Etymologically
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tub

Etymology and origin of the English word tub

History Permalink
Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1384
Borrowed from
Middle Low German tubbe via Middle English

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tubbe, probably borrowed from Middle Low German tubbe or Middle Dutch tubbe,[2][3][4][5] of uncertain origin.[2][3] A connection with Old High German zubar (“vessel with two handles”) is phonetically improbable,[2] and it is considered unrelated to Latin tubus, the source of tube.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An open wooden vessel of staves and hoops: 1384 (tobbe) in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline, about 1386 in the OED.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

A washtub is from 1560,[2] and a bathtub from 1594, especially by 1776;[2][6][3] jocularly, a bath is from 1849.[3] Tale of a tub, a cock-and-bull story, is from the 1530s.[3] In 17th-century slang the tub was the pulpit, hence tub-preacher (1640s) and tub-thumper (1660s).[3][4] A slow, clumsy ship is from before 1618,[6] and a corpulent person from 1897.[6] The verb, to bathe in a tub, is from 1610, in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist.[2]

Timeline

  • 1384 – tobbe.[2]
  • 1530s – a tale of a tub.[3]
  • 1594 – a bathtub.[2][6]
  • 1610 – to tub (verb).[2]
  • 1660s – tub-thumper.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A wide open container, usually round, for washing, storing or packing.
  2. A small container for food such as ice cream or margarine.
  3. A bathtub, or a bath.
  4. (informal) A slow, clumsy boat.

Verb

  1. To wash or bathe in a tub; to pack in a tub.

Word family

  • tubbable
  • tubber
  • tubful
  • tublike
  • tubman
  • washtub
  • bathtub
  • tub-thump
  • tubby
  • tub-thumper

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • mud · also from Middle Low German
  • shelf · also from Middle Low German
  • brake · also from Middle Low German
  • utter · also from Middle Low German
  • wake · also from Middle Low German
  • trade · also from Middle Low German
  • deal · also from Middle Low German
  • smile · also from Middle Low German
Cite this entry

“Tub.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tub. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·