- Steve was nubbed for missing an easy problem on the last test.
NUB
verb; zero derivation
To inflict pain and humiliation by shoving one's nub (the end of an incomplete or amputated arm) into the victim's sternum and pushing around with it. Presumed reason for coinage There was no word that accurately encompassed all of the points of the action being described; it was simply too weird. Therefore, a new word was created using a form already metaphorically shifted and a common mode of zero definition. The result was both concise, precise, and vivid. Notes NUB is monomorphemic. Originally, the root meant a knob or protuberance. The definition was then narrowed via metaphoric shift to mean the end of an incomplete arm. From there, zero derivation made it a verb meaning to use the object denoted by the noun in the most common context (within a certain community). This derivation parallels that of the words "penciled", "penned", and "tooled" (see entry below
Etymology : [zero derivation from a metaphorically shifted definition of the root NUB].
Source : My high school physics teacher is missing his right arm about two inches beyond his elbow. We called this tip, over which he had complete control and could move around, his NUB. To punish boys who misbehaved or were not doing as well as they should, the t
Last modified: 10 June 2008