nublet

English

WOTD – 19 January 2025

Etymology 1

From nub (“small knob or lump”) +‎ -let (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnʌblɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnʌblət/
• Hyphenation: nub‧let

Noun

nublet (plural nublets)

1. A small nub or protrusion.

   Synonym: nubbin

   • 1808, chapter IV, in The Red Tyger; or, The Truth Will Out, London: […] B. Crosby and Co. […], by C. Stower, […], →OCLC, page 87:

     "I have a little nublet of a note for you," said he, producing a dirty bit of paper ill folded up, and fastened with a large mass of red sealing-wax.

   • 1861 December 5 (date delivered), Bishop of Labuan [Francis Thomas McDougall], “III.—On the Wild Tribes of the North-west Coast of Borneo.”, in Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, volume II (New Series), London: [F]or the Ethnological Society [of London], by John Murray, […], published 1863, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29:

     They […] have made some progress in the smelting of iron ore, which is very rich in this country. They construct a blast of bamboos, and by means of a lever work three or four of their cane cylinders at a time; with these they blow on the iron ore, which is broken up into "nubblets," or small pieces, and put them on a hearth until the fire renders it soft, not melted.

   • 1995, Carol Higgins Clark, chapter 54, in Iced (A Dove Book), New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, →ISBN, page 212:

     What I've been thinking about is that customer you told me about who brought in the pants with the green nublets on them.

   • 2010, Jean Edwards, chapter I, in Quiltmaster, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, part I, page 173:

     The fragrant white apple blossoms had long since faded and dropped, revealing green nubblets patiently growing day by day in anticipation of autumn's harvest.

   • 2011, Colin Baines, “Slaughter in the Woods”, in Harry Cocque: That's Reet Boy!: Ludicrous Tales of Dorset Village Life in the 1930s, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Matador, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN, page 77:

     I particularly enjoyed watching Fanny Muffet serving behind the bar in a blouse cut so low you could almost see her nublets.

   • 2013, Hannah Weyer, chapter 1, in On the Come Up […], New York, N.Y.: Nan A[hearn] Talese/Doubleday, →ISBN, page 15:

     AnnMarie's shirt had got ripped clear down the front, her ta-tas hanging out, even though they was just little nublets blowing in the wind. Teisha had covered her up but was laughing too, saying, Look how small you be.

Alternative forms

• nubblet

Translations

small nub or protrusion

• Finnish: nystyrä (fi)
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Etymology 2

From nub (“variant of noob”) +‎ -let (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnuːblɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnublət/
• Hyphenation: nub‧let

Noun

nublet (plural nublets)

1. (Internet slang, derogatory) Alternative spelling of nooblet (“an especially annoying or inexperienced noob (“newbie”)”)
   • 2006 March 8, Mo, “Neon Genesis Evangelion – wth?”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎^[1] (Usenet):

     And all you EVA nublets, watch the series, THEN talk.

   • 2007, Game Informer Magazine: For Video Game Enthusiasts, volume 17, Minneapolis, Minn.: Sunrise Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 81:

     And, now that we think about it, reanimating the husks of fallen Avatar walkers with engineers and using them to literally rip apart the enemy's tank brigade gets across the fact that your opponent is, in fact, a little "nublet" who needs to "l2p."

   • 2010 November 1, Harrison Dahme, “Game Reviews: StarCraft II: The Long Awaited Sequel”, in Ruichen Zhu, editor, The Howl: Woodsworth College’s Bi-weekly Student Newspaper‎^[2], volume III, number 5, Toronto, Ont.: Woodsworth College, archived from the original on 2016-04-01, page 8, column 1:

     When I was twelve, I spent endless hours in my basement blasting through hordes of nublets, perfecting my build order. Alas. Eight years, a high school diploma and most of undergrad later, I haven't changed a wink, and was eagerly anticipating the rebirth of arguably the best real time strategy game (RTS) of all time.

Anagrams

• unbelt