grubs
幼虫
解説 Definition
甲虫などの昆虫の幼虫で、土の中に住む白くて太い虫。
Grubs are the young, soft-bodied form of some insects, especially beetles, before they become adults. They usually live in soil, wood, or plants and feed there. The word is most often used in biology, gardening, and farming contexts.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
grubs はまず単数形 grub を押さえる。語尾の -s が付いた複数形なので、「幼虫が何匹もいる場面」を思い浮かべると定着しやすい。園芸や芝生の話で soil, roots, beetles と一緒に出やすく、土の中で根を食べる白くて太い甲虫の幼虫、という像で覚える。grubby「薄汚い」と形が近く、土の中でもぞもぞして汚れた感じを連想すると記憶に残る。worm や caterpillar より、甲虫系の幼虫を指しやすい点にも注意。
First remember the singular form `grub`; `grubs` is just the plural. Think of gardening words like `soil`, `roots`, and `beetles`, because grubs are often talked about in that context. To fix it in memory, picture several thick white insect young living under the ground.
例文
The gardener found several grubs in the soil while planting the rose bushes.
庭師はバラを植えている最中に、土の中からいくつかの幼虫を見つけた。
Birds often dig through the lawn searching for grubs to eat.
鳥はよく芝生を掘り返して食べる幼虫を探す。
The beetle grubs had damaged the roots of the crops across the entire field.
甲虫の幼虫が畑全体の作物の根を傷めていた。
grubs の語源・成り立ち Etymology
grubs は grub の複数形で、語源は中英語 grubben「土を掘る、ほじる」にさかのぼるゲルマン系の語です。幼虫が土や木をもぐって食べ進む姿が名の由来で、grub や grubby にも「掘る・土まみれ」の感触が残っています。
Grubs is the plural of grub. Grub goes back to Middle English grubben, meaning "to dig" or "to burrow," from a Germanic source. The name seems to have been applied to larvae because they dig into soil or wood as they feed. Related words include grubby, which keeps the sense of dirt or earth.
外部辞書で調べる
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