Sc. [Known from 16th c. Of obscure origin; but bearing a striking resemblance in sense to West Flemish tragelen, given by De Bo as a variant of trakelen, to go with difficulty, to walk laboriously and heavily; also trans. to drag or trail, as a canal-boat: cf. tragel or trakel a tow-path. Cf. also Du. traag, MDu. traech slow, heavy, sluggish; also Sw. dial. traggel sb., traggla v., worry, bother (Rietz).]
1. trans. To bedraggle, dishevel; to disorder, injure, or befoul by trampling. (Chiefly in pa. pple.)
1549. Compl. Scot., vii. 68. Hyr hayr … vas feltrit & trachlit out of ordour, hingand ouer hyr schuldirs.
1825. Jamieson, s.v., A person is said to trauchle corn or grass, when he injures it by treading on it.
1871. W. Alexander, Johnny Gibb, i. We canna hae the beast’s maet trachel’t amo’ their feet.
2. To tire out or fatigue greatly by long walking; to exhaust by over-exertion; fig. to distress. (Chiefly in pa. pple.)
a. 1578. Lindesay (Pitscottie), Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.), I. 274. Thay war vondrous tyrd and foirgeine and trachled gretlie in travell.
1588. J. Melvill, Diary (Wodrow Soc.), 263. That night, the Lard … sufferit the [Spanish] souldiours to com a-land … for the maist part young berdles men, sillie, trauchled, and houngered.
1776. C. Keith, Farmer’s Ha’, xxxvi. Quo’ they, ‘We’re trachled unco sair, We’ve gane twal mile o’ yerd and mair.’
1889. Barrie, Window in Thrums, xx. 189. Ye mauna trachle yersel’, mother.
b. intr. for refl. To tire oneself out: to drudge.
1823. W. Tennant, Cdl. Beaton, V. vii. 171. I’m a wee forjeskit though, wi’ trachlin’ sae lang.
1840. A. Laing, Wayside Flowers (1878), 37. Then why need ye toil on an’ trachle sae sair?
Hence Trachled (trachlet), trauchled ppl. a.; Trachling, trauchling vbl. sb. and ppl. a.
1902. Blackw. Mag., Sept., 364/2. It’s a trauchling game [golf] and I wish I’d never seen it.
1910. Dundee Advert., 25 Nov. A scheme … whereby a ‘trauchled’ working class mother could be relieved of part of her domestic toil.
