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draught

 [draft, drahft]   Example Sentences Origin

draught

   [draft, drahft]
noun
1.
draughts, (used with a singular verb) British. the game of checkers.
2.
Chiefly British. draft (defs. 1, 3–10, 18–25, 38).
verb (used with object)
3.
Chiefly British. draft (defs. 28–32).

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Draught is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
4.
Chiefly British. draft (def. 33).
adjective
5.
Chiefly British. draft (defs. 35–37).
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English draht (cognate with Dutch dracht, German Tracht, Old Norse drāttr); akin to Old English dragan to draw, drōht a pull (at the oars)

Related forms
draught·er, noun
un·der·draught, noun

Can be confused: draft, draught, draughts, drought (see pronunciation note at the current entry).

Pronunciation note
Draught is a variant spelling of draft and is normally pronounced the same way, as  [draft] or  [drahft] or with a vowel somewhere between  [a] and  [ah]. A pronunciation  [drawt] is sometimes heard for draught, perhaps because -aught is frequently pronounced  [-awt] elsewhere, as in caught and taught.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To draught
Example Sentences
  • The large concrete-shell cooling towers used on power stations are a special variety of the chimney-type natural-draught tower.
  • The draught animal has it easy; it needs merely to pull.
  • This large, icy house is full of draughts.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
draught or draft (drɑːft)
 
—n
1.  a current of air, esp one intruding into an enclosed space
2.  a.  the act of pulling a load, as by a vehicle or animal
 b.  (as modifier): a draught horse
3.  the load or quantity drawn
4.  a portion of liquid to be drunk, esp a dose of medicine
5.  the act or an instance of drinking; a gulp or swallow
6.  the act or process of drawing air, smoke, etc, into the lungs
7.  the amount of air, smoke, etc, inhaled in one breath
8.  a.  beer, wine, etc, stored in bulk, esp in a cask, as opposed to being bottled
 b.  (as modifier): draught beer
 c.  on draught drawn from a cask or keg
9.  Also called: draughtsman, US and Canadian equivalent: checker any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of draughts
10.  the depth of a loaded vessel in the water, taken from the level of the waterline to the lowest point of the hull
11.  feel the draught to be short of money
 
[C14: probably from Old Norse drahtr, of Germanic origin; related to draw]
 
draft or draft
 
—n
 
[C14: probably from Old Norse drahtr, of Germanic origin; related to draw]
 
'draughter or draft
 
—n
 
'drafter or draft
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

draught
c.1200, from O.E. *dreaht, *dræht, related to dragan "to draw, drag" (see drag). Oldest sense besides that of "pulling" is of "drinking;" meaning "current of air" ("drawn" through an opening) is 18c. It retains the functions that did not branch off with draft.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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