▪ I. stub, n.
(stʌb)
Forms: 1 stubb, styb(b, (steb), 3–7 stubbe, 4–9 stubb, 6 stoubbe, 4– stub.
[OE. stub(b masc. = (M)LG., MDu. stubbe (early mod.Du., WFris. stobbe), ON. stubb-r, stubbe, rarely stobbe (MSw. stubbe, stobbe, SW., Norw. stubbe, stubb, Da. stub):—OTeut. types *stubbo-z, stubbon-; OE. had also stybb masc.:—*stuƀjo-z or *stubbjo-z, which has coalesced with the other form. OE. had prob. a form *stob(b with o- umlaut (cf. the duplicate ON. forms above), whence stob n.1; in the 14–16th c., however, stob(b may merely be a variant spelling for stub.
To the same root (*stū̆ƀ-:—pre-Teut. *stū̆p-) belong ON. st{uacu}f-r stump (Norw. stuv), (see stow v.2), MLG. stûve stump, fag-end, stûf blunt; outside Teut. cf. Gr. στύπος stump, stock, Lettish stups fag-end.]
1. a. A stump of a tree or, more rarely, of a shrub or smaller plant; the portion left fixed in the ground when a tree has been felled; also, † a trunk deprived of branches.
| 967 Charter of Eadgar in Kemble Cod. Dipl. No. 813. III. 10 Andlang dices on ðone stubb. c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 108/5 Stipes, stipitis, treowwes steb. c 1000 ― Gram. ix. (Z.) 68 Hic stirps ðes stybb. 1301 Acc. Exch. Q.R. Bundle 147. No. 10 in G. J. Turner Sel. Pleas Forest (1901) 147/2 [Six] stubbs [sold for] 3s. 4d. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2293 Gawayn..stode stylle as þe ston, oþer a stubbe auþer. 1348–9 in Blount's Law Dict. (1691) s.v. Zuche, Rex concessit Thomæ de Colvile omnes Zoucheos aridos, vocat. Stubbes arborum succisorum, in Foresta de Galtres. 146. Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 25 And it please to deliver unto Robert of Tymble a Stub, the which Mr. Controller granted unto his ward for him and his wife. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 247 b, We went by strayte pathes full of stoubbys, busshys, and bryers. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 34 Old stockes and stubs of trees, Whereon nor fruit nor leafe was euer seene. 1615 Chapman Odyss. xii. 611 Yet, might my feete, on no stub fasten hold To ease my hands: the roots were crept so low Beneath the earth. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 264 Then went shee a little further, and on a stub, which was betweene two trees, she sate downe. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 339 We here Live on tough roots and stubs. 1760 R. Brown Compl. Farmer ii. 101 When it [rape] hath been cut, the stubs of it will sprout again. 1771 Phil. Trans. LXI. 138 In the forest of Kent,..there still remains several large old chesnut stubbs. 1795 Vancouver Agric. Essex 152 The remaining stub of the thistle. 1799 Coleridge Introd. Tale Dark Ladie 64 How boughs rebounding scourg'd his limbs, And low stubs gor'd his feet. 1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers iii, Unsightly remnants of trees that had been partly destroyed by fire were seen rearing their..columns..above the pure white of the snow. These,..in the language of the country are termed stubs. 1864 G. P. Marsh Man & Nat. 109 In the United States..dead trees..are often allowed to stand until they fall of themselves. Such stubs, as they are popularly called, are..often deeply cut by the woodpeckers. 1895 Zangwill Master ii. xi. 268 The woodpeckers tapped on the hollow stubs. 1907 ‘J. Halsham’ Lonewood Corner 114 Before the stubs of the under⁓wood have sprouted again. |
† b. to buy (brushwood, etc.) on or at the stub: to buy on the ground, growing. Hence (?),
to pay at the stub: to pay ready money.
Obs.| 1532 Lett. & Papers Hen. VIII, V. 446 For thorns bought on the stubb... For edders and stakes bought likewise on the stub. 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 78 In time go and bargaine..for fewell... To buie at the stub is the best for the buier. 1615 Rowlands Melancholie Knt. C 3, A very Cobler shall as welcome be That payes his readie money at the stub, As I that come a trust to worships dub. 1795 Vancouver Agric. Essex 62 The under woods are cut down at eleven years growth, and..they sell at the stub for 3 l. 10 s. per acre. |
† c. The part of a tree-trunk close to the ground.
| 1558–9 Act 1 Eliz. c. 15 §1 No person..shall convert..to Coale or other Fuell for the making of Yron, any Tymber Tree..of the Breadthe of One Foot Square at the Stubbe. 1587 Harrison England ii. xvii. 200/1 in Holinshed, For what a thing it is to haue a ship growing upon the stub, and sailing on the sea within the space of fiue and fiftie daies? 1637 Heywood in Naval Chron. III. 370 Timber,..ten feet at the stub or bottom. |
† d. A stock for grafting upon. In
quot. fig.| 1587 Harrison England ii. i. 139/1 in Holinshed, You shall see no fewer deeds of charitie doone, nor better grounded vpon the right stub of pietie than before. |
† 2. fig. A blockhead;
= stock n.1 1 c.
Obs.| 1644 Milton Educ. 3 Ye shall haue more adoe to driue our dullest and laziest youth, our stocks and stubbs from the infinite desire of such a happy nurture. |
3. A short piece of a broken branch remaining on the stem.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1120 First on the wal was peynted a forest..With knotty knarry bareyne trees olde Of stubbes sharpe, and hidouse to biholde. c 1440 Ipomydon 1270 My palfrey..stumblyd..I toke this harme, A stubbe smote me þrow þe arme. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 159 A Parcel of Stubs [F. chicots], springing out of one Side and the other. 1796 C. Marshall Garden. xii. (1813) 163 Whether it is best to cut all spare shoots clean out, or to cut down to little stubs or false spurs is hardly yet determined. 1846 J. Baxter's Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 164 Some cut superfluous fruit-shoots clean away; others leave a sprinkling of short stubs, cut very short if foreright. 1884 Century Mag. Dec. 222/1 His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's wrist. |
4. a. = stubble n. Also
pl. Now
dial. [So
Sw. stubbe,
Da. stub.]
| 1250 Owl & Night. 506 Ȝet þu singst worse þon þe hei⁓sugge, [Þ]at fliȝþ bi grunde among þe stubbe. 1552 Huloet, Stubbe of corne, stipula, stupa. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 246 If they are to sow wheat upon tillage, they choose wheat sown before upon bean stubs. 1811 T. Davis Agric. Wilts 266 Stubs. The stubble of all corn is usually called stubs, as wheat-stubs, barley-stubs, &c. 1820 Clare Poems Rural Life (ed. 3) 95 But ill it suits thee in the stubs to glean. |
† b. pl. The lower ends of cut stems of plants.
| 1764 Museum Rust. II. 81 It [sc. reaped coleseed] must not be turned, but raised up gently and laid lightly on the stubs. |
† c. in the stub: said of growing flax.
Obs.| 1730 Swift Answ. Craftsman Wks. 1905 VII. 222 All the said commodities shall be sent in their natural state; the hides raw, the wool uncombed, the flax in the stub. |
d. pl. Hair cut close to the skin. Now
dial.| 1607 R. Turner Nosce Te D 1, A chinne as free from beard as any dogge, Saue stubbes more hard then brisles of a hogge. |
5. a. A splinter or thorn in the flesh. Now
dial.| 1531 Elyot Gov. ii. xiii. (1557) 137 Out of whose foote a yong man had ones taken a stubbe. 1639 T. de Grey Compl. Horsem. 160 To draw a thorne, stub, iron, splinter, naile..out of the flesh of the horse. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Stub, in the manege, is used for a splinter of fresh-cut under⁓ wood, that goes into a horse's foot as he runs. 1894 Blackmore Perlycross xxi. 197 Upon a truss of furze, with a flour⁓sack to shield him from the stubs and prickles. |
† b. A stab or twinge of pain. Now
dial.| 1587 M. Grove Pelops & Hippod. (1878) 86 Ixion nayled on the whirling wheele, Which hellish stubs & irksom pains doth feele. |
6. a. A short thick nail (
= stob n.1 4); a worn horseshoe nail,
esp. in
pl. old horseshoe nails and other similar scraps as the material for making stub-iron.
Cf. stub-nail.
| 1394–5 in Cartul. Abb. Whiteby (Surtees) 615 It. pro viiixx cartnayle, x s. It. pro i{supm} stubs, ii s. 1595 Strange Things R. Hasleton in Arb. Garner VIII. 387 And immediately searching about, I found an old iron stub; with the which I brake a hole through the chamber wall. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xiii. 86 Fill it with Pibble-stones, Nails, Stubs of old Iron. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton (1906) 256 He ordered that all the guns..should be loaded with musket balls, old nails, stubs [etc.]. 1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 225 That kind which is of the most approved tenacity, is made of old horse-shoe nails or stubs. 1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 673 Horse-nails..which when worn out are collected with avidity as furnishing one of the best descriptions of scrap-iron, under the name of horse-nail stubs. 1846 Greener Sci. Gunnery 107 An equal substance of the best steel ever invented or made, is less in tenacity than a mixture similar to stubs and steel. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. xvi, Hammers beating out old iron such as horseshoes, nails or stubs into the great harpoons. |
b. Short for
stub-barrel: see 11.
| 1853 Ure Dict. Arts I. 724 The barrels of musquets, birding-guns, etc. or what are called plain, to distinguish them from those denominated stubs or twisted barrels. |
7. a. Something that looks stunted or cut short,
e.g. a rudimentary tail or horn.
| 1670–1 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 33 They are shaped like English Hares..and instead of a Tail have a little stub about an inch long, without Hair on it. 1693 Evelyn De La Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 111 The Scutcheon cannot thrive, unless it be absolutely glued to the part to which it is apply'd; and consequently that part must be as smooth as the Scutcheon, which cannot be when a Scutcheon is apply'd upon an Eye, or Bud, which is an Elevated part, that forms a kind of Stub. a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1757) 377 There will remain a little stub at the end of the twig, which dries up. 1887 W. T. Hornaday in Smithsonian Rep. ii. 397 The horn [of the buffalo] at three months is about 1 inch in length, and is a mere little black stub. |
b. A short thick piece of wood.
| 1833 W. H. Maxwell Field Bk. 522 Stub,..a log. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 605 At the distance of a foot behind the coulter-box a strong stub of wood is mortised into the beam at C. Ibid., The two stilts or handles are simply bolted to the stub. 1898 Sloane Electr. Dict. (ed. 2) 622 Stub, Anchor guy, a short pole set securely in the ground to fasten a guy to. |
c. (See
quot.)
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 869 Stub... 2. Short files for finishing in and around depressions. |
d. U.S. colloq. A man of insignificant stature.
Cf. stub a.
| 1890 J. Curtin tr. Sienkiewicz' With Fire & Sword xliv. (1892) 514, I have something to say to this little stub of an officer. |
e. A short length of wire used in flower-arranging.
Cf. stub wire, sense 11 below.
| 1951 R. A. Birch et al. Mod. Florist ix. 83 On the bench is fixed the wire tidy..a set of upright metal cylinders or holders into which the wires, or ‘stubs’, are placed. Ibid. 88 Next we come to ‘invisible wiring’ with ordinary stubs. 1960 V. Stevenson in T. A. Price et al. Retail Florist's Handbk. iii. 66 Stem wires, often called stub wires (one assumes because they are stubbed into the design), vary from 3½ to 18 inches in length... Twenty gauge..is the most widely used wreath stub. 1963 M. Smith Arranging Flowers viii. 83 With a very fragile stem it is best to lay a stub-wire against it..and to twist fuse-wire round both the stub and the stem to bind them together. |
8. Mech. A stud or projection;
spec. in a lock, a stationary stud which acts as a detent for the tumblers when their slots are in engagement with it.
| 1561 Eden tr. Cortes' Art Navig. iii. xi. 78 b, But for the Sea, you shall sother the Horizon two Axes, little stubbes, or endes commyng foorth. 1778 in Abridgm. Specif. Patents Locks etc. (1873) 2 An improvement on the tumbler and spring by means of a stub or projection so exactly fitted to a passage or opening in the bolt as not to permit the bolt to pass unless [etc.]. 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 324 [Maudslay's lathes.] In the part C is an oblique slit l l, to receive a stub which projects from the bottom of the nut n,..by this arrangement it is obvious that if the screw m is worked, the stub of the nut n, acting against the slide of the slit l l, as an inclined plane, will move it either backwards or forwards through the opening M. |
9. a. The remaining portion of something (more or less cylindrical) that has been broken or worn down; a stump, fag-end;
spec. the butt or stump of a cigar or cigarette.
| c 1530 Ld. Berners Arthur Lit. Brit. (1814) 214 He gaue Arthur a grete stroke with the stubbe of his hurte arme. 1855 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says xvi. 133 Perhaps they expect us to smoke ‘stubs’, like the newsboys. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. xvii. 116 You cannot throw an old cigar ‘stub’ down any where. 1873 J. H. Beadle Undevel. West 787 Even little darkeys watch for the ‘old stubs’ as they are thrown away. 1898 Hamblen Gen. Manager's Story xii. 191 There lay a fellow at full length,..smoking an old stub of a clay pipe. 1912 H. Belloc Four Men 27 ‘It is to sharpen this pencil with’, said the stranger, putting forth a stub of an H.B. much shorter than his thumb. 1914 B. M. Bower Flying U Ranch 187 He spat upon the burnt end of his cigarette stub from force of the habit that fear of range fires had built. 1973 T. Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow (1975) iii. 309 The two of them sit there, passing a cigarette back and forth, till it's smoked down to a very small stub. |
b. = stub pen (see 11). ?
Obs.| 1829 Lamb Let. to B. W. Procter in Ainger Lett. (1888) II. 219 The comings in of an incipient conveyancer are not adequate to the receipt of three twopenny post nonpaids in a week. Therefore after this, I condemn my stub to long and deep silence. |
10. U.S. A counterfoil. (
Cf. F.
souche and
stock n. 42; also
stump n. 3 h.)
| 1876 N. Amer. Rev. CXXIII. 301 For which check stubs representing only small amounts were retained. 1884 Harper's Mag. June 61/2 Pay-rolls, check-book stubs, registers,..are here stowed away. 1916 A. B. Reeve Poisoned Pen 181 ‘Number 156’ Herndon noted, as the collector detached the stub and handed it to her. |
11. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 1)
stub-oak,
stub-wood; (sense 4)
stub-thatched adj.; (sense 4 d)
stub-bearded adj.; (sense 9 b)
stub-pointed adj.;
stub-axle (see
quots.);
stub-barrel, a gun-barrel made of strips of stub-iron;
stub-book U.S., a book containing only the counterfoils of cheques or other documents;
stub-bred a. Hunting (see
quot.);
stub Damascus, a kind of stub-iron resembling Damascus iron;
stub-dig dial. = stub-hoe;
† stub eel, some variety of eel;
stub-end, (
a) the butt end of a connecting-rod, of a weapon, etc.; (
b)
U.S., the unconnected end of a stub track; also
stub-end track (see
stub track below); (
c) a cigarette stub (in
quot. fig.);
† stub-faced a. slang (see
quot.);
stub-feather (see
quot. 1847);
stub-hoe, an implement for grubbing up stubs;
stub-iron, a tenacious kind of iron, originally made out of old horse-shoe nails;
† stub-money (see
quot.);
stub-mortise (see
quot.);
stub-mortised a., secured by a stub-mortise;
stub-nail = sense 6;
stub-nail iron = stub-iron;
stub-pen,
orig. a worn quill pen; hence a broad-pointed pen;
stub-rabbit dial., a rabbit that seeks shelter among stubs instead of going to ground;
stub-short,
-shot (see
quot.);
stub-side, the side of a swath which has the cut ends of the stems;
stub station U.S., a railway station at which the tracks terminate;
stub-switch U.S. (see
quot. 1911);
stub-tail, (
a) a partridge at a certain stage of growth; (
b) see
quot. 1867; also used of maize; (
c) a short and thick or broad tail; also
fig.;
stub-tenon (see
quot.);
stub-toed a., of a shoe: having a broad toe;
stub-tooth Mech. (see
quot.);
stub track U.S., a railway track,
usu. at a terminus, connected to another at one end only; see also
stub-end track above;
stub-twist, a material for fine gun-barrels, composed of a ribbon of stub-iron twisted into a spiral shape;
stub wing Aeronaut. (see
quot. 1956); hence
stub-winged a.;
stub wire = sense 7 e above.
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2431 *Stub-axle, a short axle attached on the end of a principal axle-tree. 1907 O'Gorman Motor Pocket Bk. (ed. 2) 505 The stub axle is the short axle which is so pivoted that the front (or steering) wheels can be deflected. |
| 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 101 The Birmingham workmen, in preparing the material for *stub barrels, usually cut up strips of iron and steel,..into bits like two inch nails. |
| 1891 Kipling Light that Failed xiv. 280 A *stub-bearded, bowed creature wearing a dirty magenta coloured neckcloth outside an unbrushed coat. |
| 1886 Rep. of U.S. Sec. of Treasury 700 (Cent.) The filed *stub-books of stamps, now occupying a very large and rapidly increasing space in the files rooms. |
| 1826 J. Cook Fox-hunting 57 *Stub bred foxes are thought to be the stoutest. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 583/1 (Hunting, fox) Stub-bred, Stump-bred. Foxes which, in certain districts, make their lairs in bushes or stumps instead of underground; stubbed was the old term. |
| 1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 673 *Stub Damascus is a very beautiful kind of iron formed like the Damascus iron above described. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xi. 7 Double gun, stub Damascus barrels. |
| 1837 Boston Advertiser 17 Jan. 2/2 Thomas Chapman..charged with stealing a *stub dig. |
| 15.. in Dugdale Monasticon (1655) I. 81/2 Also to be sure of xij. *stubbe elles and lx. schafte eles to bake for the covent on shere thursday. 1545 Rates Custom Ho. b j, Elis called stubbe elis. 1582 Ibid. B vij b, Eeles called stub Eeles. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stub-end, the large end of a connecting-rod, in which the boxes are confined by the strap. 1896 Engineering News XXXVI. 27/1 When a long stub-end track gets full of empties, the cars at the stub end are likely to remain for weeks and months. 1900 Ibid. XLIV. 377/2 Stub-end tracks should generally be in pairs, with crossovers near the ends, so that the engine of one incoming train can be got out without waiting for its train. 1903 W. M. Camp Notes Track Constr. I. vi. 466 An arrangement that is sometimes provided where inbound, outbound and transfer houses are consolidated at one point is to have parallel stub tracks, with the inbound house on one side, the outbound house on the opposite side and the office between them, at the stub ends of the tracks. 1914 Daily News 7 Nov. 1 Even if he has nothing more formidable than an empty bully-beef can to rattle with the stub-end of his bayonet. 1932 Auden Orators iii. 85 Stub-end of year that smoulders to ash of winter. |
| 1788 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 2), *Stub-faced, pitted with small-pox: the devil run over his face with horse stubbs (horse nails) in his shoes. |
| 1847 Halliwell, *Stub-feathers, the short unfledged feathers on a fowl after it has been plucked. 1889 Cornh. Mag. Apr. 376 It is a rare thing not to find stub feathers somewhere about a hawk or an owl. |
| 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit., Eloq. Wks. (Bohn) III. 39 He is a graduate of the plough, and the *stub-hoe, and the bush-whacker. |
| 1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 225 Some manufacturers enclose a quantity of *stub-iron in a cylinder of best foreign iron. |
| 1776 Compl. Grazier (ed. 4) 78 The woodward is allowed a shilling a range, as above, (called *stub-money) for his care in looking after the wood. |
| 1846 Worcester (citing Loudon), *Stub-mortise, a mortise that does not pass through the timber mortised. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1251 With an oak cap properly *stub-mortised. |
| 1639 G. Plattes Discov. Subterr. Treas. 41, I took 4. ounces of Iron in *stub nailes. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xviii. ¶2 They chuse stub-Nails for the best Iron to Melt. 1802 C. James Milit. Dict., Stub-Nails are driven on the outside of the nave-hoops, to keep them in their places. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 471 The best modern barrels for fowling pieces are constructed of *stub-nail iron in this manner. |
| 1880 Blackmore Mary Anerley xl, A thicket of *stub oak. |
| 1891 Century Dict., *Stub pen. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 13 Jan. 5/1 The first signature is ‘Julian Pauncefote,’ written with an extra broad-pointed steel stub pen. |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 10/6 advt., In this trial box of specially assorted pens you are offered a wonderful variety of fine, medium, and *stub-pointed pens to suit all hands. |
| 1845 Zoologist III. 903 There is a variety..called..in the northern parts of the same county [Herts.] the *stub-rabbit. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stub-short; Stub-shot. 1. The unsawed portion of a plank where it is split from the bolt or log. 2. (Turning.) The portion by which an object to be turned is grasped or chucked. |
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xiv. 188 Tis best to raise up the Ear-sides first, and let the *Stub-side rest on the Ground in turning. |
| 1916 J. A. Droege Passenger Terminals v. 104 The head or *stub station is an end-of-the-line station. Ibid., Practically all the terminals in New York City are built on the stub station plan. 1929 Amer. Railway Engineering Assoc. Man. xiv. 960 The through and loop types of station are superior to the stub station from the standpoint of train operation. |
| 1885 G. Mordecai Rep. Terminal Facilities 6 The tracks are of good material, laid with *stub switches and railfrogs. 1903 W. M. Camp Notes Track Constr. I. 292 The stub switch, with its open joint in winter and tight joint in summer, with a loose head block to be tampered with every few days. 1911 Webster, Stub switch, Railroading, a switch in which the track rails are cut off squarely at the toe and the switch rails are thrown to butt end to end with the lead rails. |
| 1686 R. Blome Gentl. Recr. ii. 37/1 Larg Partridges called *Stubtayls... There are several names or distinctions of Partridges; the first, when newly hatched, are called White⁓heads, the second Names are Chick-tayls, the third Stub-tayls. 1867 Simmonds Dict. Trade Suppl., Stubtail, Stump⁓tail, names in North America for flour made out of damaged wheat and good wheat ground together. 1873 Spider & Fly iv. i. 19 This corn is the Illinois growth of 1857, and is called ‘stub-tail’ because about one-third of it is rotten. 1938 L. MacNeice Zoo 234 They [sc. bears] showed their stub-tails. 1973 Times 17 May 35/1 Compared with the 1100 it has a more streamlined bonnet curving down to a low radiator grille, and a stub tail somewhat reminiscent of the Hillman Avenger. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Stub-tenon, a short tenon at the foot of an upright, such as the scantling or studding of a partition or a floor⁓bearer. 1910 J. Bartlett in Encycl. Brit. V. 387/2 A stub tenon or joggle (fig. 14) is used for fixing a post to a sill. |
| 1872 J. G. Michie Deeside Tales (1908) 255 A little *stub-thatched cottage. |
| 1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 134 He'd..clatter up and down stairs making a tremendous racket with his *stubtoed ironplated shoes. |
| 1911 Webster, *Stub Tooth, a short gear tooth of great strength, with a large angle of obliquity. |
| 1896 Engineering News XXXVI. 27/1 The empty car storage tracks on Mr. Derr's diagram are very long *stub tracks, which are objectionable. 1921 Railway Engin. & Maintenance of Way Cycl. 348/1 A freight terminal is commonly considered an important freight station served by stub tracks. 1956 Railway Track & Structures Cycl. (ed. 8) 425/2 Bumping posts are obstructions placed at the end of stub tracks. |
| 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 221 The complex and ornamental figures for the barrels of fowling-pieces, described as ‘*stub-twist, wire-twist, Damascus-twist.’ |
| 1931 Flight 2 Jan. 16/2 The lower *stub wings form part of the landing gear structure. 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 496/2 Stub wing,..1. A short wing, esp. as used on certain autogiros. 2. That part of a wing on certain airplanes that lies next to the fuselage, to which the rest of the wing, separately built, is attached... 3. Short for ‘stubwing stabilizer.’..Stubwing stabilizer, a hydro⁓stabilizer on a flying boat. 1958 Times Rev. Industry Aug. 39/2 The [Rotodyne] fixed stubwing..takes over the task of supporting the aircraft. |
| 1957 Times Survey Brit. Aviation Sept. 2/6 Bristol are sending the *stub-winged twin-rotor Type 173. |
| 1960, 1963 *Stub wire [see sense 7 e above]. 1976 Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 22 Dec. 4/8 (Advt.), Oasis (dry and wet). Dried flowers. Stub wires and a large selection of containers. |
| 1770 Phil. Trans. LXI. 155 The woods..have great plenty of chesnut, both timber and *stub wood. 1787 W. H. Marshall E. Norfolk (1795) II. 389 Stubwood, all wood which grows in hedgerows and does not come under the denomination of ‘timbers’, ‘pollards’, or ‘thorns’, is called ‘stubwood’. |
Sense 7 e in
Dict. becomes 7
f. Add:
[7.] e. Aeronaut. (
a) A short projection from the hull of a flying boat, to aid lateral stability on the water, or from the fuselage of an aircraft, for carrying equipment, ordnance, etc.; a stub wing; (
b) a short exhaust outlet on a piston-engined aircraft.
| 1935 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 823 A recent proposal for a large tailless flying boat having a pterodactyl wing plus stubs, a combination of two experimental features. Ibid. 826 With regard to the use of sponsons or stubs, he had understood Mr. Coombes to say that one could reckon on some aerodynamic lift from the stub. 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 21 We were sure she was not ‘blowing’ on any of the stubs. 1959 J. L. Nayler Dict. Aeronaut. Engin. 265 Stub,..Stub Wing, a short length of plane projecting from an aeroplane fuselage or a seaplane hull. 1969 Gloss. Aeronaut. & Astronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) v. 11 Stub, a projection from a hull to give lateral stability on the water. 1987 Air Internat. Apr. 203/1 For the first production Hurricanes, Hawker had developed exhaust stubs..but an alternative ejector-type stub developed by Rolls-Royce was found to be worth 2 mph (3,2 km/h) and was adopted instead. |
[10.] b. Finance (
orig. U.S.). (
a) An option entitling an investor who sells his holding in a limited company to its management during a leveraged buyout to purchase ordinary shares at a specified future date; (
b) the small amount of devalued equity remaining to shareholders following such a buyout; its quoted price. Freq.
attrib.| 1984 Amer. Banker 9 Jan. 3/1 Dean Witter recommends that this stock, which it values only for the discounted present values of its dividend stream and its eventual $2 stub, should be sold and any proceeds of more than $12 a share looked upon as ‘found money’. 1987 N.Y. Times 7 Apr. d5/1 Analysts and money managers valued the equity portion of the offer—also called the ‘stub’—at between $6 and $10 a share. 1987 Observer 7 June 33/1 The shareholders..cash in on the juggling of company assets (with the inevitable replacement of equity with debt) and then stay on for the ride on an albeit debt-ridden ‘stub’ which continues to be traded on the stock market. 1989 Sunday Times 25 June d1/3 The value put on the stub is crucial. 1989 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. (Management Buyouts Suppl.) p. viii/8 It was hoped that institutional shareholders..might be more willing to accept offers from incumbent management if a stub element were included. |
12. stub equity = sense *10 b (b) above.
| 1987 Forbes (N.Y.) 23 Mar. 173/3 Companies that were bought out through leveraged deals have provided some enormous benefits for investors in what the takeover types call *stub equity, that 5{pcnt} to 25{pcnt} of the deal involving stock issues. 1989 Sunday Times 28 May d1/1 One option is for Warburg to produce some form of ‘stub equity’, enabling Smith's fans to participate in the leveraged takeover. |
▪ II. stub, a. rare.
(
stʌb)
[f. stub n.] Of a person: Squat, stunted-looking.
| 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4928/4 The person suspected..is a short stub Fellow. |
▪ III. stub, v.1 (
stʌb)
Inflected
stubbed (
stʌbd),
stubbing. Also 5
stobe, 5–6
stubbe, 7
stube,
stubb.
[f. stub n. Cf. Sw. stubba, Da. stubbe.] 1. a. trans. To dig up by the roots; to grub up (roots). Chiefly with
up.
| c 1400 Jacob's Well 26 Alle paryschenys, þat hewyn doun violently, or stubbyn, pullyn, or schredyn, or croppyn, ony treen in cherche-ȝerdes. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. vii. 160 In the forenoone thei plante and graffe, digge vp settes, stubbe vp rootes. 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 75 Go breake vp land, get mattock in hand, Stub roote so tough, for breaking of plough. 1574 in J. J. Cartwright Chapters Hist. Yorks. (1872) 75 Wyth lyberty to take and stubbe the trees and bushes. a 1631 Donne Eighty Serm. 390 If one give me a timber tree for my house, I know not whether the root be mine or no, whether I may stub it by that gift. 1639 Horn & Rob. Gate Lang. Unl. xlviii. §529 A woodmonger felleth down trees, and stubes them up by the roots. c 1695 J. Miller Descr. New York (1843) 9 He..may..by stubbing up the trees and brushwood, have good arable land or pastures. 1706 Swift Baucis & Phil. 178 'Tis hard to be believ'd, How much the other Tree was Griev'd; Grew scrubb'd, dy'd at top, was stunted, So th' next Parson stubb'd and burnt it. 1791 R. Mylne 2nd Rep. Thames Navig. 10 Some Thorn-Bushes should be stubbed out of the Bank. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. iii. 32 The roots want stubbing up horribly. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars v. 238 He was found to have stubbed up a hedge which had been the boundary of the land. |
b. fig. Now
rare.
| c 1440 Jacob's Well 77 He schal stubbyn þe vp, londe & roote, & cachyn þe out of þi dwellyng-place. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. ix. (1633) 28 That these strangers would endeavor either to stub out that unruly generation, or to nurture them. 1651 G. Firmin Serious Quest. B 1, This Opinion will stub up all the Ordinances. 1662 Jesuits' Reasons Unreas. (1675) 128 Unless such Tenets be stubbed out of the heads..of your Preachers. 1876 Farrar Marlb. Serm. xviii. 172 Beware that there be not—hidden deep under the soil of your heart—any sins and tendencies,..any vanities or lusts, which you have not as it were stubbed up. |
† 2. To dig
out (gravel).
Obs.| c 1440 Jacob's Well 265 But now schal I telle ȝow of þe howe or a pek-ex wherwyth ȝe muste stubbe out þe grauel. |
3. To cut down (a tree, etc.) close to the root.
| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. G 3 b, His horse was trapt in the earthie stringes of tree rootes, which though theyr increase was stubbed downe to the grounde, yet were they not vtterly deaded. 1750 W. Ellis Mod. Husb. V. i. 86 (E.D.S.) Turneps may be houghed ill if the hougher stubs them, as we call it, i.e. if he houghs them so shallow as to only cut off the heads, and leave the roots in the ground. 1811 T. Davis Agric. Wilts i. x. 88 Young trees must be planted, part of which may be preserved for timber, and the remainder left to be stubbed off for underwood. |
4. To remove the stubs from (land). Also, to clear (land) of trees, furze, etc. by uprooting. Chiefly with
up.
| 1464 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 455 [He] schal stobe me klen serten kloses wethe in Powenses. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. 29 b, Hee..pluckt downe Barnes and Store⁓houses, stubd vp Orchards and Vineyardes. a 1650 Boate Ireland's Nat. Hist. (1860) 85 That land..produced nothing but moss, heath, and short low furze: which herbs are fired upon the ground and the ground stubbed, before it be plowed the first time. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy V. vii, We shall have a terrible piece of work of it in stubbing the Ox-moor. 1772 Ann. Reg., Chron. 75/2 Paterson stubbed up ten acres of furze or whin ground. 1847 C. G. Addison Law of Contracts ii. i. (1883) 244 He must not convert arable land into pasture..or stub up a wood to make it pasture. 1864 Tennyson North. Farmer, Old Style vii, An' I 'a stubb'd Thornaby waäste. 1889 Harper's Mag. Feb. 424/1 A large fenced-in field, well stubbed. |
5. To remove the stub-feathers from (a fowl).
| 1875 Parish Sussex Gloss., Stub, to pluck chicken clean after their feathers have been pulled off. 1901 Dundee Advertiser 3 May 7 The fowl is at once plucked and ‘stubbed,’..The plucking is done by men..and the stubbing, or the removal of the undeveloped feathers, by women. |
6. To reduce to a stub or stump.
† a. To wear down (a quill pen).
Obs.| 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod. D ij, Yet wold their inke be dried vp, their paper spent, their pennes stubbed. 1589 Nashe Anat. Absurd. A iiij, What should I spend my yncke, waste my paper, stub my penne, in painting forth theyr vgly imperfections. |
† b. To deprive
of (a horn). In
quot. fig. Obs.| 1658 Harrington Prerog. Pop. Gov. i. xii. 128 A Dilemma,..being a kind of argument that should not be stubb'd of one horne, but have each of equall length and danger. |
c. To shorten and thicken by hammering.
| 1869 Sandberg tr. Styffe's Iron & Steel 11 The author ‘upset’ or stubbed the bars at the ends. |
7. To cause (a horse) to be wounded with a stub. Also
refl. of the horse.
| 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2126/4 Lost.., a brown bay Gelding,..the near Leg behind stubb'd with Leaping. 1702 Ibid. No. 3850/4 Stolen or strayed.., a dun Nag.., was stub'd on the Fetlock Joint of one of the fore Legs. 1865 M. Lemon Loved at Last I. vi. 140 Pray keep on, sir, my horse has stubbed himself, I fancy. 1875 Parish Sussex Gloss. s.v., To stub a horse is to lame him by letting him tread on stubs of underwood in a cover. |
8. ? To crush, pulverize (marl, etc. for spreading over land, road-material); to fill up the ruts in (a road) with crushed stones, etc. Also
to stub in: to crush (road-metal) into the ruts.
| 1765 Museum Rust. III. 287 If with stone of the farmers, a load of thirty bushels will do three rods, which costs one shilling and a halfpenny stubbing and picking. 1795 Vancouver Agric. Essex 141 The blue and white chalky clay..should be stubbed and left exposed to the action of the air, sometime before it is carried out, and spread upon the land. 1800 Little Cornard (Suff.) Highway Acc. (MS.), P{supd} Rob{supt}. Sparrow for Stubbing the road from Parmers to Rowls pond, 0. 14. 5. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 165 The stones..are..dropped into the ruts, far better than a man can stub them in. |
9. a. to stub (one's) toe (see
quot. 1848.) Also
fig. Formerly chiefly
U.S.| 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer. 339 ‘To stub one's toe’, is to strike it against anything in walking or running; an expression often used by boys and others who go barefoot. c 1850 ‘Dow, Jr.’ in Jerdan Yankee Hum. (1853) 58 When I stubbed my toes. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 114 You are rather liable to what Captain Eversfield graphically describes as ‘stub your toe’ against lava-like rock. 1906 A. Werner Natives Brit. Centr. Afr. vi. 140 The formation of a virulent ulcer every time a person stubbed a toe or barked a shin. 1957 Economist 19 Oct. 194/1 At a time when the Middle East has become more of a happy hunting ground for Russians seeking friends and influence than ever before, it is on Turkey that they are always stubbing their toe. 1967 [see good a. C. 8]. 1976 ‘J. Ross’ I know what it's like to Die xix. 126 It was a reputable organisation. At least, insofar as it hadn't stubbed its corporate toes on, or interfered with, anything under the supervision of the superintendent's own bailiwick. |
b. U.S. colloq. intr. ‘To walk along striking the toes against obstructions; go heedlessly; as, the boy
stubs along to school’ (
Funk's Stand. Dict.). Also
transf. and
fig.| 1875 C. B. Lewis Quad's Odds 480 The writer will stub along through life with a heart full of joyfulness. 1878 B. F. Taylor Between Gates 241 An old whaler stubbing about estimated him [sc. a whale] at sixty barrels. |
10. trans. To cover with stubs.
| 1878 W. C. Smith Hilda 61 Last of a great pine forest that stubs the heath with its roots For miles. |
11. intr. Of a tree: To send out branches from the ‘stub’ when cut down.
| 1791 Trans. Soc. Arts IX. 20 The Spanish Chestnut..possesses a peculiar faculty of branching, provincially called stubbing, from the roots after being cut down. |
12. trans. To extinguish (a cigarette) by pressing the lighted end of the stub against a hard object. Freq. with
out. Also
fig.| 1927 Daily Express 28 Oct. 5 A new glass ash tray with cigarette rests has a glass stopper fitting in at the back which is used for stubbing one's smokes... On the stubber a Greek girl dancing, scarf in hand [is represented]. 1930 J. Cannan No Walls of Jasper 116 He stubbed out his cigarette and smiled at her. 1955 P. Larkin in Listener 8 Sept. 373/1, I lie Where Mr. Bleaney lay, and stub my fags On the same saucer-souvenir. 1962 J. Braine Life at Top xxvi. 277, I looked round for an ashtray and for the fifth time since nine o'clock stubbed out my cigarette on the floor. 1970 R. Lowell Notebk. 214 A hand prepared to stub out liberty. 1974 ‘E. Ferrars’ Hanged Man's House xv. 149 There was always something that you could do with a cigarette, light it, draw on it, tip ash off it, stub it out. 1978 S. Radley Death & Maiden xi. 109 She stubbed out her cigarette with sudden vigour. |
▪ IV. † stub, v.2 Obs. rare.
[Cf. stob v.1, stab v.] trans. To thrust (a weapon)
into.
| 1576 Bedingfield tr. Cardanus' Comf. 37 b, When Iulius Cæsar..felte the daggers of diuers men stubbed into his body he [etc.]. |