What does “dreich” mean?

More about dreich

Dreich is a whole mood: low cloud, drizzle, cold and no sign of change. No English word quite covers it.

Where the word comes from

From older Scots and northern English, where it meant tedious or long-drawn-out.

What I think of dreich

• Dreich: Scotland invented a word for this weather because it needed one weekly.

• Dreich is dreary with a Scottish accent and more conviction.

• A dreich day: the sky is grey, the ground is grey, the mood is grey.

Words people compare it with

• Dreary: Dull, grey and joyless: a flat sky, low light and often a bit of rain.
• Haar: A cold sea fog that rolls in off the North Sea onto the east coast of Scotland and north east England.
• Smirr: Scots for very fine, misty rain, the kind that drifts rather than falls.
• All weather words