*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of drub

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

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Carbonaceous shale; small coal; slate, dross, or rubbish in coal.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*drob"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *drob"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*drōb"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *drōb"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*drōbī"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *drōbī"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*drōbuz",
        "t": "turbid"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *drōbuz (“turbid”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*drob",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/drob"
    ],
    [
      "drof",
      "drof#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*drōb",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/drob"
    ],
    [
      "drōf",
      "drof#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*drōbī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/drōbī"
    ],
    [
      "*drōbuz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/drōbuz"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Carbonaceous shale; small coal; slate, dross, or rubbish in coal."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-England",
        "dialectal",
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
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    }
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To beat (someone or something) with a stick. · To defeat someone soundly; to annihilate or crush. · To forcefully teach something. · To criticize harshly; to excoriate.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiondrepenenm
  • Inherited-form mentiondrepanang · to strike
  • Inherited-form mention*drepangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*drepanągem-pro
  • Derivation mention*dʰrebʰ-ine-pro · to strike, crush, kill
  • Cognate mentiondrubbeno
  • Cognate mentiondropofs · a blow, beat
  • Cognate mentiontreffangoh · to hit, strike
  • Cognate mentiondrepanon · to strike, slay, kill
  • Cognate mentiondrabbasv · to hit, strike
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "ar",
        "2": "ضَرَبَ",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to beat, hit"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic ضَرَبَ (ḍaraba, “to beat, hit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "drepen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English drepen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "drepan",
        "t": "to strike"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English drepan (“to strike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*drepan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *drepan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*drepaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to beat, bump, strike, slay"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to beat, bump, strike, slay”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰrebʰ-",
        "4": "*dʰreb⁽ʰ⁾-",
        "t": "to strike, crush, kill"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb⁽ʰ⁾- (“to strike, crush, kill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "drubbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian drubbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ofs",
        "2": "drop",
        "t": "a blow, beat"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Frisian drop (“a blow, beat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "treffan",
        "t": "to hit, strike"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German treffan (“to hit, strike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "drepa",
        "t": "to strike, slay, kill"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse drepa (“to strike, slay, kill”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "drabba",
        "t": "to hit, strike"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish drabba (“to hit, strike”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ضَرَبَ",
      "ضرب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "drepen",
      "drepen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "drepan",
      "drepan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*drepan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/drepan"
    ],
    [
      "*drepaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/drepaną"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰreb⁽ʰ⁾-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰrebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*drubbōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/drubbōną"
    ],
    [
      "*drabaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/drabaną"
    ],
    [
      "drubbe",
      "drubbe#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "drubba",
      "drubba#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "drop",
      "drop#Old_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "treffan",
      "treffan#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "drepa",
      "drepa#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "drabba",
      "drabba#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "dub",
      "dub#English"
    ],
    [
      "drape",
      "drape#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To beat (someone or something) with a stick.",
        "To defeat someone soundly; to annihilate or crush.",
        "To forcefully teach something.",
        "To criticize harshly; to excoriate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for drub →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZHJ1Yg