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nub - 5 dictionary results

nub

[nuhb]
–noun
1. the point, gist, or heart of something.
2. a knob or protuberance.
3. a lump or small piece: a nub of coal; a nub of pencil.
4. a small mass of fibers produced on a card, dyed brilliant colors, and introduced into yarn during the spinning process.
Also, knub.


Origin:
1585–95; < LG, MLG knubbe; cf. knob
nub   (nŭb)   
n.  
  1. A protuberance or knob.
  2. A small lump.
  3. The essence; the core: the nub of a story.

[Variant of knub, probably from Low German knubbe, from Middle Low German, variant of knobbe.]
nub'by adj.

Nub

Nub\, v. t. [Cf. Knob.] To push; to nudge; also, to beckon. [Prov. Eng.]

Nub

Nub\, n. A jag, or snag; a knob; a protuberance; also, the point or gist, as of a story. [Colloq.]

nub 
1594, variant of dialectal knub, probably a variant of knob. Figurative meaning "point, gist" first recorded 1834.
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