grub

See also: GRUB and груб

English

Alternative forms

• grob (UK dialectal)

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹʌb/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /ɡɹʊb/
• Rhymes: -ʌb

Noun

grub (countable and uncountable, plural grubs)

An immature beetle

1. (countable) An insect 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. […], new edition, London: […] B. Law, […]; Penzance, Cornwall: J. Hewett, published 1769, →OCLC:

     John Romane, a short clownish grub, would bear the whole carcase of an ox, yet never tugged with him.

Derived terms

• canegrub
• cattle grub
• curl grub
• grass grub
• grub and bub
• grubber
• grubbery
• grubble
• grubby
• grub hoe
• grubhouse
• grubless
• grublike
• grubling
• grub out
• grub-saw
• grubstake
• grub-stake
• grub up
• grubwork
• grubworm
• pub grub
• Tasmanian grass grub
• undergrub
• witchety grub

Translations

immature insect

• Arabic: يَرَقَة f (yaraqa)
• Armenian: թրթուր (hy) (tʻrtʻur)
• Belarusian: лічы́нка f (ličýnka)
• Bulgarian: ла́рва f (lárva), личи́нка f (ličínka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 幼蟲 / 幼虫 (zh) (yòuchóng)

• Czech: ponrava (cs) f
• Dutch: larve (nl) f, larf (nl) f
• Esperanto: insektido
• Finnish: toukka (fi)
• French: larve (fr) f
• German: Larve (de) f, Wurm (de) m
• Greek: κάμπια (el) f (kámpia)
• Hebrew: דֶּרֶן (he) m (déren)
• Hungarian: lárva (hu)
• Icelandic: maðkur (is) m, lirfa (is) f
• Italian: larva (it) f, bruco (it) m
• Japanese: 幼虫 (ja) (ようちゅう, yōchū)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 유충 (ko) (yuchung)
• Latin: terēdō f
• Malay: lundi (of beetles), tempayak (of ants, bees and wasps)
• Maori: tuiau, torongū
• Ottoman Turkish: قورت (kurt), سوس (sus)
• Polish: robak (pl) m
• Portuguese: larva (pt) f
• Romanian: larvă (ro) f
• Russian: личи́нка (ru) f (ličínka)
• Sicilian: cagnolu (scn) m, càmula (scn) f, vermu (scn) m
• Spanish: larva (es) f, verme (es) m
• Swedish: larv (sv) c
• Thai: ตัวอ่อน (th) (dtuua-ɔ̀ɔn)
• Turkish: larva (tr), kurtçuk (tr)
• Ukrainian: личи́нка f (lyčýnka)
• Vietnamese: ấu trùng (vi)
• Woiwurrung: milerrk

slang: food

• Belarusian: харч m (xarč), харчы́ m pl (xarčý)
• Bulgarian: храна (bg) f (hrana)
• Catalan: manduca (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吃食 (zh) (chīshi), 吃喝 (zh) (chīhē)

• Dutch: vreten (nl) n (Netherlands), voer (nl) n
• Finnish: sapuska (fi), safka (fi), sörsseli (fi)
• French: bouffe (fr) f
• German: Fressalien (de), Futter (de) n
• Greek: μάσα (el) f (mása)
• Hebrew: מזון (he) m (mazón)
• Hungarian: kaja (hu)
• Icelandic: matur (is) m, æti n
• Italian: sbobba (it) f
• Japanese: 食べ物 (ja) (たべもの, tabemono), (informal) 食い物 (ja) (くいもの, kuimono), めし (ja) (meshi)
• Macedonian: хра́на (mk) f (hrána)
• Polish: żarcie (pl) n
• Portuguese: gororoba (pt) f
• Russian: харчи́ (ru) m pl (xarčí) (colloquial), жратва́ (ru) f (žratvá) (slang, impolite), ха́вчик (ru) m (xávčik) (slang, impolite), харч (ru) m (xarč)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: клопа f

  Roman: klopa (sh) f

• Spanish: manduca (es) f, manducatoria (es) f, condumio (es) m, papeo (es) m, morfi (es) m
• Swedish: käk (sv) n
• Turkish: yemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: харч m (xarč)
• Welsh: sgram m or f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} vuil (nl) n
• French: ^{(please verify)} boue (fr)

See also

• caterpillar
• maggot
• worm

Verb

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

1. 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, Our Mutual Friend. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:

     "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

Derived terms

• grub along

Related terms

• grade-grub
• grave
• groove

Translations

scavenge or scrounge

• Bulgarian: ровя (bg) (rovja)
• Dutch: azen (nl), jagen (nl), scharrelen (nl)
• Greek: τρώω (el) (tróo)
• Icelandic: róta, róta í
• Japanese: たかる (ja) (takaru)
• Romanian: a cauta prin gunoaie, a curata (solul de radacini)

Anagrams

• -burg, Burg, burg

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡʁuːp/

• Audio (standard):

  (file)

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːp

Verb

grub

1. singular preterite of graben

Indonesian

Etymology

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).

Noun

grub

1. nonstandard form of grup.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *grǫbъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrûːb/

Adjective

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

1. rough, coarse
2. rude

Declension

positive indefinite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		grub	gruba	grubo
genitive		gruba	grube	gruba
dative		grubu	gruboj	grubu
accusative	inanimate animate	grub gruba	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	inanimate animate	grubi grubog(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	inanimate animate	grublji grubljeg(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	inanimate animate	najgrublji najgrubljeg(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)