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rub

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: RUB and rúb

English

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin; possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *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”).[1] More at reave.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rub (plural rubs)

  1. An act of rubbing.
    Give that lamp a good rub and see if any genies come out.
  2. A difficulty or problem.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
      To die, to sleep— / To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub! / For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 16]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
      […] the propriety of the cabman's shelter, as it was called, hardly a stonesthrow away near Butt bridge where they might hit upon some drinkables in the shape of a milk and soda or a mineral. But how to get there was the rub.
    • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
      'My dear Devereux, I say, you mustn't talk in that wild way. You—you talk like a ruined man!'
      'And I so comfortable!'
      'Why, to be sure, Dick, you have had some little rubs, and, maybe, your follies and your vexations; but, hang it, you are young; you can't get experience—at least, so I've found it—without paying for it. […] '
  3. (archaic) A quip or sarcastic remark.
  4. In the game of crown green bowls, any obstacle by which a bowl is diverted from its normal course.
  5. Any substance designed to be applied by rubbing.
    a heat rub intended for muscular strains
    1. A mixture of spices applied to meat before it is barbecued.
  6. (UK, naval slang) A loan.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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rub (third-person singular simple present rubs, present participle rubbing, simple past and past participle rubbed)

  1. (transitive) To move (one object) while maintaining contact with another object over some area, with pressure and friction.
    I rubbed the cloth over the glass.
    The cat rubbed itself against my leg.
    I rubbed my hands together for warmth.
    • 1680, T. K., The Kitchin-Phyſician; Or, a Guide for Good-Housewives in Maintaining Their Families in Health. […] ‎[1], How to cleanſe the Teeth, and keep them ſound, page 44:
      You ſhould rub your Teeth and whole Mouth and Gums, the Pallate and Tongue, with a clean courſe cloth, rubbing off the ſlime which groweth upon them in the night.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      […] Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly.
  2. (intransitive) To be rubbed against something.
    My shoes are beginning to rub.
  3. (transitive) To spread a substance thinly over; to smear.
    meat rubbed with spices before barbecuing
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      The smoothed plank, […] / New rubbed with balm.
  4. (dated) To move or pass with difficulty.
    to rub through woods, as huntsmen
  5. 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
  6. To hinder; to cross; to thwart.
  7. (transitive, bowls) To touch the jack with the bowl.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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  1. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “2520”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 2520

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Czech

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Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs
Rub of a credit card

Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *rǫbъ (“something which was cut”), from *rǫbati (“to cut, chop”).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rub m inan

  1. back (the reverse side)
    Antonym: líc
    rub karty ― back of the card
    rub mince ― reverse of the coin
  2. the other (often negative) aspect of a situation

Declension

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Declension of rub (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative rub ruby
genitive rubu rubů
dative rubu rubům
accusative rub ruby
vocative rube ruby
locative rubu rubech
instrumental rubem ruby

Derived terms

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jiří Rejzek (2007) “rub”, in Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Leda

Further reading

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  • “rub”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “rub”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “rub”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Lower Sorbian

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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rub

  1. second-person singular imperative of rubaś

Manx

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English rub.

Noun

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rub m (genitive singular rub, plural rubbyn)

  1. rub

Verb

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rub (verbal noun rubbey or rubbal)

  1. to rub

Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *rǫbъ.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rȗb m (Cyrillic spelling ру̑б)

  1. rim
  2. edge, brink

Declension

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Declension of rub
singular plural
nominative rȗb rȕbovi
genitive ruba rubova
dative rubu rubovima
accusative rub rubove
vocative rube rubovi
locative rubu rubovima
instrumental rubom rubovima

Yola

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Etymology

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From Middle English ribbe, from Old English ribb, from Proto-West Germanic *ribi.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rub (plural rubbès)

  1. rib

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 65
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