late-14c., draie, "strong wheeled or wheel-less cart," from Old English dræge or some other noun derivative from dragan "to draw" and originally meaning a cart without wheels that has to be "dragged" (compare Old Norse draga "timber dragged behind a horse;" Middle Low German drage, Middle High German trage "a litter"); see drag (v.). Modern sense of "low, strong cart with stout wheels and without sides, used for carrying heavy loads" is from 1580s.
