English Explanatory Dictionary

thumb

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. 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.
  2. The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
  3. A thumbnail picture.
  4. 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.
verb
  1. To touch or cover with the thumb.
  2. To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
  3. To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.
  4. To hitchhike.
  5. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.
  6. To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
  7. To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.
name
  1. The eastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States (the "Mitten").

Pronunciation

/ˈθʌm/ [ˈθʌ̈m] en-us-thumb.ogg /ˈt̪am(b)/

Word forms

thumb thumbs thum thume thumbe thumbing thumbed the Thumb

Etymology

Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”). Cognate with West Frisian tomme (“thumb”), Dutch duim (“thumb”), Low German Duum (“thumb”), German Daumen (“thumb”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tomme (“inch”), Norn tum (“thumb”), Swedish tumme (“thumb”), tum (“inch”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”). Also compare Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century. Doublet of tomb.

Synonyms

pollex digit I first digit thumby peruse flip through browse leaf page

Related words

fanning

Derived words

all fingers and thumbs all thumbs ball of the thumb bethumb bite one's thumb black thumb brown thumb butcher's thumb Chinese thumb cuff climb up one's thumb e-thumb fash one's thumb gamekeeper's thumb get the thumb green thumb hop-o'-my-thumb lady's thumb miller's thumb Mother Thumb and her four daughters Nintendo thumb opposable thumb pseudothumb rule of thumb skier's thumb sore thumb stand out like a sore thumb stick out like a sore thumb suck out of one's thumb tearthumb thimble thumbable thumb a lift thumb a ride thumb-a-war thumb blue thumbboard thumb drive thumber thumb fight thumbhole thumb index thumb-indexed thumbkin thumb knot thumbless thumblike thumbling thumbmark thumbmarked Thumb Master thumbnail thumbnut thumb on the scale thumb on the scales thumb-over thumbpad thumb piano thumbpick thumbpiece thumb position

Translations

Finnish: koskea peukalolla Finnish: peukaloida Russian: мусо́лить
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