What does drouth mean?
"Drouth" is a regional and historical variant of "drought," meaning a prolonged period of deficient rainfall that dries out soil, crops, and water supplies. Pronounced roughly like "drowth," it reflects an older English pronunciation that standard modern usage abandoned when the spelling shifted to "drought." Today the word survives chiefly in the American Midwest and South, where farmers and writers may still speak of a summer drouth, as well as in literary prose seeking a rustic or archaic flavor. It carries connotations of hardship, parched land, and scarcity, and can occasionally be used figuratively for any extended absence of something wanted, such as a drouth of good news. For most readers, encountering "drouth" signals either regional authenticity or deliberate old-fashioned style; in everyday writing, "drought" remains the standard choice.
nounA prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall leading to a shortage of water; a drought. "Drouth" is an older spelling and pronunciation of "drought" that survives chiefly in American regional speech.
- A long period without rain causing dryness of land and scarcity of water; drought.
- Figurative: an extended lack or dearth of something desired.
"The summer drouth cracked the fields and left the creek bed bone dry."
"The drouth of 1934 turned much of the Great Plains into dust."
"After a drouth of new ideas, the studio finally greenlit something original."
Rarely used in the plural except when comparing multiple historical periods of drought.
"The region's worst drouths all occurred in the 1930s."
"Drouth" isn't a typo — it's how Americans pronounced and spelled "drought" for centuries, and in parts of the Midwest it still beats out the standard form today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drouth
"Drouth" descends from Old English "drūgaþ," meaning dryness or drought, formed on the same Germanic root that gives us "dry." In Middle English the word appeared variously as "droghte" and "drouthe," and both spellings survived into Modern English before "drought" became dominant under the influence of its pronunciation shift. "Drouth" preserved the older vowel sound, which is why it remains alive in regional American speech and in Scots, where the related adjective "drouthy" still means dry or thirsty.
Related word forms
How drouth is actually used
Regional and somewhat old-fashioned; in most contexts "drought" is the expected spelling and pronunciation. "Drouth" persists in rural American speech, literature aiming for regional flavor, and Scots-influenced writing (where the adjective "drouthy" means thirsty or dry). The figurative sense of a dearth or shortage is rare and usually playful.
Easily confused with drouth
"Drought" is the standard modern spelling for a prolonged lack of rain, while "drouth" is an older variant of the same word now confined mainly to regional American and dialectal use.