Drogue
/droʊɡ/noun
A drag device used to slow or stabilize a moving object, especially a parachute or underwater craft.
Did you know?In maritime and aeronautical use, a drogue is a real piece of anti-motion engineering, and its name likely came through French from a Germanic word for a drag or trailed object—not from any mystical source, though the effect feels almost magical.
Etymological Timeline
Old Norse / Germanic
Germanic
drag-
“to draw, pull, or drag”
Middle Dutch / Low German
Germanic
drogge / droge
“a drag, trailing object, or something used to hinder movement”
Middle French
French
drogue
“a drag device; later also a medicine or drug”
16th-17th Century
English
drogue
“a sea anchor or drag device used to slow a vessel”
Modern English
English
drogue
“a drag device used to stabilize or slow motion”