Is it linguistically incorrect to singularise the word "dregs", as in the following example:
He finished off every last dreg of his
coffee.
If so, are there any other English words which can only exist in plural form?
Answer
However rare, dreg is indeed the singular form of dregs. The word enjoyed employment by Shakespeare in Troilus and Cressida (Act 3, Sc. 2):
What too curious dreg espies my sweet lady in the fountain of our love?
I managed to gather a few words ending in -s that are most often used as plural-only: scissors, shears, tongs, trousers, measles, series, gallows, species, thanks, clothes, bellows, outskirts, pampas, premises, pajamas, rabies.
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