
See criftl, 13. [St. Lawrence river.] Fluid 
dram, a measure of capacity, equal to one eighth of a flu- 
id ounce, or about a teaspoouful. In Great Britain it con- 
tains 54.8 grains of water and measures 3.55 cubic centi- 
meters, while in the United States it contains 57.1 grains 
and measures 3.70 cubic centimeters. In medical use 
commonly written fluidrachm, 
dram (dram), v. ; pret. and pp. drammed, ppr. 
dramming. [< dram, .] I. intrans. To drink 
drams ; indulge in the use of ardent spirits. 
He will soon sink ; I foresaw what would come of his 
dramming. Ftiote, The Bankrupt, iii. 2. 
II. trans. 1. To give a dram or drams to; 
ply with drink. 
Matron of matrons, Martha Baggs ! 
Dram your poor newsman clad in rags. 
T. Warton, Newsman's Verses for 1770. 
The parents in that fine house are getting ready their 
daughter for sale, . . . praying her, and imploring her, 
and dramming her, and coaxing her. 
Thackeray, Newcomes, xxviii. 
drama (dra'ma), n. [= F. drame = Sp. Pg. 
drama = It. dramma = D. G. Dan. drama = 
Sw. dram, drama (first in E., in the common 
heading of plays, dramatis personal), < LL. dra- 
ma, < Gr. 6pd/ui(--), a deed, act, an action repre- 
sented on the stage, a drama, esp. a tragedy, < 
rfpav = Lith. darau, do.] 1. A story put into 
action, or a story of human life told by actual 
representation of persons by persons, with 
imitation of language, voice, gesture, dress, 
