Drawl

Word of the Day for Sunday, June 23, 2013

Drawl \drawl\, verb:

1. to say or speak in a slow manner, usually prolonging the vowels.

noun:
1. an act or utterance of a person who drawls.

"They particularly object to what they describe as the drawling intonation of American actors." "Drawl!" exclaimed Maryna. "Since when do I drawl?"
-- Susan Sontag, In America: A Novel, 1999

She is discussed by her dear friends with all the genteelest slang in vogue, with the last new word, the last new manner, the last new drawl, and the perfection of polite indifference.
-- Charles Dickens, Bleak House, 1853

Almost immediately the glass door opened again to admit a stocky figure that held back for a moment in the shadows at the far end of the room and in a kind of drawl said something that sounded like “ 't's 'n honor.”
-- Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks, 1901

Drawl entered English in the late-1500s and is likely from the East Frisian draulen meaning "to linger" or "delay." It is thought to be related to the word draw.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com