dregs

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

DREGS, noun plural [Gr.] 1. The sediment of liquors; lees; grounds; feculence; any foreign matter of liquors that subsides to the bottom of a vessel. 2. Waste or worthless matter; dross; sweepings; refuse. Hence, the most vile and despicable part of men; as the dregs of society. Dreg, in the singular, is found in Spenser, but is not now used.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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