dub
1Idioms about dub
Origin of dub
1OTHER WORDS FROM dub
dub·ber, nounWords nearby dub
Other definitions for dub (2 of 5)
Other definitions for dub (3 of 5)
Origin of dub
3Other definitions for dub (4 of 5)
Origin of dub
4OTHER WORDS FROM dub
dub·ber, nounOther definitions for dub (5 of 5)
Origin of dub
5ABOUT THIS WORD
What else does dub mean?
Where did dub come from?
Dub, for “to nickname” (1600s) someone, comes from dubbing someone a knight ceremonially with a sword (1100s).
Many other senses emerged over the centuries, including slang for “a fool” and a bad shot in golf, also called a duff.
Dub was shortened from double in the 1920s. This dubbing is providing another soundtrack to a film, especially in a different language (e.g., a film dubbed into English), or a musical recording (overdubs).
Musical dubbing (doubling a recording or adding tracks) supplied the name of Dub music. Dub stemmed from Jamaican reggae in the 1960s and features remixes of earlier reggae recordings. It influenced a genre of electronic dance music, dubstep, in London in the 1990s, popularized by the musician Skrillex in the 2000s.
Dub for double was slang for $20 (double ten) in the 1940s and for $20 worth of a drug in the 2010s, as seen in some hip-hop lyrics. Speaking of drugs, dub named a cigarette in the 1970s and then a marijuana joint in the 1990s, perhaps as a form of doobie.
Finally, dub can be short for the letter W, based on its pronunciation. George W. Bush went by Dubya by 2000. Later in the 20th century, dub became slang for “a win (in sports),” a stand-in for W.
Who uses dub?
Dub sees wide use when it means “to give a name” to someone, usually an unofficial one like a nickname (e.g., We dubbed him Fiver since he was always five minutes late to meetings). It also sees playfully lofty use in reference to its original knighting.
Should a team win a game or a person experience some victory, they make take the dub.
NORTHMEN TAKE THE DUB‼️ Amazing game boys! Final score was 20-17, and OP has its best winning record in years! pic.twitter.com/6aDLRhGeeR
— Northmen Sports (@N2SportsOakPark) October 20, 2018
Raina Perez and Jade Vega getting that media time after their big dub! pic.twitter.com/gLvEJNLxnb
— Titans Women’s Basketball (@FullertonWBB) November 29, 2018
Dubbing is still very common in its foreign-language, voice-over sense. In the anime community, for instance, a debate rages over whether it’s better to watch a film in a dubbed or subbed (subtitled) version.
More examples of dub:
“He also says he’d love to do a real dub-meets-metal band, even if he’s the only one who likes it. Which frankly might end up being pretty cool.”
—Greg Kennelty, Metal Injection, September 2018
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
How to use dub in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for dub (1 of 6)
Word Origin for dub
British Dictionary definitions for dub (2 of 6)
- music a style of record production associated with reggae, involving the removal or exaggeration of instrumental parts, extensive use of echo, etc
- (as modifier)a dub mix