dreich

adj

1. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Extending for a long distance or time, especially when tedious or wearisome; long-drawn-out, protracted; also, of speech or writing: unnecessarily verbose; long-winded.

   “So Alec showed her the letter, 'twas long and dreich and went on and on; […]”

2. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Not enjoyable or interesting; boring, dull.

   “VVhen thou an' I vvere young an' ſkiegh, / An' ſtable-meals at Fairs vvere driegh, / Hovv thou vvad prance, an' ſnore, an' ſkriegh, / An' tak the road!”

   “["]My life is a bit driegh," says he, pouring out the brandy; "I see little company, and sit and twirl my thumbs, and mind upon a great day that is gone by, and weary for another great day that we all hope will be upon the road. And so here's a toast to ye: The Restoration!"”

3. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable.

   “But he's lying i' such dree poverty,—and niver a friend to go near him,—niver a person to speak a kind word t' him.”

   “Aweel, Wully was an unco praying kind o' man; a dreigh body, nane o' my kind, I never could abide the sight o' him; […]”

   “The dreichest saul could see he had sunlicht in his ee, / And there's no his marrow left in the toun.”

   “It looked a dreich, cold place as you rode by at night, near as lonesome as the old Mill was, and not near as handy.”

   “There are many other species of Scottish station, from geranium-hung coastal termini to dreich places in the Black Country, but a concluding note must be reached, and it shall concern Glasgow.”

4. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)suitably serious or solemn
5. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)of a person: patient, stoic, tolerant, resolute
6. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Slow, sluggish; specifically, of a person: tending to delay or procrastinate (especially when paying for something).

   “What think ye o' yon bonny hill yonder, lifting its brow to the moon? […] [M]aybe we will win there the night yet, God sain us, though our minny [a horse] here's rather driegh in the upgang.”

   “I have the bills o' men like Keppoch and Glengarry flourishing about the Lowlands in the place o' paper money; they're aye gettin' a' the dreicher at the payin', but whatever comes o't I have got them in my grasp.”

7. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Of a person: having a dejected or serious appearance or mood; dour, gloomy, moody, morose, sullen.

   “There they are that were capering on their prancing nags four days since, and they are now ganging as driegh and sober as oursells the day.”

8. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Of a task: laborious, tedious, troublesome; hence, needing concentration to understand; intricate.

   “Right above your head some thing towered up with branching arms in the flow of the lights; and you saw that it was a cross of stone, overlaid with curlecues, strange, dreich signs, like the banners of the Roman robbers of men whom you'd preached against in Zion last night.”

9. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Chiefly of rain: without pause or stop; continuous, incessant.

   “So, after two hours' running downhill, we came out in the level valley at Glashütte. It was raining now, a thick dree rain.”

10. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland)Of weather: dreary, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.).

    “To be sure, t' winter's been a dree season, and thou'rt, maybe, in the right on't to make a late start.”

    “Days are dreicher than January. / A dead lamb is dropped in the thaw. / Yet now we are glad / For all things turn to the sun.”

    “Burglary with violent assault: just the thing for a dreich Thursday morning.”

    “Up here, it’s a ‘dreich’ day with steady drizzle. Deep drainage channels either side of the track are already more like streams: Rannoch Moor is a wet place.”

11. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, obsolete)Of a person: negotiating forcefully; driving a hard bargain.
12. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, obsolete)Of a place (especially a hill or mountain): difficult to get through or reach; inaccessible.

noun

1. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, countable)A tedious or troublesome task; also, the most tedious or troublesome part of a task.
2. (Midlands, North, Northern-England, Northern-Ireland, Scotland, uncountable)Bleakness, gloom; specifically, gloomy (cold, overcast, rainy, etc.) weather.