rub
pronunciation
How to pronounce rub in British English:
UK [rʌb]
How to pronounce rub in American English:
US [rʌb]
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- Noun:
- an unforeseen obstacle
- the act of rubbing or wiping
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- Verb:
- move over something with pressure
- cause friction
- scrape or rub as if to relieve itching
Word Origin
- rub
- rub: [14] The antecedents of rub are unclear. It may have been borrowed from Low German rubben, but since it is not known where that came from, it does not get us much further. The derivative rubber [16] was originally used simply for ‘something for rubbing with’. But since the substance obtained from rubber trees was early on used for pencil erasers, it became known from the end of the 18th century as rubber (or in full India-rubber, from its place of origin). It is not clear whether rubber ‘set of games’ [16], which originated as a bowls term, is the same word.=> rubber
- rub (v.)
- early 14c., transitive and intransitive, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to East Frisian rubben "to scratch, rub," and Low German rubbeling "rough, uneven," or similar words in Scandinavian (compare Danish rubbe "to rub, scrub," Norwegian rubba), of uncertain origin. Related: Rubbed; rubbing. To rub (someone) the wrong way is from 1853; probably the notion is of cats' fur. To rub noses in greeting as a sign of friendship (attested from 1822) formerly was common among Eskimos, Maoris, and some other Pacific Islanders. Rub out "obliterate" is from 1560s; underworld slang sense of "kill" is recorded from 1848, American English. Rub off "remove by rubbing" is from 1590s; meaning "have an influence" is recorded from 1959.
- rub (n.)
- "act of rubbing," 1610s, from rub (v.); earlier "obstacle, inequality on ground" (1580s, common in 17c.) which is the figure in Hamlet's there's the rub (1602).
Example
- 1. In a study done in 2008 , a five-minute hand rub was effective at lowering stress levels .
- 2. Or , if you 're really wiped out , rub a sprig on your hands , face and neck .
- 3. Rub the beer lightly into the material , and the stain should disappear .
- 4. When taking your eye make-up off never rub your eyes .
- 5. Isit up and rub my wrists , still marked where the handcuffs were .