drub

drub · noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*drōbuz“turbid”
2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*drōbī
3. Old English · derived from*drōb
4. Middle English · inherited from*drob
5. English todaydrub

From Middle English *drob, drof, from Old English *drōb, drōf (“turbid; dreggy; dirty”), from Proto-West Germanic *drōbī, from Proto-Germanic *drōbuz (“turbid”).

drub · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰreb⁽ʰ⁾-“to strike, crush, kill”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*drepaną“to beat, bump, strike, slay”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*drepan
4. Old English · inherited fromdrepan“to strike”
5. Middle English · inherited fromdrepen
6. English todaydrub

1625, of uncertain origin: * Perhaps from Arabic ضَرَبَ (ḍaraba, “to beat, hit”), * or perhaps originally from a dialectal word (Kent) drab, variant of drop, dryp, drib (“to beat”), from Middle English drepen (preterit drop, drap, drape (“struck, killed”)) from Old English drepan (“to strike”), from Proto-West Germanic *drepan, from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to beat, bump, strike, slay”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb⁽ʰ⁾- (“to strike, crush, kill”). * Linguist Guus Kroonen suggests that it reflects the Proto-Germanic verb *drubbōną, iterative to *drabaną (“to hit, hew”), as found in Norwegian drubbe, drubba (“to hit hard, strike with force, kill”). Compare also Old Frisian drop (“a blow, beat”), Old High German treffan (“to hit, strike”), Old Norse drepa (“to strike, slay, kill”), Swedish drabba (“to hit, strike”). Compare also dub. More at drape.

Words from the same roots