tubby

tubby

English

Etymology

From tub +‎ -y. False cognate with chubby, even though they are often interchangeable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʌbi/

• Audio (AU)

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  Rhymes: -ʌbi

Adjective

tubby (comparative tubbier, superlative tubbiest)

1. stout, rotund
   • 1895, S. R. Crockett, A Cry Across the Black Water

     Grace bent to her oars with a springing verve and force which made the tubby little boat draw towards the shore, the whispering lapse of water gliding under its sides all the while.

   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     The clerk vanished, to be replaced a minute later by a tubby Indian with exhausted, visionary eyes.

2. Resembling a tub; sounding dull and without resonance or freedom of sound.

   a tubby violin

Derived terms

• tubbiness

Translations

stout, rotund

Bulgarian: дундест (bg) (dundest), тантурест (bg) (tanturest) Catalan: rabassut (ca) French: dodu (fr), rondelet (fr) German: moppelig, pummelig (de) Maori: kunekune, takapū, pukunati Polish: baryłkowaty (pl) Spanish: gordito

Noun

tubby (plural tubbies)

1. (derogatory, slang, often used teasingly) An overweight person.

Derived terms

• Teletubby