*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of shrub

From Middle English schrub, schrob, (also unassibilated as scrub), from Old English *sċrob (in placenames) and sċrybb (“a shrub; shrubbery; underbrush”); akin to Norwegian skrubbe (“the dwarf cornel tree”). Doublet of sc

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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

A woody plant smaller than a tree, and usually with several stems from the same base.

verb

To lop; to prune. · To plant a shrub in a yard, garden, etc.; to prune a bush or other plant into a shrub.

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

From Middle English schrub, schrob, (also unassibilated as scrub), from Old English *sċrob (in placenames) and sċrybb (“a shrub; shrubbery; underbrush”); akin to Norwegian skrubbe (“the dwarf cornel tree”). Doublet of scrub.

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.

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "schrub"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English schrub"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*sċrob"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *sċrob"
    },
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      "name": "qualifier",
      "args": {
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      },
      "expansion": "(in placenames)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "schrub#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "schrob",
      "schrob#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "scrub",
      "scrub#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sċrob",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/scrob"
    ],
    [
      "sċrybb",
      "scrybb#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "skrubbe",
      "skrubbe#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "scrub",
      "scrub#English"
    ]
  ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A liquor composed of vegetable acid, fruit juice (especially lemon), sugar, sometimes vinegar, and a small amount of spirit as a preservative. Modern shrub is usually non-alcoholic, but in earlier times it was often mixed with a substantial amount of spirit such as brandy or rum, thus making it a liqueur.

verb

To make or drink a shrub (liquor drink).

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

From Arabic شِرَاب (širāb, “a drink, beverage”), شَرِبَ (šariba, “to drink”), akin to syrup, sherbet, and sorbet.

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.

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    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "ش ر ب"
      },
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    },
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    },
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      "name": ",",
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    }
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    ],
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      "syrup#English"
    ],
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    ],
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    ]
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A word mispronounced by replacing some consonant sounds with others of a similar place of articulation as influenced by one's mother tongue.

verb

To mispronounce (a word or words) in another language in a manner that is influenced by one's mother tongue.

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

Of unknown origin. First attested in the 2000s. Chiefly used in respect to English or Swahili pronounced in a manner characteristic of another Kenyan language.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 shrub →

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-c2hydWI