Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

The word grub is a hard-working member of the English lexicon. As a verb, grub means to scratch or dig in the soil. Grub is also another name for larva. Then there's the grubby that means meaning dirty and slovenly, and money-grubber, a sordid collector of wealth. And what of the slang term for a simple meal, grub?

The well-spring of this useful word is an ancient Germanic term meaning to dig about or scrape together. The notion of soil or dirt is embedded in every use of the term.

The grub meaning "larva," a word first recorded in the fifteenth century, was probably inspired by the notion of the creature digging and pushing its way through the soil.

The word grub that suggests food or a humble meal, surfacing in the English language in the seventeenth century, probably derives its meaning from the dietary preference that some birds have for larvae.

In ninteenth century England, a grub was a dirty little child, perhaps one who had besmutted himself by scratching and digging about in the dirt.

From this sense of the word we derive the adjective grubby, meaning grimy or filthy.

And of course, there's the moniker "money-grubber" suggesting someone greedy enough to scrape the soil looking for coins.

Radio Script > Grub