Definitions and meaning of rub
rub
Etymology
From Middle English rubben, possibly from Low German rubben, rubbeling or Saterland Frisian rubben. Or, of North Germanic origin, such as Swedish rubba (“to move, scrub”), all from Proto-Germanic *reufaną (“to tear”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje (“to rub, scrape”), German Low German rubben (“to rub”), Low German rubblig (“rough, uneven”), Dutch robben, rubben (“to rub smooth; scrape; scrub”), Danish rubbe (“to rub, scrub”), Icelandic and Norwegian rubba (“to scrape”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɹʌb/, [ɹɐb], enPR: rŭb
- (US) IPA(key): /ɹʌb/, enPR: rŭb
-
- Rhymes: -ʌb
Noun
rub (plural rubs)
- An act of rubbing.
- Give that lamp a good rub and see if any genies come out
- A difficulty or problem.
- (archaic) A quip or sarcastic remark.
- In the game of crown green bowls, any obstacle by which a bowl is diverted from its normal course.
- Any substance designed to be applied by rubbing.
- a heat rub intended for muscular strains
- A mixture of spices applied to meat before it is barbecued.
Synonyms
- (a difficulty or problem): hitch, hiccup, catch, kink, glitch, snag
Translations
Verb
rub (third-person singular simple present rubs, present participle rubbing, simple past and past participle rubbed)
- (transitive) To move (one object) while maintaining contact with another object over some area, with pressure and friction.
- (transitive) To rub something against (a second thing).
- 1536 (originally published, the quote if from a later edited version of unknown date), Thomas Elyot, The Castel of Helth
- It shall be expedient, after that body is cleaned, to rub the body with a coarse linen cloth.
- (intransitive) To be rubbed against something.
- (transitive) To spread a substance thinly over; to smear.
- meat rubbed with spices before barbecuing
- (dated) To move or pass with difficulty.
- To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; often with up or over.
- to rub up silver
- a. 1716, Robert South, Man Created in God's Image
- The whole business of our redemption is, in short, only to rub over the defaced copy of the creation
- To hinder; to cross; to thwart.
- (transitive, bowls) To touch the jack with the bowl.
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
- rub in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- rub in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.
- rub at OneLook Dictionary Search
- “rub” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2020.
References
Anagrams
Czech
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *rǫbъ (“something which was cut”), from *rǫbati (“to cut, chop”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /rup/
- Rhymes: -up
- Homophone: rup
Noun
rub m
- back (the reverse side)
- the other (often negative) aspect of a situation
Declension
Antonyms
Derived terms
See also
- vzhůru nohama
- rubat
- rub on the Czech Wikipedia.Wikipedia cs
References
Further reading
- rub in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- rub in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Lower Sorbian
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Verb
rub
- second-person singular imperative of rubaś
Manx
Etymology
Borrowed from English rub.
Noun
rub m (genitive singular rub, plural rubbyn)
- rub
Verb
rub (verbal noun rubbey or rubbal)
- to rub
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *rǫbъ.
Pronunciation
Noun
rȗb m (Cyrillic spelling ру̑б)
- rim
- edge, brink
Declension
Source: wiktionary.org- RUANA, (Spanish) a woollen outer garment resembling a poncho, worn in parts of South America.
(source: Collins Scrabble Dictionary)