different between bubby vs nubby

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from dialectal German Bübbi (“teat”) (perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German). Some older references connected the word to French poupe, but this is considered "very doubtful" by the OED. Compare Latin p?pa (“little girl”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?bubi/, /?b?bi/, /?b?bi/
• Rhymes: -?bi

Noun

bubby (plural bubbies)

1. (slang) A woman's breast.

   Synonym: bub

Derived terms

• booby

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:breasts

Descendants

• ? Spanish: bubi

Etymology 2

Perhaps from brother, as pronounced by young children who are not yet able to properly pronounce its complex consonants, but alternatively perhaps from Pennsylvania German; see bub. Compare sissy.

Pronunciation

Noun

bubby (plural bubbies)

1. (childish) Familiar term of address for a boy; bub; bubba.

Etymology 3

Variant spelling. (From Yiddish.)

Noun

bubby

1. Alternative spelling of bubbe (“grandmother”)

References

English

Etymology

nub +? -y. Compare knobby.

Adjective

nubby (comparative nubbier, superlative nubbiest)

1. Knobbly; covered with small knobs.
   • 2007, Marie Clayton, The Ultimate A to Z Companion to 1,001 Needlecraft Terms:

     noil A type of silk, sometimes incorrectly called raw silk, with a nubby feel and a low sheen.

2. Nub-like, resembling a small bump or protrusion; stubby.
   • 2010, John Leigh Walters, A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri, page 170:

     Now we are sitting in a circle and each is given a stenographer's pad, the kind with the spring spine, and a nubby pencil, a pencil of quarter size so it can't be used as a weapon [...]

Translations