thumb

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See also: -thumb and þumb

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe, from Old English þūma, from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (compare West Frisian tomme, Dutch duim, Low German Dumen, German Daumen, Danish tomme, Swedish tumme), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”) (compare Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (tūma, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”)). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θʌm/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌm

Noun

thumb (plural thumbs)

  1. The short thick 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.
  2. (computing) The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
  3. (colloquial, Internet) A thumbnail picture.
    • 2001, "Gary", Wanna See Porn? Take a Look At These (Free Expandable Thumbs) - CLICK HERE (on newsgroup alt.sex.services)

Synonyms

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from thumb (noun)

Template:rel-mid

Translations

Verb

thumb (third-person singular simple present thumbs, present participle thumbing, simple past and past participle thumbed)

  1. (transitive) To touch or cover with the thumb.
    to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon
  2. (transitive, with through) To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
    I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.
  3. (travel) To hitchhike
    So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.
  4. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.
    • (Can we date this quote by Macaulay and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      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.
  5. To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
    • 2009, Jon Sharp, The Trailsman #337: Silver Showdown
      Fargo palmed out his own revolver, thumbing back the hammer as the barrel came up.
    • 2015, Tony Monchinski, Bad Men (I Kill Monsters Book 3)
      Rainford reached down and found the revolver. Thumbing the cylinder open, he inspected the load.
    • 2015, Don Fitzsimmons, If You Need a Laugh
      Andy opened the revolver, thumbed in a cartridge.
  6. To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.
    • 2011, by Hans-Christian Vortisch, GURPS Tactical Shooting, pg 14
      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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from thumb (verb)

Template:rel-mid

  • (firing a single action revolver via hammer flicks while trigger is held down) fanning (using opposite hand instead of thumb)

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “thumb”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From *thon (“(finger)nail”) (modern thua). More at thua.

Noun

thumb m (plural thumba)

  1. stinger (of a bee)
  2. thorn, prick
  3. bell clapper, tongue (of bell)
  4. tack, thumbtack, shoe tack (spike)
  5. point of arrowhead, spiked tip of a goad or prod

Derived terms

Middle English

Alternative forms

Noun

thumb (plural thumbes)

  1. Alternative form of þombe (“thumb”)
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