grub

English

Etymology

From hypothetical Old English root *grubbian, from Proto-Germanic *grubb- (compare Old High German grubilōn (“to dig, search”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”)), from Proto-Germanic *grub- (“to dig”). The noun sense of "larva" (c.1400) may derive from the notion of "digging insect" or from the possibly unrelated Middle English grub (“dwarfish fellow”). The slang sense of "food" is first recorded 1659, has been linked with birds eating grubs or with bub (“drink”)."

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹʌb/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌb

Noun

grub (countable and uncountable, plural grubs)

An immature beetle

1. (countable) An immature stage in the life cycle of an insect; a larva.
2. (uncountable, slang) Food.
3. (obsolete) A short, thick man; a dwarf.
   • Richard Carew, The survey of Cornwall.

     John Romane, a short clownish grub, would bear the whole carcase of an ox, yet never tugged with him.

4. (Australia, slang) A dirty person.
5. (Australia, slang) A despicable person; a lowlife.

Synonyms

• (immature insect): larva
• (slang: food): (Britain) bait, (archaic) belly-timber, chow, munchable, nosebag, nosh, om nom nom, (dated) provender, provisions, scran, (India) tiffin, tucker, tuck

Derived terms

• grubby
• witchety grub

Related terms

• caterpillar
• maggot
• worm

Translations

immature insect

• Arabic: يَرَقَة‎ f (yaraqa)
• Armenian: թրթուր (hy) (tʿrtʿur)
• Belarusian: лічы́нка f (ličýnka)
• Bulgarian: ла́рва f (lárva), личи́нка f (ličínka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 幼蟲 (zh), 幼虫 (zh) (yòuchóng)

• Czech: ponrava (cs) f
• Dutch: larve (nl) f, larf (nl) f
• Esperanto: insektido
• Finnish: toukka (fi)
• French: larve (fr) f
• German: Larve (de) f, Wurm (de) m
• Greek: κάμπια (el) f (kámpia)
• Hebrew: דֶּרֶן‎ (he) m (déren)
• Hungarian: lárva (hu)
• Icelandic: maðkur (is) m, lirfa (is) f

• Italian: larva (it) f, bruco (it) m
• Japanese: 幼虫 (ja) (ようちゅう, yōchū)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 유충 (ko) (yuchung)
• Maori: tuiau, torongū
• Polish: robak (pl) m
• Portuguese: larva (pt) f
• Romanian: larvă (ro) f
• Russian: личи́нка (ru) f (ličínka)
• Spanish: larva (es) f, verme (es) m
• Swedish: larv (sv) c
• Thai: ตัวอ่อน (th) (dtuua-ɔ̀ɔn)
• Turkish: larva (tr), kurtçuk (tr)
• Ukrainian: личи́нка f (lyčýnka)
• Vietnamese: ấu trùng (vi)

slang: food

• Bulgarian: храна (bg) f (hrana)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吃食 (zh) (chīshi), 吃喝 (zh) (chīhē)

• Dutch: vreten (nl) n (Netherlands), voer (nl) n
• Finnish: sapuska (fi), safka (fi), sörsseli (fi)
• French: bouffe (fr) f
• Greek: μάσα (el) f (mása)
• Hungarian: kaja (hu)
• Icelandic: matur (is) m, æti n
• Italian: sbobba (it) f

• Japanese: 食べ物 (ja) (たべもの, tabemono), (informal) 食い物 (くいもの, kuimono), めし (ja) (meshi)
• Polish: żarcie (pl) n
• Russian: харчи́ (ru) m pl (xarčí) (colloquial), жратва́ (ru) f (žratvá) (slang, impolite), ха́вчик (ru) m (xávčik) (slang, impolite)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: клопа f

  Roman: klopa (sh) f

• Spanish: manduca (es), condumio (es), papeo (es)
• Swedish: käk (sv) n
• Turkish: yemek (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} vuil (nl) n

• French: ^{(please verify)} boue (fr)

Verb

grub (third-person singular simple present grubs, present participle grubbing, simple past and past participle grubbed)

1. To scavenge or in some way scrounge, typically for food.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; often followed by up.

   to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge

   • Hare

     They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin.

   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4

     Yet there was no time to be lost if I was ever to get out alive, and so I groped with my hands against the side of the grave until I made out the bottom edge of the slab, and then fell to grubbing beneath it with my fingers. But the earth, which the day before had looked light and loamy to the eye, was stiff and hard enough when one came to tackle it with naked hands, and in an hour's time I had done little more than further weary myself and bruise my fingers.

3. (slang, dated, transitive) To supply with food.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?)

4. (slang, dated) To eat.

Translations

scavenge or scrounge

• Bulgarian: ровя (bg) (rovja)
• Dutch: azen (nl), jagen (nl), scharrelen (nl)
• Greek: τρώω (el) (tróo)

• Icelandic: róta, róta í
• Japanese: たかる (ja) (takaru)
• Romanian: a cauta prin gunoaie, a curata (solul de radacini)

Anagrams

• -burg, burg

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Austria)

  (file)

Verb

grub

1. singular past imperfect of graben

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *grǫbъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrûːb/

Adjective

grȗb (definite grȗbī, comparative grȕbljī, Cyrillic spelling гру̑б)

1. rough, coarse
2. rude

Declension

positive indefinite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grub	gruba	grubo
genitive		gruba	grube	gruba
dative		grubu	gruboj	grubu
accusative	inanimate animate	grub gruba	grubu	grubo
vocative		grub	gruba	grubo
locative		grubu	gruboj	grubu
instrumental		grubim	grubom	grubim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grubi	grube	gruba
genitive		grubih	grubih	grubih
dative		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)
accusative		grube	grube	gruba
vocative		grubi	grube	gruba
locative		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)
instrumental		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)

positive definite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grubi	gruba	grubo
genitive		grubog(a)	grube	grubog(a)
dative		grubom(u/e)	gruboj	grubom(u/e)
accusative	inanimate animate	grubi grubog(a)	grubu	grubo
vocative		grubi	gruba	grubo
locative		grubom(e/u)	gruboj	grubom(e/u)
instrumental		grubim	grubom	grubim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grubi	grube	gruba
genitive		grubih	grubih	grubih
dative		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)
accusative		grube	grube	gruba
vocative		grubi	grube	gruba
locative		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)
instrumental		grubim(a)	grubim(a)	grubim(a)

comparative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grublji	grublja	grublje
genitive		grubljeg(a)	grublje	grubljeg(a)
dative		grubljem(u)	grubljoj	grubljem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	grublji grubljeg(a)	grublju	grublje
vocative		grublji	grublja	grublje
locative		grubljem(u)	grubljoj	grubljem(u)
instrumental		grubljim	grubljom	grubljim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grublji	grublje	grublja
genitive		grubljih	grubljih	grubljih
dative		grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)
accusative		grublje	grublje	grublja
vocative		grublji	grublje	grublja
locative		grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)
instrumental		grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)	grubljim(a)

superlative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najgrublji	najgrublja	najgrublje
genitive		najgrubljeg(a)	najgrublje	najgrubljeg(a)
dative		najgrubljem(u)	najgrubljoj	najgrubljem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	najgrublji najgrubljeg(a)	najgrublju	najgrublje
vocative		najgrublji	najgrublja	najgrublje
locative		najgrubljem(u)	najgrubljoj	najgrubljem(u)
instrumental		najgrubljim	najgrubljom	najgrubljim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najgrublji	najgrublje	najgrublja
genitive		najgrubljih	najgrubljih	najgrubljih
dative		najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)
accusative		najgrublje	najgrublje	najgrublja
vocative		najgrublji	najgrublje	najgrublja
locative		najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)
instrumental		najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)	najgrubljim(a)