drab

Meaning

Noun

1. (also, attributive, countable, uncountable) A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
2. (also, attributive, countable, uncountable) The color of this fabric.
3. (also, attributive, countable, uncountable) Often in the plural form drabs: apparel, especially trousers, made from this fabric.
4. (also, attributive, broadly, countable, uncountable) A dull or uninteresting appearance or situation, unremarkable.

Adj

1. (also, attributive) Of the color of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun.
2. (also, attributive, broadly) Particularly of color: dull, uninteresting.

Verb

To consort with prostitutes; to whore.

Verb

To poison.

Synonyms

dull

dreary

grey

drear

uninteresting

boring

grim

dismal

tedious

dark

colorless

disconsolate

dirty

gloomy

dingy

sombre

filthy

olive-drab

olive drab

unlikable

blue

unappealing

stodgy

unenlivened

slattern

sorry

sober

humdrum

somber

gray

dire

blunt

frumpish

flat

nondescript

filth

depressing

arid

faded

mousey

dun

monotony

monotonous

mousy

nasty

neutral

monotonic

obtuse

monotone

bleak

Translations

ανιαρός

sombre

morne

gris

kasvetli

gris

sombrio

trist

monotono

eintönig

düster

grigio

pâle

trist

☹️

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dɹæb/

Etymology

Cognate with Ancient Greek: δρέπω

Cognate with Avestan: 𐬛𐬭𐬀𐬟𐬱𐬀

Cognate with Lithuanian: drãpanos

Cognate with Old Norse: trefja

Cognate with Sanskrit: द्रापि

Cognate with Serbo-Croatian: drápati

Cognate with Middle English: drabelen

Cognate with Low German: drabbe

Cognate with Old Norse: drabba

Cognate with Dutch: drab

Cognate with Irish: drabog

Cognate with Scottish Gaelic: drabag

In summary

Probably from Middle French and Old French drap (“cloth”), either:
* from Late Latin drappus (“drabcloth, kerchief; piece of cloth”), most likely from Gaulish *drappo, from Proto-Indo-European *drep- (“to scratch, tear”); or
* from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”), from Proto-Germanic *drap-, *drēp- (“something beaten”), from *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to beat, crush; to make or become thick”).
The English word is cognate with Ancient Greek δρέπω (drépō, “to pluck”), Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬀𐬟𐬱𐬀 (drafša, “banner, flag”), Lithuanian drãpanos (“household linens”), Old Norse trefja (“to rub, wear out”), trof (“fringes”), Sanskrit द्रापि (drāpi, “mantle, gown”), Serbo-Croatian drápati (“to scratch, scrape”)).