bub

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bʌb/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /bɐb/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /bʊb/
• Rhymes: -ʌb

Probably imitative of the sound of drinking.

bub (uncountable)

1. (slang, historical) An alcoholic malt liquor, especially beer.
   • 1838, Samuel Morewood, A Philosophical and Statistical History of the Inventions and Customs of Ancient and Modern Nations in the Manufacture and Use of Inebriating Liquors, page 662:

     Bub is made from ground barley and strong worts, and sometimes from strong small worts from the coolers, properly blended and boiled with some hops, in the proportion of one pound to a barrel of worts.

• grub and bub

Contraction of bubby.

bub (plural bubs)

1. (slang) A woman's breast.
   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Penguin, published 2004, page 631:

     ‘Mr. Blanford, I esteem that there is nothing more sublime in nature than a glimpse of an English lady's bubs.’

Either a corruption of brother, a modification of bud, or a borrowing from Pennsylvania German Bub or Southern German Bub (as was spoken in various communities in America before the early 20th century), ultimately thought to be derived from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“close relation”) and thus cognate to English boy and babe.

bub (plural bubs)

1. A term of familiar address; bubba; bubby.
   • 1857, T. B. Aldrich, What Jedd Pallfry found in the Coffin: The Knickerbocker, volume 49, page 23:

     So he changed his brusque manner, and inquired, in a tone which was intended to be extremely conciliatory :
     ‘ What′s your name, bub ? ’
     ‘ The last one, Sir ? ’ asked bub, looking up.

   • 1857, Clara Augusta, Mrs. Peter Dame, George R. Graham, Graham′s Illustrated Magazine, Volume 50, page 398,

     Mrs. Peter filled her pocket with the cherries — “ Victoria and bub are so fond of them!” and we scrambled into the wagon.

2. A young brother; a little boy; a familiar term of address for a small boy.

Perhaps from Northern dialectal English bab, from Middle English bab, a variant of babe (“babe, baby”).

bub (plural bubs)

1. (Australia, slang) A baby.

Shortened from bubble and bubbly.

bub (plural bubs)

1. Clipping of bubble.
2. (slang) Clipping of bubbly; champagne.
   • 2003, “In da Club”, in Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent:

     You find me in da club, bottle full of bub

   • 2010, “Telephone”, performed by Lady Gaga:

     Out in the club and I'm sippin' that bub / And you're not gonna reach my telephone

bub (third-person singular simple present bubs, present participle bubbing, simple past and past participle bubbed)

1. (obsolete) To throw out in bubbles; to bubble.
   • 1563, Thomas Sackville, The Induction:

     We passed on so far forth till we saw
     Rude Acheron, a loathsome lake to tell,
     That boils and bubs up swelth as black as hell

bub

1. chest

From Pre-Palauan *bubu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bubu, from Proto-Austronesian *bubu.

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

bub

1. fish trap

• bub in Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary, at tekinged.com.
• bub in Palauan-English Dictionary, at trussel2.com.
• bub in Lewis S. Josephs, Edwin G. McManus, Masa-aki Emesiochel (1977) Palauan-English Dictionary, University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 28.

• IPA^(key):

bub (nominative plural bubs)

1. (male or female) bovine (animal), bull, cow
   • 1940, “Pro yunanef Nedänik”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 38:

     Feilan labom jevodis, bubis, jipis e svinis.

     The farmer has horses, cattle, sheep and pigs.

• jixol (dated)
• smakun (dated)
• smaxol (dated)
• xoil (dated)
• xol (dated)