[ OE. bales, balais, F. balais, LL. balascus, fr. Ar. balakhsh, so called from Badakhshan, Balashan, or Balaxiam, a place in the neighborhood of Samarkand, where this ruby is found. ] (Min.) A variety of spinel ruby, of a pale rose red, or inclining to orange. See Spinel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. bilis biel + ruber red. ] (Physiol.) A reddish yellow pigment present in human bile, and in that from carnivorous and herbivorous animals; the normal biliary pigment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Cherubs but the Hebrew plural Cherubim s also used. [ Heb. kerūb. ] 1. A mysterious composite being, the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty, described in Ezekiel i. and x. [ 1913 Webster ]

I knew that they were the cherubim. Ezek. x. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

He rode upon a cherub and did fly. Ps. xviii. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A symbolical winged figure of unknown form used in connection with the mercy seat of the Jewish Ark and Temple. Ez. xxv. 18. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One of a order of angels, variously represented in art. In European painting the cherubim have been shown as blue, to denote knowledge, as distinguished from the seraphim (see Seraph), and in later art the children's heads with wings are generally called cherubs. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A beautiful child; -- so called because artists have represented cherubs as beautiful children. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to cherubs; angelic. “The cherubic host.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The Hebrew plural of Cherub.. Cf. Seraphim. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Cherubims, in the King James version of the bible, is an incorrect form, made by adding the English plural termination to the Hebrew plural cherubim instead of to the singular cherub. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Cherubic; angelic. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cherub. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Drubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drubbing. ] [ Cf. Prov. E. drab to beat, Icel. & Sw. drabba to hit, beat, Dan. dræbe to slay, and perh. OE. drepen to strike, kill, AS. drepan to strike, G. & D. freffen to hit, touch, Icel. drepa to strike, kill. ] To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Soundly Drubbed with a good honest cudgel. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A blow with a cudgel; a thump. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who drubs. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dry-rubbed p. pr. & vb. n. Dry-rubbing. ] To rub and cleanse without wetting. Dodsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ L. erubescentia: cf. F. érubescence. ] The act of becoming red; redness of the skin or surface of anything; a blushing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. erubescens, p. pr. erubescere to grow red; e out + rubescere. See Rubescent. ] Red, or reddish; blushing. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Min.) See Bornite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Ethmoid + turbinal. ] See Turbinal. -- n. An ethmoturbinal bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Furbish. ] To rub up: to furbish. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Grubbed p. pr. & vb. n. Grubbing ] [ OE. grubbin., cf. E. grab, grope. ] 1. To dig in or under the ground, generally for an object that is difficult to reach or extricate; to be occupied in digging. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To drudge; to do menial work. Richardson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To dig; to dig up by the roots; to root out by digging; -- followed by up; as, to grub up trees, rushes, or sedge. [ 1913 Webster ]

They do not attempt to grub up the root of sin. Hare. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To supply with food. [ Slang ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) The larva of an insect, especially of a beetle; -- called also grubworm. See Illust. of Goldsmith beetle, under Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet your butterfly was a grub. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A short, thick man; a dwarf. [ Obs. ] Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Victuals; food. [ Slang ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Grub ax or
Grub axe, a kind of mattock used in grubbing up roots, etc. --
Grub breaker. Same as Grub hook (below). --
Grub hoe, a heavy hoe for grubbing. --
Grub hook, a plowlike implement for uprooting stumps, breaking roots, etc. --
Grub saw, a handsaw used for sawing marble. --
Grub Street, a street in London (now called Milton Street), described by Dr. Johnson as “much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet.” As an adjective, suitable to, or resembling the production of, Grub Street. [ 1913 Webster ] I 'd sooner ballads write, and grubstreet lays. Gap. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, grubs; especially, a machine or tool of the nature of a grub ax, grub hook, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ Freq. of grub, but cf. grabble. ] To feel or grope in the dark. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Grub. ] Dirty; unclean. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The grubby game of marbles. Lond. Sat. Rev. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any species of Cottus; a sculpin. [ Local, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) See Grub, n., 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

And gnats and grubworms crowded on his view. C. Smart. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Hydro-, 2 + bilirubin. ] (Physiol. Chem.) A body formed from bilirubin, identical with urobilin. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Caoutchouc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Indigo + L. ruber red. ] (Physiol. Chem.) Same as Urrhodin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Indigo + L. ruber red. ] (Chem.) A substance isomeric with, and resembling, indigo blue, and accompanying it as a side product, in its artificial production. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Contrary to the rubric; not rubrical. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L. ] (Bot.) A genus of bitter aromatic plants, sometimes used in medicine; hoarhound. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Prov. E. mull to squeeze, pull about, mulling numb or dull. ] 1. A griping of the intestines; colic. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose dog lies sick of the mulligrubs? Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, sullenness; the sulks. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. The caoutchouc obtained from the South American euphorbiaceous tree Hevea brasiliensis, hence called the Pará rubber tree, from the Brazilian river and seaport named Pará; also, the similar product of other species of Hevea. It is usually exported in flat round cakes, and is a chief variety of commercial India rubber. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rubbed p. pr. & vb. n. Rubbing. ] [ Probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. rhwbiaw, gael. rub. ] 1. To subject (a body) to the action of something moving over its surface with pressure and friction, especially to the action of something moving back and forth; as, to rub the flesh with the hand; to rub wood with sandpaper. [ 1913 Webster ]

It shall be expedient, after that body is cleaned, to rub the body with a coarse linen cloth. Sir T. Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause (a body) to move with pressure and friction along a surface; as, to rub the hand over the body. [ 1913 Webster ]

Two bones rubbed hard against one another. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To spread a substance thinly over; to smear. [ 1913 Webster ]

The smoothed plank, . . .
New rubbed with balm. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver. [ 1913 Webster ]

The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To hinder; to cross; to thwart. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is the duke's pleasure,
Whose disposition, all the world well knows,
Will not be rubbed nor stopped. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rub down. (a) To clean by rubbing; to comb or curry; as, to down a horse. (b) To reduce or remove by rubbing; as, to rub down the rough points. --
To rub off, to clean anything by rubbing; to separate by friction; as, to rub off rust. --
To rub out, to remove or separate by friction; to erase; to obliterate; as, to rub out a mark or letter; to rub out a stain. --
To rub up. (a) To burnish; to polish; to clean. (b) To excite; to awaken; to rouse to action; as, to rub up the memory. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods, as huntsmen; to rub through the world. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rub along or
on, to go on with difficulty; as, they manage, with strict economy, to rub along. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. W. rhwb. See Rub, v, t, ] 1. The act of rubbing; friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which rubs; that which tends to hinder or obstruct motion or progress; hindrance; obstruction, an impediment; especially, a difficulty or obstruction hard to overcome; a pinch. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every rub is smoothed on our way. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Upon this rub, the English ambassadors thought fit to demur. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

One knows not, certainly, what other rubs might have been ordained for us by a wise Providence. W. Besant. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inequality of surface, as of the ground in the game of bowls; unevenness. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Something grating to the feelings; sarcasm; joke; as, a hard rub. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Imperfection; failing; fault. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A chance. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Flight shall leave no Greek a rub. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A stone, commonly flat, used to sharpen cutting tools; a whetstone; -- called also rubstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rub iron, an iron guard on a wagon body, against which a wheel rubs when cramped too much. --
Rub of the green (Golf), anything happening to a ball in motion, such as its being deflected or stopped by any agency outside the match, or by the fore caddie. [ 1913 Webster + Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. The sound of a drum when continuously beaten; hence, a clamorous, repeated sound; a clatter. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rubadub of the abolition presses. D. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl.; sing. Rubai /sing>. [ Ar. rubā'iyāh quatrian, pl. of rubā'iy having four radicals, fr. rubā' four. ] Quatrians; as, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Sometimes in pl. construed as sing., a poem in such stanzas. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖a. [ It. ] Robbed; borrowed. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖
Temple rubato. [ It. ] (Mus.) Borrowed time; -- a term applied to a style of performance in which some tones are held longer than their legitimate time, while others are proportionally curtailed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Rubbish. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, rubs. Specifically: (a) An instrument or thing used in rubbing, polishing, or cleaning. (b) A coarse file, or the rough part of a file. (c) A whetstone; a rubstone. (d) An eraser, usually made of caoutchouc or a synthetic rubber[ 4 ]. (e) The cushion of an electrical machine. (f) One who performs massage, especially in a Turkish bath. (g) Something that chafes or annoys; hence, something that grates on the feelings; a sarcasm; a rub. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In some games, as bridge or whist, the odd game, as the third or the fifth, which decides the winner when there is a tie between the players; as, to play the rubber; also, a contest determined by the winning of two out of three games; as, to play a rubber of whist. Beaconsfield. “A rubber of cribbage.” Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. India rubber; caoutchouc; gum elastic; -- also called natural rubber. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

4. Any substance, whether natural or synthetic, resembling India rubber with respect to its elasticity[ 1 ]. [ PJC ]

5. A low-cut overshoe made of natural or synthetic rubber[ 4 ], serving to keep the feet and shoes dry when walking in the rain or on a wet surface; -- usually used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A condom. [ Slang ] [ PJC ]

Antimony rubber, an elastic durable variety of vulcanized caoutchouc of a red color. It contains antimony sulphide as an important constituent. --
Hard rubber, a kind of vulcanized caoutchouc which nearly resembles horn in texture, rigidity, etc. --
India rubber, caoutchouc. See Caoutchouc. --
Rubber cloth, cloth covered with caoutchouc for excluding water or moisture. --
Rubber dam (Dentistry), a shield of thin sheet rubber clasped around a tooth to exclude saliva from the tooth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A closed loop of rubber usually having a thin rectangular cross-section; also called elastic band; -- it varies in length from the circumference of a finger to several inches, and is usually used to hold several objects together temporarily, by the tension exerted when the band is stretched and fitted around the objects to be held; as, to hold a pack of cards together with a rubber band. [ PJC ]

v. t. To coat or impregnate with rubber or a rubber solution or preparation, as silk. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Rubbish. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. from Rub, v. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. robows, robeux, rubble, originally an Old French plural from an assumed dim. of robe, probably in the sense of trash; cf. It. robaccia trash, roba stuff, goods, wares, robe. Thus, etymologically rubbish is the pl. of rubble. See Robe, and cf. Rubble. ] Waste or rejected matter; anything worthless; valueless stuff; trash; especially, fragments of building materials or fallen buildings; ruins; débris. [ 1913 Webster ]

What rubbish and what offal! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

he saw the town's one half in rubbish lie. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rubbish pulley. See Gin block, under Gin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to rubbish; of the quality of rubbish; trashy. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From an assumed Old French dim. of robe See Rubbish. ] 1. Water-worn or rough broken stones; broken bricks, etc., used in coarse masonry, or to fill up between the facing courses of walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

Inside [ the wall ] there was rubble or mortar. Jowett (Thucyd.). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Rough stone as it comes from the quarry; also, a quarryman's term for the upper fragmentary and decomposed portion of a mass of stone; brash. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Geol.) A mass or stratum of fragments or rock lying under the alluvium, and derived from the neighboring rock. Lyell. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. pl. The whole of the bran of wheat before it is sorted into pollard, bran, etc. [ Prov. Eng. ] Simmonds. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coursed rubble, rubble masonry in which courses are formed by leveling off the work at certain heights. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Rubble, 1 and 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Masonry constructed of unsquared stones that are irregular in size and shape. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to, or containing, rubble. [ 1913 Webster ]