thumbscrew

English

two thumbscrews

This thumbscrew is made to a DIN standard.

sense 2

Alternative forms

• thumb-screw, thumb screw

Etymology

Etymology tree

English thumb

Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ-der.?

Latin scrōfa

Old French escrouebor.

▲

Old French escruveinflu.

Middle English scrue

English screw

English thumbscrew

From thumb + screw.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθʌmskɹuː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

thumbscrew (plural thumbscrews)

2. A screw that is designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers, thus requiring no screwdriver or spanner (wrench).

   Coordinate terms: thumbwheel; wing nut; handwheel

   • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 77:

     Very interested, Dr Grimsby watched the saw follow the fine pencil line on the white pearwood as Peter dexterously twirled the veneers on the fretwork table, timing the movement of both hands precisely to put no strain on either the saw or the wood. Nor did he acknowledge their presence till he had finished a section of the pattern, gingerly released the saw from its upper thumbscrew, and drawn it out of the wood.

4. An instrument of torture used to crush the fingers.

   Synonym: pilliwinks

   • 1855, Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 430:

     To ensure good behavior, the slaveholder relies on the whip; […] to imbrute and destroy his manhood, he relies on the whip, the chain, the gag, the thumb-screw, the pillory, the bowie-knife, the pistol, and the blood-hound.

5. (figuratively) A weakness that can be taken advantage of.

   Law 33: Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew ― Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power

Translations

type of screw

• Bulgarian: крилчат винт m (krilčat vint)
• Finnish: sormiruuvi (fi)
• German: Rändelschraube f, Flügelschraube f
• Greek: χειρόβιδα (el) f (cheiróvida), χειροκοχλίας (el) f (cheirokochlías)
• Irish: scriú sciathánach m
• Persian: اشکلک شست
• Russian: бара́шек (ru) m (barášek)

torture instrument

• Catalan: aixafapolzes m
• Finnish: peukaloruuvi (fi)
• French: poucette (fr) f, grésillons (fr) m pl
• German: Daumenschraube f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: δακτυλήθρα f (daktulḗthra)

• Irish: bís ordóige f
• Italian: schiaccia pollici m
• Persian: اشکنک (eškanak), اشکلک (fa) (eškalak)
• Spanish: empulgueras f pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} მარწუხი (ka) (marc̣uxi)