Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of bub

bub(n.)

"a woman's breast," 1860, short for bubby.

bub(n.1)

also bubby, familiar address for males, 1839, perhaps a variation of bud "a little boy" (1848), American English colloquial; perhaps from German bube "boy." But sometimes, along with bud, assumed to be a corruption of brother (compare buddy, bubba).

bub(n.2)

"strong drink of any kind," especially malt liquor, 1670s, perhaps imitative of the sound of drinking.

also from 1670s

Entries linking to bub

bubba(n.)

familiar address or nickname for a male, 1873 (in a South Carolina context), Southern U.S. slang, said to be a corruption of brother.

bubby(n.)

"a woman's breast," 1680s, of uncertain origin. Compare boobs.

buddy(n.)

1850, American English, possibly an alteration of brother, or from British colloquial butty "companion" (1802), itself perhaps a variant of booty in booty fellow "confederate who shares plunder" (1520s). But butty, meaning "work-mate," also was a localized dialect word in England and Wales, attested since 18c., and long associated with coal miners. Short form bud is attested from 1851. Reduplicated form buddy-buddy (adj.) attested by 1952, American English.

Lenny Kent, a long-time fave here, is really in his element. ... After four weeks here he's got everyone in town saying, "Hiya, Buddy, Buddy" with a drawl simulating his. [Review of Ned Schuyler's 5 O'Clock Club, Miami Beach, Fla., Billboard, Nov. 12, 1949]

Buddy system is attested from 1920.

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of bub

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    higgledy-piggledy
    confusion or mixture;" the list has higgledy-piggledy, hurly-burly, hodge-podge, mingle-mangle, arsy-versy, kim-kam, hub-bub...
    coach
    1550s, "large kind of four-wheeled, covered carriage," from French coche (16c.), from German kotsche, from Hungarian kocsi (szekér) "(carriage) of Kocs," village where it was first made. In Hungary, the thing and the name for it date from 15c., and forms are found since 16c. in m
    innovation
    mid-15c., innovacion, "restoration, renewal," from Late Latin innovationem (nominative innovatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of innovare "to change; to renew," from in- "into" (from PIE root *en "in") + novus "new" (see new). Meaning "a novel change, experimental v
    spick-and-span
    also spic-and-span, "very neat, clean, and trim," 1660s, from spick-and-span-new "new and fresh" (1570s), literally "new as a recently made spike and wood-chip." It seems to be an elaboration, with spick "nail" (see spike (n.1)), of older span-new "very new," in reference to some
    diabetes
    medical name of a set of affections characterized by abnormal discharge of urine, 1560s, from medical Latin diabetes, from late Greek diabetes "excessive discharge of urine" (so named by Aretaeus the Cappadocian, physician of Alexandria, 2c.), literally "a passer-through, siphon,
    hector
    "to bluster, bully, domineer," 1650s, from slang hector (n.) "a blustering, turbulent, pervicacious, noisy fellow" [Johnson], 1650s, from Hector of the "Iliad," in reference to his encouragement of his fellow Trojans to keep up the fight. Earlier in English the name was used gene
    quarrel
    [angry dispute] mid-14c., querele, "dispute, altercation," also "ground for complaint," from Old French querele "matter, concern, business; dispute, controversy" (Modern French querelle) and directly from Latin querella "complaint, accusation; lamentation," from queri "to complai
    scalper
    1650s as a type of surgical instrument; 1760 as "one who takes or removes scalps," agent noun from scalp (v.). The meaning "person who re-sells tickets at unauthorized prices for a profit" is by 1869 in American English; the earliest reference is to theater tickets, but it more o
    precipitate
    1520s, "to hurl or fling down" (from a precipice or height), a back formation from precipitation or else from Latin praecipitatus, past participle of praecipitare "to throw or dive headlong; be hasty," from praeceps (genitive praecipitis) "steep, headlong, headfirst," from prae "
    anathema
    1520s, "an accursed thing," from Latin anathema "an excommunicated person; the curse of excommunication," from Ecclesiastical Greek anathema "a thing accursed," a slight variation of classical Greek anathama, which meant merely "a thing devoted," literally "a thing set up (to the

    Share bub

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near bub
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.