Dragging

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈdɹæɡɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Moving an object across a surface by pulling it with force and effort ; causing a process or event to take longer and become difficult ; proceeding at a slow or wearisome speed
2. Pulling something over the ground, typically with laborious effort ; creating a hindrance that slows down progress or completion ; advancing in a sluggish and tiresome manner
3. To pull something along the floor requiring exertion ; to make a situation last longer and more troublesome than necessary ; to continue at an unhurried and monotonous tempo

Etymology: "Dragging" is simply "drag" with the suffix "-ing" attached, so the interesting story belongs to "drag" itself. That verb descends from Old English "dragan," which in turn traces back to a Proto-Germanic root "draganą," and the Old English form originally meant to draw or haul something along the ground. The word is a close relative of the Low German "draggen," which likewise meant to pull or drag, and the two languages have kept the same basic sense for well over a thousand years. The "-ing" ending comes from Old English "-ung" and "-ing," which formed nouns and gerunds from verbs. Middle English "dragen" and "draggen" shows the form settling into the spelling we know now, and the present participle "dragging" follows naturally from that stem. Nothing about the word has pulled it far from its original meaning, so the physical image of hauling something across a surface remains intact.

Synonyms: pulling, towing, hauling, yanking, drawing

Antonyms: lifting, raising, releasing, throwing, launching