What is "drag"

Drag \Drag\, n. [See Drag, v. t., and cf. Dray a cart, and 1st Dredge.]

1. The act of dragging; anything which is dragged.

2. A net, or an apparatus, to be drawn along the bottom under water, as in fishing, searching for drowned persons, etc.

3. A kind of sledge for conveying heavy bodies; also, a kind of low car or handcart; as, a stone drag.

4. A heavy coach with seats on top; also, a heavy carriage. [Collog.]
   --Thackeray.

5. A heavy harrow, for breaking up ground.

6. 1. Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; esp., a canvas bag with a hooped mouth, so used. See Drag sail (below).

   2. Also, a skid or shoe, for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel.

   3. Hence, anything that retards; a clog; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment.

      My lectures were only a pleasure to me, and no drag.
      --J. D. Forbes.

7. Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. ``Had a drag in his walk.'' -- Hazlitt.

8. (Founding) The bottom part of a flask or mold, the upper part being the cope.

9. (Masonry) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone.

10. (Marine Engin.) The difference between the speed of a screw steamer under sail and that of the screw when the ship outruns the screw; or between the propulsive effects of the different floats of a paddle wheel. See Citation under Drag, v. i., 3.

    Drag sail (Naut.), a sail or canvas rigged on a stout frame, to be dragged by a vessel through the water in order to keep her head to the wind or to prevent drifting; -- called also drift sail, drag sheet, drag anchor, sea anchor, floating anchor, etc.

    Drag twist (Mining), a spiral hook at the end of a rod for cleaning drilled holes.

Drag \Drag\, v. i.

1. To be drawn along, as a rope or dress, on the ground; to trail; to be moved onward along the ground, or along the bottom of the sea, as an anchor that does not hold.

2. To move onward heavily, laboriously, or slowly; to advance with weary effort; to go on lingeringly.

   The day drags through, though storms keep out the sun.
   --Byron.

   Long, open panegyric drags at best. -- Gay.

3. To serve as a clog or hindrance; to hold back.

   A propeller is said to drag when the sails urge the vessel faster than the revolutions of the screw can propel her.
   --Russell.

4. To fish with a dragnet.

Drag \Drag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dragged; p. pr. & vb. n. Dragging.] [OE. draggen; akin to Sw. dragga to search with a grapnel, fr. dragg grapnel, fr. draga to draw, the same word as E. draw. ? See Draw.]

1. To draw slowly or heavily onward; to pull along the ground by main force; to haul; to trail; -- applied to drawing heavy or resisting bodies or those inapt for drawing, with labor, along the ground or other surface; as, to drag stone or timber; to drag a net in fishing.

   Dragged by the cords which through his feet were thrust.
   --Denham.

   The grossness of his nature will have weight to drag thee down.
   --Tennyson.

   A needless Alexandrine ends the song That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along.
   --Pope.

2. To break, as land, by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; to draw a drag along the bottom of, as a stream or other water; hence, to search, as by means of a drag.

   Then while I dragged my brains for such a song.
   --Tennyson.

3. To draw along, as something burdensome; hence, to pass in pain or with difficulty.

   Have dragged a lingering life. -- Dryden.

   To drag an anchor (Naut.), to trail it along the bottom when the anchor will not hold the ship.

   Syn: See Draw.

Drag \Drag\, n. [See 3d Dredge.] A confection; a comfit; a drug. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.

mid-15c., from Old Norse draga, or a dialectal variant of Old English dragan "to draw," both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE root *dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (cognates: Sanskrit dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Russian drogi "wagon;" but not considered to be directly the source of Latin trahere).\n

\nMeaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Related: Dragged; dragging. Drag-out "violent fight" is from c.1859. To drag (one's) feet (1946, in figurative sense) supposedly is from logging, from a lazy way to use a two-man saw.

c.1300, "dragnet," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish dragg "grapnel") or from Old English dræge "dragnet," related to dragan "to draw" (see drag (v.)).\n

\nSense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813, perhaps from the notion of something that must be dragged as an impediment. 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 German tragen); drag queen is from 1941.\n

\nDrag racing (1947), is said to be from thieves' slang drag "automobile" (1935), perhaps ultimately 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 (which some propose as the source of the racing sense).\n\nIn addition to the time trials there are a number of "drag races" between two or more cars. They are run, not for record, but to satisfy the desire of most Americans to see who can get from here to there in the fastest time.

["Popular Mechanics," January 1947]

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context uncountable English) Resistance of the air (or some other fluid) to something moving through it. 2 (context countable foundry English) The bottom part of a sand casting mold. 3 (context countable English) A device dragged along the bottom of a body of water in search of something, e.g. a dead body, or in fishing. 4 (context countable informal English) A puff on a cigarette or joint. 5 (context countable slang English) Someone or something that is annoying or frustrating; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment. 6 (context countable slang English) Someone or something that is disappointing. 7 (context countable slang English) Horse-drawn wagon or buggy. (from mid-18th c.) 8 (context countable slang English) Street, as in 'main drag'. (from mid-19th c.) 9 (context countable English) The scent-path left by dragging a fox, for training hounds to follow scents. 10 (context countable snooker English) A large amount of backspin on the cue ball, causing the cue ball to slow down. 11 A heavy harrow for breaking up ground. 12 A kind of sledge for conveying heavy objects; also, a kind of low car or handcart. 13 (context metallurgy English) The bottom part of a flask or mould, the upper part being the cope. 14 (context masonry English) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone. 15 (context nautical English) The difference between the speed of a screw steamer under sail and that of the screw when the ship outruns the screw; or between the propulsive effects of the different floats of a paddle wheel. 16 Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; especially, a canvas bag with a hooped mouth (drag sail), so used. 17 A skid or shoe for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel. 18 Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To pull along a surface or through a medium, sometimes with difficulty. 2 (context intransitive English) To move slowly. 3 To act or proceed slowly or without enthusiasm; to be reluctant. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context uncountable slang English) Women's clothing worn by men for the purpose of entertainment. (from late 19th c.) 2 (context uncountable slang English) Any type of clothing or costume associated with a particular occupation or subculture.

1. n. the phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid [syn: retarding force]

2. something that slows or delays progress; "taxation is a drag on the economy"; "too many laws are a drag on the use of new land"

3. something tedious and boring; "peeling potatoes is a drag"

4. clothing that is conventionally worn by the opposite sex (especially women's clothing when worn by a man); "he went to the party dressed in drag"; "the waitresses looked like missionaries in drag"

5. a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke); "he took a puff on his pipe"; "he took a drag on his cigarette and expelled the smoke slowly" [syn: puff, pull]

6. the act of dragging (pulling with force); "the drag up the hill exhausted him"

7. [also: dragging, dragged]

1. v. pull, as against a resistance; "He dragged the big suitcase behind him"; "These worries were dragging at him"

2. draw slowly or heavily; "haul stones"; "haul nets" [syn: haul, hale, cart]

3. force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag me into this business" [syn: embroil, tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag in]

4. move slowly and as if with great effort

5. to lag or linger behind; "But in so many other areas we still are dragging" [syn: trail, get behind, hang back, drop behind]

6. suck in or take (air); "draw a deep breath"; "draw on a cigarette" [syn: puff, draw]

7. use a computer mouse to move icons on the screen and select commands from a menu; "drag this icon to the lower right hand corner of the screen"

8. walk without lifting the feet [syn: scuff]

9. search (as the bottom of a body of water) for something valuable or lost [syn: dredge]

10. persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting; "He dragged me away from the television set"

11. proceed for an extended period of time; "The speech dragged on for two hours" [syn: drag on, drag out]

12. [also: dragging, dragged]

Drag or The Drag may refer to:

Drag is a cover album by k.d. lang, released in 1997; most of its songs feature a smoking motif, although some address broader issues of dependence and/or addiction. The cover of Dionne Warwick's "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" was notably used in key scenes in the pilot episode and series finale of the Showtime comedy-drama series Nurse Jackie.

Drag is an Australian rock band led by Darren Middleton, most known as the lead guitarist from highly successful Australian group Powderfinger.

Drag is the first full-length album by the Red Aunts. It was released in 1993 on Sympathy for the Record Industry.

Drag is a 1929 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess.

The term "drag" is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origins of the word are debated, but "drag" has appeared in print as early as 1870. One suggested etymological root is 19th-century theatre slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor.

" Drag queen" appeared in print at least as early as 1941. In the vernacular, the word as a noun is typically percedented by a verb: "do". A folk etymology whose acronym basis reveals the late-20th-century bias would make "drag" an abbreviation of "dressed as girl" in description of male transvestism. The opposite, "drab" for "dressed as boy," is unrecorded. Drag may be practiced by people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

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A drag route (also known as an in route or a dig route) is a route run by a receiver in American football, where the receiver runs a few yards downfield, then turns 90° towards the center of the field and runs parallel to the line of scrimmage. This type of route is relatively safe and is thrown to an agile receiver who can make a play after the catch. Alternatively, a drag route may be used as a second option if the principal receiver on a play is covered.

The use of two crossing drag routes can also be used to try to create an open receiver by using the other receiver to block the path of a defensive back in a man coverage scheme. Out and in routes are the most difficult routes to cover in man-to-man coverage, but can be dangerous plays to run because, if the defender intercepts the pass, he will often have a clear path to the end zone.

The Drag is a nickname for a portion of Guadalupe Street that runs along the western edge of the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.

The Drag began as a strip of shops which provided vital resources to UT students. Bookstores, restaurants, and clothing stores fulfilled student needs. The proximity to campus, particularly the Main Building and the Union Building, added to the popularity of the street. At the start of each semester The Drag fills with students purchasing textbooks and school supplies.

Past and present buildings on the Drag include the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Raul's, Captain Quackenbush's Intergalactic Espresso and Dessert Company, Record Exchange (later renamed CD Exchange at the NW corner of 21st Street), Hastings Music and Video (directly across from the West Mall and Student Union), Bevo's Bookstore, The Gap (at the SW corner of 24th Street), Al's Formalwear (at 29 1/2 Street), Tower Records, The Bazaar, Texadelphia, Dobie Mall, Goodall Wooten private dormitory, and the University Baptist Church. Also, the Church of Scientology of Texas building is on The Drag.

The Drag is considered an important part of Austin's civic life, but for many years many Austinites avoided it because of congestion. The area had fallen into disrepair, and some felt the area had become undesirable because of the presence of panhandlers known as "Dragworms", or more recently as "Dragrats."

Recently the west side of the Drag between 21st and 24th has been reconfigured in preparation for Capital MetroRapid bus rapid transit service in 2014.