Shrub
/ʃrʌb/noun
A small woody plant with several stems arising from the base.
Did you know?English shrub is related to Old English scrubb, meaning brushwood or stunted growth, and shares an ancient Germanic root with words for scrubby, rough vegetation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skrub- / *skrubjaz
“rough, scrubby growth; brushwood”
Old English
OE
scrubb
“brushwood, stunted shrubs”
Middle English
ME
shrubbe
“a low woody plant; brush”
16th Century
English
shrub
“a woody plant smaller than a tree”
Modern English
English
shrub
“a small woody plant with several stems arising from the base”