Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CUB, n.¹ [allied perhaps to Ir. caobh, a branch, a shoot. But the origin of the word is uncertain.]

1. The young of certain quadrupeds, as of the bear and the fox; a puppy; a whelp. Waller uses the word for the young of the whale.
2. A young boy or girl, in contempt. – Shak. Congreve.