stubble

English

Stubble on a face.

Stubble of maize.

Etymology

From Middle English stuble, from Anglo-Norman stuble, estuble, from Old French estoble, esteule (whence Modern French éteule), from Latin stipula (“stalk, straw”). Cognate with Dutch stoppel, Central German Stoppel, Upper German Stupfel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstʌb.əl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌbəl

Noun

stubble (usually uncountable, plural stubbles)

1. (countable and uncountable) Short, coarse hair, especially on a man’s face.
2. (countable and uncountable) The short stalks left in a field after crops have been harvested.

Synonyms

• (short hair on man’s face): five o'clock shadow
• stub
• stump

Derived terms

• stubbly

 

Compound words and expressions

• designer stubble
• stubble-fed
• stubble field
• stubble goose
• stubble quail
• stubble rake
• stubble rash

 

Related terms

• etiolate
• stipula

 

Translations

short, coarse hair

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: شُعَيْرَات اللِّحْيَة f pl (šuʕayrāt al-liḥya)

  Egyptian Arabic: دقن خفيفة f (daʔn xafif)

• Armenian: թրաշ (hy) (tʻraš)
• Assamese: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: набола брада f (nabola brada)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬍子茬／胡子茬 (húzichá), 鬍茬／胡茬 (húchá), 鬍渣／胡渣 (húzhā)

• Czech: strniště n
• Danish: skægstub c
• Dutch: stoppelbaard (nl) m, stoppel (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: sänki (fi)
• French: barbe de trois jours (fr) f
• Galician: barbuxa f, barbaxola f, lambuxa f, melón (gl) m
• Georgian: ჯაგარი (ǯagari), მჩხვლეტავი წვერი (mčxvleṭavi c̣veri)
• German: Stoppel (de) f, Bartstoppel (de) f (countable) ; Stoppeln (de) f pl, Bartstoppeln (de) f pl, Dreitagebart (de) m (uncountable)
• Greek: αξύριστα γένια n pl (axýrista génia)
• Hebrew: זיפים m pl (zifím)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: borosta (hu)
• Icelandic: skeggbroddur m, broddur (is) m
• Ingrian: sänki, tynkä
• Italian: barba di due giorni f, barba incolta f
• Japanese: 無精ひげ (ぶしょうひげ, bushōhige)
• Khmer: ពុកចង្កានៅខ្លី (puk cɑŋkaa nɨv kləy)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: stipulae (la) f pl
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: четина f (četina)
• Malayalam: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skjeggstubb

• Persian: ته‌ریش (fa) (tah-riš)
• Portuguese: barbicha (pt) f
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: щети́на (ru) f (ščetína)
• Scottish Gaelic: reuban m pl
• Serbo-Croatian: čekinja (sh) f, četina (sh) f
• Spanish: barba de varios días
• Swedish: skäggstubb (sv) c, stubb (sv) n (only for beard)
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Telugu: please add this translation if you can
• Thai: โคนหนวดเคราที่ไม่ได้โกน (kohn nùat krao têe mâi dâai gohn)
• Turkish: kirli sakal
• Ukrainian: щети́на f (ščetýna)
• Vietnamese: râu thưa

short stalks left in a field after harvest

• Arabic: قَشّ (ar) m (qašš)
• Aramaic:

  Jewish: קַשּׁא m (qaššā)

  Syriac: ܩܷܫܳܐ m (qeššā)

• Armenian: խոզան (hy) (xozan)
• Assamese: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: başaq, qırpım
• Belarusian: іржэ́ўнік m (iržéŭnik), (after vowels) ржэ́ўнік m (ržéŭnik), іржы́шча f (iržýšča), (after vowels) ржы́шча f (ržýšča), , сцерня́ f (scjernjá)
• Bulgarian: стърни́ще n (stǎrníšte)
• Catalan: rostoll (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 殘株／残株 (zh) (cánzhū), 茬 (zh) (chá)

• Czech: strn m (a field with stubble being called strniště n)
• Danish: stub c
• Dutch: stoppel (nl) m
• Finnish: sänki (fi)
• French: éteule (fr) f
• Galician: restrollo (gl) m, restreba (gl) f
• Georgian: ნამჯა (namǯa), ნამკალი (namḳali), ნაწვერალი (nac̣verali), ნაყანევი (naq̇anevi), ნაპურალი (naṗurali)
• German: Stoppel (de) f (countable) ; Stoppeln (de) f pl (uncountable)
• Greek: καλαμιά (el) f (kalamiá)

  Ancient: καλάμη f (kalámē)

• Hebrew: שלף (he) m (shélef)
• Hindi: खूंटी (khoontee) (khūṇṭī (khoontee)), खूंटी (khoontee) (khūṇṭī (khoontee))
• Hungarian: tarló (hu)
• Ingrian: särki
• Italian: stoppia (it) f
• Japanese: 刈り株 (かりかぶ, karikabu)
• Korean: 그루 (ko) (geuru), 그루터기 (geuruteogi)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: pirêze (ku) f

• Latin: stipulae (la) f pl
• Macedonian: стрн f (strn) (a field on which there is stubble being called стрниште n (strnište))
• Malayalam: please add this translation if you can
• Old Church Slavonic: стрънь f (strŭnĭ)
• Ottoman Turkish: آكیز (añız), حشفه (haşefe)
• Polish: ścierń (pl) f (a field on which there is stubble being called ściernisko n), rżysko (pl) n
• Portuguese: restolho (pt) m
• Russian: стерня́ (ru) f (sternjá), стернь (ru) (sternʹ), жнивьё (ru) n (žnivʹjó)
• Scottish Gaelic: àsbhuain f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: стр̑н f (a field with stubble being called стр̏нӣште m and стр̀ника f)

  Latin: stȓn (sh) f (a field with stubble being called stȑnīšte m and str̀nika f)

• Slovene: str̄n m (a field with stubble being called strníšče m and strnína f)
• Spanish: rastrojo (es) m
• Swedish: stubb (sv) c
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Telugu: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: anız (tr)
• Ukrainian: стерня́ n (sternjá)
• Vietnamese: rạ (vi)

Verb

stubble (third-person singular simple present stubbles, present participle stubbling, simple past and past participle stubbled)

1. (agriculture) To produce a crop in a field of stubble that remains after a preceding crop is removed, either by sowing a second crop or by allowing shoots to sprout from the roots of the stubble.
   • 1851, United States. Department of Agriculture, Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the Year: 1850, page 371:

     Here a system ( if it may be called a system ) of stubbling prevails — wheat succeeding wheat for a series of years, and without any material diminution of the yield.

   • 1922, John Selden Cole, Alanson Lola Hallsted, Methods of Winter-wheat Production at the Fort Hays Branch Station, page 22:

     In 1919 the stubbled crop was heavier than either that fallowed or plowed.

   • 1922, Canada. Dept. of Agriculture. Research Station, Lacombe, Alta, Interim Report of the Superintendent, page 65:

     Both spring and fall ploughing produced a crop freer from weeds than where the seed was stubbled in.

   • 1983, W. H. Smith, Symposium on Potential Productivity of Field Crops Under Different Environments, page 377:

     Because the biggest single expense in producing the crop is planting, good stubbling ability is prized.

Usage notes

When the second crop arises from shoots that sprout from the roots of the stubble, one says that the second crop stubbles, while when sowing seeds for a crop in a field of stubble, one refers to stubbling in the crop.