drub
English
Etymology
1625, originally a dialectal word (Kent) drab, variant of drop, dryp, drib (“to beat”), from Middle English drepen (preterit drop, drap, drape (“to strike, kill”)) from Old English drepan (“to strike”), from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to beat, bump, strike, slay”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhrebh- (“to strike, crush, kill”). Akin to Old Frisian drop (“a blow, beat”), Old High German treffan (“to hit”), Old Norse drepa (“to strike, slay, kill”). Compare also dub. More at drape.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ʌb
Verb
drub (third-person singular simple present drubs, present participle drubbing, simple past and past participle drubbed)
- to beat (someone or something) with a stick
- to forcefully teach something
- to defeat someone soundly; to annihilate or crush
- to criticize harshly; to excoriate
Translations
to beat with a stick