drop

Definition

A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own rounded shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *dropōn Old English dropian Middle English droppen Proto-Indo-European *dʰrbʰ-néh₂- Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- Proto-Germanic *dreupaną Proto-Germanic *druppōną Proto-Germanic *drupô Proto-West Germanic *dropō Old English dropa ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English drope ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English droppe English drop From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic *dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop (of liquid)”),, from *dreupaną (“to drip, droop”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to drip, drop”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Droupe, Druppe (“drop”), Dutch drop, drup (“droplet”), German Tropfen (“drop”), German Low German Drüpp (“drop”), Luxembourgish Drëps (“drop”), Vilamovian tropa, troppa (“drop”), Yiddish טראָפּן (tropn, “drop”), Danish dråbe (“drop”), Faroese and Icelandic dropi (“drop”), Norwegian Bokmål dråpe (“drop”), Norwegian Nynorsk drope, dråpå (“drop”), Swedish droppe (“drop”).

Example Sentences

• "Put three drops of oil into the mixture."
• "A circular horizontal surface of indefinite diameter gave a drop of water weighing 2·10 grains. This is therefore the weight of the maximum drop formed on a flat surface, and it will be seen that it very nearly coincides with the weight of the drop formed upon a surface seven-tenths of an inch diameter. The drop in this case is always formed at the centre of the surface, this being the centre of the greatest molecular attraction amongst the liquid particles."
• "My first treatment consisted of one eye drop in each eye which was supposed to determine the condition of the eye and make it easier to examine them the next day."