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Drab
Drab, term used first by C. S. Lewis (English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, introduction) to denote poetry and prose of the later medieval period until the early Renaissance: ‘a period in which, for good or ill, poetry has little richness either of sound or images’. The term has generally been used, by Lewis and by later critics, to characterize works of the Tudor period which are unappealing to a modern ear. Typically, ‘Drab’ poets wrote in strongly rhythmical verse forms such as poulter's measure, making use of alliteration and of poetic ‘fillers’ such as ‘eke’, and employed few Latinate words. Yet many so-called ‘Drab’ writers, such as Wyatt, have been much admired in modern times. The Tudor translators of Seneca's plays were highly regarded by T. S. Eliot, and many other ‘Drab’ translations were of crucial importance for the later Renaissance in England, such as Sir T. Hoby's version of Castiglione's Il Cortegiano (1561) and A. Golding's of Ovid's Metamorphoses (1567).
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Drab." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Drab." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Drab.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Drab." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Drab.html |
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drab
drab1 / drab/ • adj. (drab·ber , drab·best ) 1. lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull: the landscape was drab and gray | her drab suburban existence. 2. of a dull light brown color: drab camouflage uniforms. • n. fabric of a dull brownish color. DERIVATIVES: drab·ly adv. drab·ness n. drab2 • n. archaic 1. a slovenly woman. 2. a prostitute. |
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"drab." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "drab." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-drab.html "drab." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-drab.html |
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drab
drab 2 †kind of cloth XVI; (adj.) dull yellowishbrown colour XVII. prob. alt. of †darp cloth (of which it was an alternative form XVII–XVIII) — (O)F. — late L. drappus (see DRAPE).
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drab1.html T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drab1.html |
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drab
drab 1 slattern; harlot. XVI. prob. in orig. a cant or slang word; perh. from Du. or LG., cf. Du. drab dregs, LG. drabbe thick dirty liquid, mire.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drab.html T. F. HOAD. "drab." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-drab.html |
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drab
drab
•blab, cab, confab, crab, Crabbe, dab, drab, fab, flab, gab, grab, jab, kebab, lab, nab, scab, slab, smash-and-grab, stab, tab
•Moab • baobab • rehab • pedicab
•minicab • taxicab • Skylab
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"drab." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "drab." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-drab.html "drab." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-drab.html |
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