ETYMOLOGY
from Old English drecc(e)an: unknown in the other Germanic languages
EXAMPLE
“…Sir sayd sir Bors after ye were departed from vs we alle that ben of youre blood and youre well wyllers were soo dretched that somme of vs lepte oute of oure beddes naked & some in their dremes caughte naked swerdes in their handes therfor said sir Bors we deme there is some grete stryf at hand…”
From: Le Morte Darthur
By Sir Thomas Malory, 1470
Lexicophilia 