Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
STUB
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English stubb, from Old English stybb; akin to Old Norse stūfr stump, Greek stypos stem Date: before 12th century
1. stump 2, a short piece remaining on a stem or trunk where a branch has been lost, something made or worn to a short or blunt shape, a short blunt part left after a larger part has been broken off or used up , something cut short or stunted,
5. a small part of a leaf (as of a checkbook) attached to the spine for memoranda of the contents of the part torn away, the part of a ticket returned to the user,
II. transitive verb (stubbed; stubbing)
Date: 15th century
1. to grub up by the roots, to clear (land) by grubbing out rooted growth, to hew or cut down (a tree) close to the ground, to extinguish (as a cigarette) by crushing, to strike (one's foot or toe) against an object