Meanings
rubbing1
plural rubbings
- An impression of an embossed or incised surface made by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing with graphite, crayon or other coloring agent.
He was delighted to come across a little-worn crest of the old Great Eastern Railway, never dreaming that such a relic would still be in use, and was taking a pencil-rubbing to add to his collection.
1951 April, R. S. McNaught, “Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 271
rubbing2
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of rub
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe resistance encountered when one body is moved in contact with another
nouneffort expended in moving one object over another with pressure
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
rubbing · noun
- Middle Englishrubbinge
- Englishrubbing
From Middle English rubbinge, rubbynge, equivalent to rub + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →rubbing · verb
- Proto-Germanic*rubbōną
- Proto-West Germanic*rubbōn?
- Middle Englishrubben
- Englishrub
- Englishrubbing
Translations
Catalan fregadissa, fregament
- fregadissaimpression of an embossed or incised surface
- fregamentimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Chinese Mandarin 拓印圖 /拓印图, 拓片
- 拓印圖 /拓印图 (tàyìntú)impression of an embossed or incised surface
- 拓片 (tàpiàn)impression of an embossed or incised surface
- 拓本 (tàběn)impression of an embossed or incised surface
- 拓印 (tàyìn)impression of an embossed or incised surface
Dutch afwrijfsel
- afwrijfselimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Finnish hankauspiirros
- hankauspiirrosimpression of an embossed or incised surface
French frottement
- frottementimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Italian sfregamento, sfregatura
- sfregamentoimpression of an embossed or incised surface
- sfregaturaimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Japanese 拓本
- 拓本 (takuhon)impression of an embossed or incised surface
Portuguese esfregação
- esfregaçãoimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Spanish rozamiento, frotamiento
- rozamientoimpression of an embossed or incised surface
- frotamientoimpression of an embossed or incised surface
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rubbing
All rhymes →Cite this entry
rubbing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubbing
“rubbing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubbing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rubbing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rubbing.
Source: rubbing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.