Etymograph

English

droog

Droog comes from Russian друг ‘friend’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to deceive’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-1‘to deceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Balto-Slavicc. 2000–500 BCE*draugás1‘friend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*drugъ1reconstructed
  4. Russianmodernдруг2drug‘friend’
  5. Englishtodaydroog2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Russian друг
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English droog

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰrewgʰ-Wiktionary, Russian друг‘to deceive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Balto-Slavicc. 2000–500 BCE*draugásWiktionary, Russian друг‘friend’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Slavicc. 400–900 CE*drugъWiktionary, Russian другreconstructed
  4. RussianmodernдругWiktionary, English droogdrug‘friend’
  5. EnglishtodaydroogWiktionary, English droog

The story

From Russian друг (drug, “friend”), in which sense it is used in the invented slang Nadsat in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange (1962).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- ‘to deceive’

dream, drug, fraud, drain, drudge, truculent, 16 more

Today it means

noun A violent young gang member or a hooligan.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “droog”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Russian друг. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewgʰ- / droog

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