rubber
noun
[ ˈrʌbə ]
• a tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical plant or synthetically.
• "heat and sunlight may cause rubber to deteriorate"
• a piece of rubber used for erasing pencil or ink marks.
• "a pencil with a rubber at the end"
• rubber boots; galoshes.
• a condom.
Origin:
mid 16th century: from the verb rub + -er1. The original sense was ‘an implement (such as a hard brush) used for rubbing and cleaning’. Because an early use of the elastic substance (previously known as caoutchouc) was to rub out pencil marks, rubber gained the sense ‘eraser’ in the late 18th century The sense was subsequently (mid 19th century) generalized to refer to the substance in any form or use, at first often differentiated as India rubber.
rubber
noun
• a contest consisting of a series of successive matches (typically three or five) between the same sides or people in cricket, tennis, and other games.
• "the opening rubber of Britain's Davis Cup tie against Argentina"
Origin:
late 16th century: of unknown origin; early use was as a term in bowls.
