“rubbed” is a form of
rub
/ɹʌb/ noun, verb
Forms rubs rubbing rubbed
- noun An act of rubbing. “Give that lamp a good rub and see if any genies come out.”
- noun A difficulty or problem.
- noun (archaic) A quip or sarcastic remark.
- noun In the game of crown green bowls, any obstacle by which a bowl is diverted from its normal course.
- noun Any substance designed to be applied by rubbing. “a heat rub intended for muscular strains”
- noun A mixture of spices applied to meat before it is barbecued.
- noun (UK, naval slang) A loan.
- verb (transitive) To move (one object) while maintaining contact with another object over some area, with pressure and friction. “I rubbed the cloth over the glass.”
- verb (intransitive) To be rubbed against something. “My shoes are beginning to rub.”
- verb (transitive) To spread a substance thinly over; to smear. “meat rubbed with spices before barbecuing”
- verb (dated) To move or pass with difficulty. “to rub through woods, as huntsmen”
- verb To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; often with up or over. “to rub up silver”
- verb To hinder; to cross; to thwart.
- verb (transitive, bowls) To touch the jack with the bowl.
- noun (biochemistry) Any of a group of proteins similar to ubiquitin
Synonyms
hitch hiccup catch kink glitch snag hang-up wipe fray fret chafe scratch itch
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English rubben, of unknown origin; possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rubbōną, related to *reufaną (“to tear”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian rubje (“to rub, scrape”), German Low German rubben (“to rub”), Low German rubblig (“rough, uneven”), Dutch robben, rubben (“to rub smooth; scrape; scrub”), Danish rubbe (“to rub, scrub”), Icelandic and Norwegian rubba (“to scrape”).
Compare typologically Latin fricō < friō < Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (whence also Russian брить (britʹ, “to shave”)).
Webster’s 1913
- verb 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.
- verb To move over the surface of (a body) with pressure and friction; to graze; to chafe; as, the boat rubs the ground.
- verb To move along the surface of a body with pressure; to grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost.
- verb To fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.
Etymology [Probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. rhwbiaw, gael. rub.]
Etymology [Cf. W. rhwb. See Rub, v,t,]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rub”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details