Stub

Stub (?), n. [OE. stubbe, AS. stub, styb; akin to D. stobbe, LG. stubbe, Dan. stub, Sw. stubbe, Icel. stubbr, stubbi; cf. Gr. ?.] 1. The stump of a tree; that part of a tree or plant which remains fixed in the earth when the stem is cut down; -- applied especially to the stump of a small tree, or shrub.

Stubs sharp and hideous to behold.

And prickly stubs instead of trees are found.

2. A log; a block; a blockhead. [Obs.] Milton.

3. The short blunt part of anything after larger part has been broken off or used up; hence, anything short and thick; as, the stub of a pencil, candle, or cigar.

4. A part of a leaf in a check book, after a check is torn out, on which the number, amount, and destination of the check are usually recorded.

5. A pen with a short, blunt nib.

6. A stub nail; an old horseshoe nail; also, stub iron.

Stub end (Mach.), the enlarged end of a connecting rod, to which the strap is fastened. -- Stub iron, iron made from stub nails, or old horseshoe nails, -- used in making gun barrels. -- Stub mortise (Carp.), a mortise passing only partly through the timber in which it is formed. -- Stub nail, an old horseshoe nail; a nail broken off; also, a short, thick nail. -- Stub short, or Stub shot (Lumber Manuf.), the part of the end of a sawn log or plank which is beyond the place where the saw kerf ends, and which retains the plank in connection with the log, until it is split off. -- Stub twist, material for a gun barrel, made of a spirally welded ribbon of steel and stub iron combined.

Stub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stubbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stubbing.] 1. To grub up by the roots; to extirpate; as, to stub up edible roots.

What stubbing, plowing, digging, and harrowing is to a piece of land.

2. To remove stubs from; as, to stub land.

3. To strike as the toes, against a stub, stone, or other fixed object. [U. S.]