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Added 10 October 2026

drought

/dɹaʊt/ noun

In Latin: siccitās Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about drought at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A shortage of rainfall.
farmers most affected by the drought hope that there may yet be sufficient rain early in the growing season
A prolonged shortage.
when England defeated Pakistan it ended a ten-year drought

Origin

From Middle English droughte, droghte, drouȝte, from Old English drūgaþ. Cognate with Dutch droogte, Low German Dröögde. By surface analysis, dry + -t (abstract nominal suffix).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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