dʰreh₁ǵ-
“to pull, to drag, to draw”Pull, drag, draw
A PIE verbal root meaning "to pull, to drag, to draw," continued in Latin trahere ("to pull, to drag"), whence trace, attract, contract, distract, extract, retract, subtract, and tractor; and in Germanic *draganą ("to drag, to draw"), whence English drag, draw, and draft.
Discussion
The root *dʰreh₁ǵ- ("to pull, to drag") is reconstructed from Latin trahere ("to pull, to drag, to draw"), Germanic *draganą ("to drag, to draw, to carry"), and possibly Old Irish traig ("foot"). Pokorny (IEW 257) and Rix (LIV² s.v. *dʰregʰ-) discuss the root, though the exact laryngeal reconstruction varies among scholars.
Latin trahere ("to pull, to drag") generated one of the largest compound families in English: abs-trahere ("to drag away," whence abstract), at-trahere ("to draw toward," whence attract), con-trahere ("to draw together," whence contract), dis-trahere ("to pull apart," whence distract and distraught), ex-trahere ("to pull out," whence extract), prō-trahere ("to drag forward," whence protract), re-trahere ("to pull back," whence retract and retreat), and sub-trahere ("to pull from below," whence subtract). The agent noun tractor ("one who pulls") and the noun tractus ("a pulling, a region drawn out") are also productive.
Germanic *draganą ("to drag, to draw, to carry") gave Old English dragan, whence modern English draw and drag (the latter reinforced by Old Norse draga). The nominal derivative draft (originally "something drawn or pulled") extended to mean a preliminary sketch, a current of air, and a quantity of liquid drawn from a cask.
Notes
gsc-gap: source of "drag", "draw", "draft", "trace", "attract", "tractor", "abstract"
Laryngeal Analysis
Contains *h₁; lengthens preceding vowel.
Ablaut
Full grade *dʰreh₁ǵ-, zero grade *dʰr̥h₁ǵ-.