/droop-meaning

/droop-meaning-etymology

-) Verb.

-) Pronunciation: druːp.

-) Etymology: from Middle English drupen.

-) Preterite tense: drooped (druːpt). Preterite participle: drooped.

-) Present participle: drooping.

-) Documented since 1300.

-) Intransitively: -) 1. (Of a plant, animal, etc.) to have or undergo a bent posture, or inclination or fall, from physical inability or fatigue, want of nourishment, or the like.

-) Synonym for “droop”: (of a plant) to flag.

-) Translation: tomber, in French; caer, in Spanish; cadere, in Italian.

Like a delicate flower, that has drooped on, being deprived of air and light and which suddenly revives when revisited by the zephyr and the sunbeam, she appeared to have recovered in that morning walk some portion of her former animation.

Bentley's Miscellany… 1842

He dropped the cup and spurred his horse away; but, soon fainting with loss of blood, drooped from the saddle.

Dickens… A Child's History… 1851

-) 2. -) a. (Of a part of a body) to become suspended from another while being attracted downward by gravity; to be or become inclined from its vertical position, without disunion. -) b. Particularly: (of eyes) to be inclined downward, with the eyelids lowered; (of head, gaze, etc.) to be or become inclined from its vertical position.

-) Synonyms for “droop”: hang, dangle.

She suffered her head to droop back again upon the grass.

G. Rainsford… The False Heir… 1843

Miss Walker's head suddenly drooped on Mr. Collins's shoulder.

The Irish Metropolitan Magazine, vol. III… 1858

Then she looked, for the first time that night, so hardly into his stern and sallow countenance, as to make his gaze droop before her own.

E. Meteyard… Mainstone’s Housekeeper, vol. II… 1860

Heavy eyelids drooped over his eyes.

Oscar Wilde… The Fisherman… 1891

By that time the tree is a month old, you may perceive a small body almost as big as one's arm, and then there are eight or ten leaves, some of them four or five foot high […]. As the young leaves spring up in the inside, so the old leaves spread off, and their tops droop downward, being of a greater length and breadth by how much they are nearer the root, and at last decay and rot off…

W. Dampier… Voyage Round the World… 1937

-) With the preposition “from” + noun:

The leaves drooped from the stem without losing colour.

J. Lindley… An Introduction to Botany… 1835

… the profusion of fair tresses that drooped from the head of Miss Dorcas, mingled in charming contrast with Ada's luxuriant, dark hair.

J. Maitland… The watchman… 1855

-) 3. (Now only of the sun, day, etc.) to descend into a space; to decline, go down

 Already the sun was drooping far down the west, and sending its golden glow sideways through the trees.

Star Papers… 1855

-) 4. To become gradually less in vital strength and energy; to languish.

But nothing can reconcile the children of the Indians, to the customs, manners, and methods of living among the Europeans: However caressed and indulge ed, they droop and languish, until they return to the freedom and wildness of the forest.

S. Williams… History of Vermont… 1809

The horse drooped from fatigue.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine… 1847

-) 5. To become gradually less in courage; to become despondent.

-) Synonym: to quail.

The shout, so suddenly and generally raised, was heard beyond the ring of sentinels who guarded the pavilion of Council, and spread among the soldiers of the host, who, inactive and dispirited by disease and climate, had begun, like their leaders, to droop in resolution.

W. Scott… The Talisman… 1825

-) Transitively: to let (face, the eyes, etc.) droop; to cause to decline or hang; to bend; turn towards the ground.

…. I drooped my head on the shoulder of my dear aunt.

G. Mason… The widow's choice… 1823

Aza paused, and sighed as she drooped her head upon her bosom; yet the pause was but that of a minute.

A. Bray… The Talba… 1830

The secretary drooped his head with an expression of perfect acquiescence in anything that had been said or might be.

Dickens… Barnaby… 1841

"Stand here and look me in the face: if you lie, I can tell it—you can't and shan't deceive me." He lifted her, by a sweep of his strong arm, on to the top of the newly-sodded grave. Thus, standing somewhat on a level, he was face to face with her; and that she might not droop hers, he grasped the shawl beneath her chin.

E. Meteyard… Mainstone’s Housekeeper… 1869

Fleur drooped her eyelids; turned a little pale, and bit her lips.

Galsworthy… The Forsyte Saga… 1922

-) English words derived from “droop”: drooper, drooping, droopingly, droopingness.

 

Converted to HTML with WordToHTML.net

 

/drone-meaning

/drone-meaning-etymology

-) Verb.

-) Pronunciation and accent: drəʊn. 

-) Etymology: either from DRONE “bee”, or from DRONE “monotonous sound”.

-) Preterite tense: droned. Preterite participle: droned.

-) Present participle: droning.

-) Intransitively: -) 1. (of an insect; as a bee) to cause a monotonous or murmuring sound. Hence, (of a person) to speak monotonously.

-) Documented since 1500.

-) Synonyms for “drone”: hum, buzz.

-) Translation: bourdonner, in French; zumbar, in Spanish; ronzare, in Italian.

Within doors the bottle-green flies came out of their lethargy and droned and bumped on the panes.

F. Norris… The Pit… 1798

A profusion of large ants swarmed upon the ground; bats whisked by, and mosquitoes droned overhead.

Stevenson… Travels with a Donkey… 1879

Myriads of tiny insects droned venomously.

E. Abbott… The Sick-a-Bed Lady… 1911

No bees droned, or any insect.

M. Rawlings… The Yearling… 1938

Flies droned over the dates and figs that the boys pulled from their pockets to eat.

C. Dawson… Mr. Wicker's Window… 1952

-) 2. (From the noun DRONE: bee) to behave like a drone bee; to act sluggishly or idly. Hence: (of something) to become monotonous.

-) Documented since 1500.

A man rapped sharply on a table, and the conversation droned away into silence.

J. London… Children of the Frost… 1902

-) Transitively: -) 1. (Of a person) to utter droningly or monotonously.

-) 2. To “spend” (one’s life, a part of one’s life) sluggishly.

-) Documented since 1700.

… it must be wearisome to drone away one's life in these dull fields.

The Eclectic Magazine…

-) English words derived from the noun “drone”: dronish, dronishly, dronishness, droning, droningly, droner, droned.

 

Converted to HTML with WordToHTML.net

 

/drivel-meaning

-) Verb.

-) Pronunciation and accent: drɪv(ə)l.

-) Etymology: from Middle English drevelen.

-) Preterite tense: driveled or drivelled.

-) Preterite participle: driveled or drivelled.

-) Present participle: drivelling or driveling. 

-) Documented since 1000.

-) Intransitively: -) 1. (Of a person) to let saliva flow from the mouth.

-) Translation: baver, in French; babear, in Spanish; sbavare, in Italian.

-) Synonyms for “drivel”: slaver, dribble, drool, slobber.

-) 2. (Of saliva or slaver) to flow from the mouth.

… his clothes were stained by the saliva that occasionally driveled from his lips.

T. Holcroft… The Adventures… 1794

'Give me a shilling!' was her reply, while the slaver drivelled unrestrained from her mouth, rendering utterly disgusting a chin that a statuary might have wished to model.

F. Burney… Camilla… 1796

-) 3. (Of a person) to talk foolishly, as if he/she were an infant.

… all those pitiful things over which he drivelled and doted were unworthy of a thought, an effort, or a pang.

G. James… A book of the passions… 1839

-) Words derived from “drivel”: driveller, drivelling, drivellingly.

 

Converted to HTML with WordToHTML.net

 

/disport-meaning

/disport/

-) Verb.

-) Pronunciation and accent: dɪspɔət.

-) Etymology: from Old French desporter (to divert, please), which is analysed into des- (prefix implying the idea of “apart” or “away”, from latin dis-) + porter (to bear). Porter is a derived from Latin portare (to bear).

-) Third-person singular simple present: she/he disports.

-) Preterite tense, preterite participle: disported.

-) Present participle: disporting.

-) Documented since 1300.

-) Transitive and obsolete: to divert (an animated being) from sadness, ennui, or the like.

-) Reflexively: to behave sportively, as if to distract one’s mind from what is unpleasant; to perform an action, only for pleasure.

-) Synonyms for “disport”: to cheer oneself, divert onself, amuse oneself, enjoy oneself, to comport oneself, exult, sport.

-) Translation: divertirse, in Spanish; divertirsi, in Italian; se divertir, in French.

-) Antonyms: to mope, hurt oneself, afflict oneself, trouble oneself.

… the princess would bid her guard of bowmen retire to a distance, to insure her from approach; and while her ladies and pages disported themselves in the forest, would proceed onwards with her two favourite companions…

Grace Frances… The Courtier… 1839

The cold had driven away the lively little colony of bees, birds, and butterflies which have been seen disporting themselves about the bright white cauldron.

R. Burton… To the Gold Coast… 1863

… in the immediately preceding period, when the sub-tropical elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, disported themselves in the lignite woods of Middle Europe, have traces of mankind been found.

Popular Science, 1873

Numberless water-fowls, including geese, ducks of various kinds, several varieties of water-hens and ibises, disported themselves in its icy waters, or flew away, screaming, on our approach.

George Squier… Peru… 1877

-) With the preposition “with” + a noun or a gerund, designative of what is used to be sportive:

He that purposes to disport himself with killing doves, and other birds perched upon trees, must have bolts all of equal weight.

G. Hansard… The book of archery… 1840

… their elders disport themselves with cards, bagatelle, and the excitement of a sing-song meeting.

G. Sala… Gaslight and Daylight… 1859

-) Intransitively: to behave sportively, as if to distract one’s mind from what is unpleasant; to perform an action, with the only purpose of enjoying.

… the mind disports with different objects and forms, by an assemblage of thoughts and sensations.

R. Sullivan… A view of Nature… 1794

… she was disporting into an elaborate ridicule of some honest gentleman…

T. Hook… Cousin William… 1828

… we disported in the water.

J. Stepney… Leaves from the diary… 1854

-) Other English words derived from Latin portare: comport, comportment, deport, deported, deportable, deportation, deportee, deportment, export, exported, exporting, exportable, exportation, exporter, import (noun, verb), importability, importable, importance, important, importantly, importation, imported, importee, importer, importing, unimportant, unimportance, unimported, port (= mien), port (verb), portable, portability, portableness, portage (noun, verb), portatile, portation, portative, portée, porter, portership, portfolio, report, reported, reportedly, reportability, reportable, reportage, reportative, reporter, reporterage, reporting, reportless, reportorial, reportorially, reportship, unreported, unreportable, support (noun, verb), supportable, supportability, supportableness, supportably, supportative, supported, supporter, supporting, supportingly, supportive, supportiveness, supportless, supportlessly, supportress, unsupportable, unsupportableness, unsupportably, unsupported, unsupportedly, unsupportedness, unsupporting, transport (noun, verb), transportability, transportable, transportableness, transportation, transportative, transported, transportedly, transportedness, transportee, transporter, transporting, transportingly, transportive, untransported, untransportable, disporting, disportive, disportively, disportment, sport (noun, verb), sported, sportability, sportance, sporter, sportful, sportfully, sportfulness, sportiness, sporting, sportingly, sportive, sportively, sportiveness, sportless, sportling, sportsman, sportsmanlike, sportsmanly, sportsmanliness, sportsmanship, sportswoman, sporty.