English · Idiom Historical

rubbed out

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Dead,—a melancholy expression, of late frequently used in fashionable novels. RUBBED OUT is synonymous with WIPED OUT, which see.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Một biểu thức u buồn, được sử dụng thường xuyên trong các tiểu thuyết thời thượng gần đây

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “rubbed out” mean?

Dead,—a melancholy expression, of late frequently used in fashionable novels. RUBBED OUT is synonymous with WIPED OUT, which see.

Is “rubbed out” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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