dross

Meaning

Noun

1. Waste or impure matter.
2. Residue that forms as a scum on the surface of molten metal from oxidation.
3. The impurities in metal.
4. A waste product from working with metal.
5. Worthless or trivial matter.
6. (slang) Residual raw opium left in an opium pipe which can be recycled for further sale or use.

Verb

To remove dross from.

Synonyms

scoria

slag

scum

cinder

impurity

refuse

clinker

verdigris

dregs

waste

dirt

trash

skim

stain

sullage

waste matter

offscourings

scoriae

rust of iron

molten slag

tin dross

dross trap

drossing

fused slag

iron cake

slag-off

raking off the slag

moltenslag

molten-slag

bagasse

dross spot

leavings

offal

quid

recrement

residue

rubbish

rust

scraps

scruff

scumming

sediment

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dɹɒs/

Etymology

From Middle English drosse, dros, from Old English drōs, from Proto-Germanic *drōhs (“dregs, sediment”).
Also compare Old English drōsna, drōsne (“a ground, sediment, lees, dregs, dirt, ear wax”), from Proto-Germanic *drōhsnǭ, *drōhsnō (“dregs, sediment”), derived from *drōhs. Alternatively, this may be from *dragjō + *-snō (“yeast, sediment”; compare *dragjō (“yeast”)), as if from *drēcg + -sn.
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrā́ks (“sediment, yeast”).
Cognate with Scots dros, drose, drosse (“small particles, fragments, dross”), Middle Dutch droes (“dregs”), Dutch droesem (“dregs”), German Drusen (“lees, dregs”), Latin fracēs (“grounds or dregs of oil”). Related also to drast, dregs.