- a big, clumsy, stupid person; lout.
- an awkward or unskilled sailor; landlubber.
- clumsy; stupid; lubberly.
- to behave like a lubber, especially in the handling of a boat.
Origin of lubber
Examples from the Web for lubber
Wasn't there one Godforsaken lubber in the lot fit to raise a yell on a rope?The Shadow-Line
Port your helm, you lubber; don't you see where you're standing for?My New Curate
Caesar no understand den what um mean, but um say—‘What’s dat, you lubber?Hunting the Skipper
George Manville Fenn
The mate now complimented me by exclaiming, ‘Why, look at the lubber!’
Then he stared at me again, and cried: ‘Is that the lubber Hardy, of the Blackbird?’
- a big, awkward, or stupid person
- short for landlubber
Word Origin and History for lubber
mid-14c., "big, clumsy, stupid fellow who lives in idleness," from lobre, earlier lobi "lazy lout," probably of Scandinavian origin (cf. Swedish dialectal lubber "a plump, lazy fellow"). But OED suggests a possible connection with Old French lobeor "swindler, parasite," with sense altered by association with lob (n.) in the "bumpkin" sense. A sailors' word since 16c. (cf. landlubber), but earliest attested use is of lazy monks (cf. abbey-lubber). Cf. also lubberwort, the name of the mythical herb that produces laziness (1540s); and Lubberland "imaginary land of plenty without work" (1590s). Sometimes also Lubbard (1580s).
1520s, from lubber (n.). Related: Lubbered; lubbering.