rubber English · revision 6501

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1536}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹʌbə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɹʌbɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[rub]] and the agent suffix [[-er]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hard brush or cloth used for rubbing: 1536 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1530s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person who rubs or massages is from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The elastic substance made from the latex of tropical plants is recorded from 1788, short for India rubber; it was so called because it was first used to rub out pencil marks, and earlier names were caoutchouc and catouchou.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It was introduced to Europe in 1744 by Charles Marie de La Condamine.^(Etymonline) An overshoe of rubber is American from 1842, and slang for a condom from the 1930s.^(Etymonline) The rubber band is from 1895, the ''rubber stamp'' from 1881, and the figurative rubber stamp, one who approves without question, later.^(Barnhart 1988) A ''rubber cheque'' that bounces is from 1927.^(Etymonline) In Britain a rubber is still an eraser.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1536 – a cloth or brush for rubbing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1788 – India rubber.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1842 – an overshoe.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – rubber stamp.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1895 – rubber band.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A tough elastic substance made from the [[latex]] of tropical plants, or a similar synthetic material.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' A piece of rubber used for removing pencil marks; an [[eraser]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US, slang)'' A [[condom]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''rubbers'' (US): waterproof overshoes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of rubber.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rubberless]]

+ * [[rubberlike]]

+ * [[nonrubber]]

+ * [[rubberize]]

+ * [[rubber-stamp]]

+ * [[rubbery]]

+ * [[butyl rubber]]

+ * [[cold rubber]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rub]]

+ * [[caoutchouc]]

+ * [[latex]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different rubber, a series of games, usually three, in bridge, whist or bowls, or the deciding game, is from the 1590s and of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}