Grub Definition

Origin of Grub

• From hypothetical Old English root *grubbian, from Proto-Germanic *grubb- (compare Old High German grubilōn (“to dig, search”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”)), from Proto-Germanic *grub- (“to dig”). The noun sense of "larva" (c.1400) may derive from the notion of "digging insect" or from the possibly unrelated Middle English grub (“dwarfish fellow”). The slang sense of "food" is first recorded 1659, has been linked with birds eating grubs or with bub (“drink”)."

  From Wiktionary

• Middle English grubben from Old English grybban ghrebh-² in Indo-European roots

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