Etymology
1. 1440, from O.N.
draga, or a dial. variant of O.E.
dragan "to draw," from P.Gmc.
*dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE base
*dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (cf. Skt.
dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Rus.
drogi "wagon," and related to L.
trahere; see tract (1)). Meaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Sense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813; sense of "women's clothing worn by a man" is said to be 1870 theater slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor (another guess is Yiddish
trogn "to wear," from Ger.
tragen);
drag queen is from 1941.
Drag-out "violent fight" is from c.1859.
Drag racing (1954) is from slang sense of "wagon, buggy" (1755), because a horse would drag it. By 1851 this was transferred to "street," as in the phrase
main drag, and it was adopted by hot rodders for "race on city streets."
Dragster is also from 1954.
Dragnet is recorded from 1541, originally in fishing. To
drag (one's) feet (1946, in fig. sense) is supposedly from logging, from the way to goof off while working a two-man saw.
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-
4. Proto-Indo-European *dʰrógʰ-e-ti
5. Proto-Germanic *draganą
6. Proto-West Germanic *dragan
7. Old English dragan
8. Middle English dragen
9. Middle English draggen
10. Low German draggeinflu.
11. English drag
12. From Middle English draggen (“to drag”), early Middle English dragen (“to draw, carry”), confluence of Old English dragan (“to drag, draw, draw oneself, go, protract”) and Old Norse draga (“to draw, attract”); both from Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to draw, drag”).
13. Verb sense influenced due to association with the noun drag (“that which is hauled or dragged”), related to Low German dragge (“a drag-anchor, grapnel”). Cognate with Danish drægge (“to dredge”), Danish drage (“to draw, attract”), Swedish dragga (“to drag, drag anchor, sweep”), Swedish draga (“to draw, go”), Icelandic draga (“to drag, pull”). Doublet of draw. See: Old English '
dragan', Proto-Germanic '
*draganą', Danish '
drægge', Danish '
drage', Swedish '
dragga', Swedish '
draga', Icelandic '
draga'.
Verbs referencing "drag"
English
trawl, Portuguese
dragar, Spanish
dragar, Korean
드래그하다, Welsh
dragio.