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Origin and history of dredge

dredge(n.)

"instrument for bringing up or removing solid matter from under water by dragging the bottom," late 15c., in Scottish dreg-boat "boat for dredging," perhaps ultimately from root of drag (possibly via Middle Dutch dregghe "drag-net").

dredge(v.)

"to clear out with a dredge, gather with a dredge," also figurative, c. 1500 in Scottish, from dredge (n.). Related: Dredged; dredging. 

also from c. 1500

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drag(v.)

late 14c., draggen, "to draw a grapnel along the bottom of a river, lake, etc., in search of something;" late 15c., "to draw away by force, pull haul," from Old Norse draga, or a dialectal variant of Old English dragan "to draw," both from Proto-Germanic *draganan "to draw, pull," perhaps from a PIE *dhregh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (source also of Sanskrit dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Russian drogi "wagon," doroga "way;" connection to Latin trahere "to draw" is possible but problematic).

Meaning "draw (feet, tails, etc.) along slowly" is from 1580s; intransitive sense of "move heavily or slowly, hang with its weight while moving or being moved" is by 1660s. Meaning "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 the figurative sense "delay deliberately") supposedly is from logging, from a lazy way to use a two-man saw.

dredger(n.)

c. 1500, "one who works or makes use of a dredge," agent noun from dredge (v.). As "boat employed in dredging," from c. 1600.

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