Dreyere

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An old spelling of a word meaning more dismal, gloomy, or cheerless than something else
2. A rare archaic form used to describe something that is more bleak, dull, or depressing in comparison
3. Describing a state or thing that is more drab, sombre, or tedious than another, in older English usage

Etymology: Dreary began in Old English as "drēorig," meaning bloody or gory, formed from "drēor," blood. The sense of gore gradually shifted toward sorrow, and by the Middle English period the word described a mournful, cheerless gloom. "Dreyere" is the comparative, "more dreary," in an older spelling. The modern sense of dull and tedious seems to have developed later, probably as the gloom of a grim scene wore into the tedium of a long, uneventful one.