Ddroppings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The waste matter left behind by animals or birds, typically in small pellets or clumps on the ground
2. Excrement dropped by creatures such as birds, bats, sheep, or rodents
3. Small deposits of animal dung that are left lying about where the creatures have been

Etymology: The word is a straightforward formation: "drop," from Old English "dropa," a single drop of liquid, plus the "-ing" ending that turns a verb action or product into a noun. The plural form, "droppings," is what most people mean, and it has long been used for the small, pellet-like waste left by animals and birds. Its literal sense of liquid falling in drops came first, and the solid-waste sense grew out of that idea of something falling from a body. Those two senses still sit side by side. Cooks use "pan droppings" for the browned bits left in a roasting tin, and the plural can mean anything that has fallen or been left behind. The root "drop" is related to Old English "dreopan," meaning to drip or fall in drops, which keeps the core image of something dripping down.