Etymologically
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chubby

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈt͡ʃʌbi/[1]
  • US: /ˈt͡ʃɜbi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English chub + -y,[2][3][4][5][6] literally "like a chub", the short, thick river fish,[7][6][8] probably from the plump shape of the fish.[9][10][11] The fish name, chubbe (15th century), is of unknown origin.[7][11][2][12] Etymonline suggests influence from Old Norse kumba (“log”);[7] Skeat compared a Swedish dialect word, Swedish kubbug,[8] and the OED notes that he compared kubb (“block, log”), but that no known sound change connects these forms with the English word.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Short and thick, like a chub: 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, now obsolete, lasted until the late 19th century (1884 in the OED);[2][4] in 1633 the word was perhaps applied to lumpy ground.[2] The modern sense, round-faced and plump, is recorded from 1722, in the Daily Post,[2][3] and Merriam-Webster takes that year as its first date.[5] From 1836, in Dickens's Sketches by Boz, it was also applied to things,[2] and Merriam-Webster uses it of short, thick objects such as cigars or boats.[5] The noun chub itself was used from 1558 to 1745 for a lazy, dull fellow or a simpleton.[2][7] In East Anglian dialect chubby meant threatening, cross or surly, and in Gloucestershire it was a name for the hedge sparrow.[13] In slang a chubby has been a short, squat umbrella (1927), in the United States a mink coat (about 1951), and an erection (1998).[14]

Timeline

  • 1611 – short and thick, like a chub (obsolete by 1884).[2][3]
  • 1633 – perhaps of ground, lumpy.[2]
  • 1722 – round-faced, plump.[2][3][5]
  • 1836 – of things, in Dickens.[2]
  • 1850 – chubbiness, in Uncle Tom's Cabin.[3]
  • 1927 – slang noun, a short umbrella.[14]
  • c. 1951 – US slang, a mink coat.[14]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Plump and rounded, especially of a person or a part of the body: a chubby toddler with dimpled cheeks.[10][5][2]
  2. Of a thing: short, thick and rounded.[5][2]
  3. (obsolete, 1611–1884) Short and thick like a chub.[2][4]

Word family

  • chubbily
  • chubbiness
  • chub

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  14. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com