O.E. dros "dirt, dregs," from P.Gmc. *drohs- (cf. Ger. Drusen "dregs, husks"). Originally "the scum thrown off from metals in smelting." Related to O.E. dreosan "to drip."
the impurities of silver separated from the one in the process of melting (Prov. 25:4; 26:23; Ps. 119:119). It is also used to denote the base metal itself, probably before it is smelted, in Isa. 1:22, 25.