English word adrift comes from English a-, English drift
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| a- | English (eng) | (no longer productive) Away from. [First attested from around 1150 to 1350.] (no longer productive) forming words with the sense of wholly, or utterly out[First attested from around 1150 to 1350.] (no longer productive) Of, from. [First attested prior to 1150.] Not, without, opposite of. (no longer productive) Towards; Used to indicate direction, reduction to, increase to, change into, or [...] |
| drift | English (eng) | (architecture) The horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or vault upon the abutments.. (cricket) A sideways movement of the ball through the air, when bowled by a spin bowler.. (handiwork) A tool.. (mining) A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft; a driftway; a small subterranean gallery; an adit or tunnel.. (nautical) Movement.. (obsolete) A driving; a violent movement.. [...] |
| adrift | English (eng) | (chiefly, UK, often with of) Behind one's opponents, or below a required threshold in terms of score, number or position.. (of a seaman) Absent from his watch.. Floating at random. In a drifting condition; at the mercy of wind and waves. |