grub
[ gruhb ]
/ grʌb /
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noun
verb (used with object), grubbed, grub·bing.
verb (used without object), grubbed, grub·bing.
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Origin of grub
historical usage of grub
The English noun grub, first recorded in the 15th century with the meaning “larva of an insect,” derives from the verb. The Middle English verb grubben, grobben “to dig the earth (with a tool)” comes from an unrecorded Old English verb grybban, grubbian and is akin to Gothic graban “to dig,” Old High German grubilōn “to dig, search for,” Middle Dutch grobben, and Dutch grobbelen “to root about, feel about for something.”
The Germanic words all derive from the Germanic root grab- “to dig, bury, scratch,” source of the English noun grave “excavation in the earth for burial of a body” and the verb grave “to carve or sculpt.”
The “food, victuals” slang meaning of grub dates from the mid-17th century. The slang meaning “to beg or scrounge” dates from the late 19th century.
The Germanic words all derive from the Germanic root grab- “to dig, bury, scratch,” source of the English noun grave “excavation in the earth for burial of a body” and the verb grave “to carve or sculpt.”
The “food, victuals” slang meaning of grub dates from the mid-17th century. The slang meaning “to beg or scrounge” dates from the late 19th century.
OTHER WORDS FROM grub
grubber, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use grub in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for grub
grub
/ (ɡrʌb) /
verb grubs, grubbing or grubbed
noun
Word Origin for grub
C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German grubilōn to dig, German grübeln to rack one's brain, Middle Dutch grobben to scrape together; see grave ³, groove
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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