Drub Definition

drŭb

drubbed, drubbing, drubs

verb

drubbed, drubbing, drubs

To drum or tap.

Webster's New World

To beat as with a stick or club; cudgel; thrash.

Webster's New World

To instill forcefully.

Drubbed the lesson into my head.

American Heritage

To defeat soundly in a fight, contest, etc.

Webster's New World

To berate harshly.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

noun

A blow as with a club; thump.

Webster's New World

Origin of Drub

1625, originally a dialectal word (Kent) drab, variant of drop, dryp, drib (“to beat”), from Middle English drepen (preterit drop, drap, drape (“to strike, kill”)) from Old English drepan (“to strike”), from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to beat, bump, strike, slay”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhrebh- (“to strike, crush, kill”). Akin to Old Frisian drop (“a blow, beat”), Old High German treffan (“to hit”), Old Norse drepa (“to strike, slay, kill”). Compare also dub. More at drape.

From Wiktionary
Perhaps Arabic dialectal ḍrab from ḍaraba to hit ṣ́rb in Semitic roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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