rubber

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rubber1

▶noun

• 1 a tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical tree or synthetically.

• 2 Brit. a piece of rubber used for erasing pencil marks.

• 3 N. Amer. informal a condom.

• 4 (rubbers) N. Amer. rubber boots; galoshes.

– derivatives
rubberiness noun,
rubberize (or rubberise) verb,
rubberoid adjective,
rubbery adjective.

– origin C16: from rub + -er1; an early use of the substance rubber was to rub out pencil marks.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rubber2

▶noun

• 1 a contest consisting of a series of matches between the same sides in cricket, tennis, and other games.

• 2 Bridge a unit of play in which one side scores bonus points for winning the best of three games.

– origin C16: of unknown origin; early use was as a term in bowls.