grub - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English grubben, grobben, from Old English *grubbian, from Proto-West Germanic *grubb-, from Proto-Germanic *grubb- (compare Middle Dutch grobben (“to scrape, scramble, grab”), Old High German grubilōn (“to dig, search”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”)), from Proto-Germanic *grub- (“to dig”) (see *grabaną).

The noun sense of "larva" is from Middle English grub, grubbe, grobbe, crubbe and may derive from the notion of "digging insect" from the verb above, or from the uncertainly related Middle English grub (“dwarfish fellow”). Compare West Frisian krobbe (“beetle”). The slang sense of "food" is first recorded 1659, and has been linked with birds eating grubs or with bub (“drink”).

grub (countable and uncountable, plural grubs)

An immature beetle

  1. (countable) An insect, especially a beetle, at an immature stage of its life cycle.
    Synonym: larva
  2. (uncountable, slang) Food.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:food
    pub grub
    • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 298:
      "The rice ration's down to nearly damn-all in the kampongs, but we keep finding dumps of grub in the forest."
  3. (Australia, slang) A dirty person.
  4. (Australia, slang) A despicable person; a lowlife.
  5. (obsolete) A short, thick man; a dwarf.
    • 1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLC:
      John Romane, a short clownish grub, would bear the whole carcase of an ox, yet never tugged with him.

immature insect

slang: food

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

  1. (transitive) To scavenge or in some way scrounge, typically for food.
  2. (ambitransitive) To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; often followed by up.
    to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge
    • 1846, Julius Hare, The Mission of the Comforter:
      They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin.
    • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
      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.
  3. (slang, dated, transitive) To supply with food.
  4. (slang, dated) To eat.
    • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Concerning the Mendicant’s Bride”, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC, 4th book (A Turning), page 202:
      “[…] John dear, we must give this little fellow his supper, you know.”
      “Of course we must, my darling.”
      “He has been grubbing and grubbing at school,” said Bella, looking at her father’s hand and lightly slapping it, “till he’s not fit to be seen. O what a grubby child!”

scavenge or scrounge

grub

  1. singular preterite of graben

From the confusion of final voiced consonants with voiceless ones (final obstruent devoicing does exist in Indonesian), or reinforced by some grammatical forms of Turkish grup (e.g. grubu, grubun, etc.) Compare nonstandard Azerbaijani qrub (instead of qrup).

grub

  1. nonstandard form of grup

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *grǫbъ.

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

  1. rough, coarse
  2. rude

positive indefinite forms

singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative grub gruba grubo
genitive gruba grube gruba
dative grubu gruboj grubu
accusative inanimateanimate grubgruba 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 inanimateanimate grubigrubog(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 inanimateanimate grubljigrubljeg(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 inanimateanimate najgrubljinajgrubljeg(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)