/θʌm/, /t̪am(b)/
OriginDerived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe, from Old English þūma, from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō, from Proto-Germanic *þūmô from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”).
See also West Frisian tomme, Dutch duim, Low German Duum, German Daumen, Danish tomme, Swedish tumme; also
Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century.
- The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.
- The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
- Internet, colloquialA thumbnail picture.
- A top hatch plate for covering an excavator bucket, used to keep material in the digger bucket after scooping it up, and not letting it spill out.
- transitiveTo touch or cover with the thumb.
“to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon”
“News agencies reported Lavrov had been sent to hospital for a checkup, only for the Russian foreign ministry to rush out a picture of Lavrov in shorts, sporting an Apple watch and Jean-Michel Basquiat”
- transitiveTo turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
“thumb through”
“I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.”
“It is also disconcerting when you suddenly realise that the driver isn't steering, but may be thumbing over his Customs papers with his feet up.”
- To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.
“Oh, look! There’s a car coming! Thumb-no, wave. They probably don’t understand thumbing.”
- To hitchhike.
“So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.”
“Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained.”
“Thumbed a diesel down, outside a cafe.”
- To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.
“He gravely informed the enemy that all his cards had been thumbed to pieces, and begged them to let him have a few more packs.”
- To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
“Fargo palmed out his own revolver, thumbing back the hammer as the barrel came up.”
“Rainford reached down and found the revolver. Thumbing the cylinder open, he inspected the load.”
“Andy opened the revolver, thumbed in a cartridge.”
- To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.
“To thumb a single-action revolver, hold down the trigger and use the thumb on the same hand to fire the gun by manipulating the hammer.”
- informalThe eastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States (the "Mitten").
“Turnip Rock is located in a portion of eastern Michigan dubbed the Thumb, where 140 miles of coastline and waterfront towns offer a variety of outdoor activities, including biking, walking and kayakin”
Formsthumbs(plural) · thum(alternative, obsolete) · thume(alternative, obsolete) · thumbe(alternative, obsolete) · thumbs(present, singular, third-person) · thumbing(participle, present) · thumbed(participle, past) · thumbed(past) · the Thumb(canonical)