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Thumb

//θʌm// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The eastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States (the "Mitten"). informal

    "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 kayaking."

Noun
  1. 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. 2
    a convex molding having a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or of an ellipse wordnet
  3. 3
    The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.

    "a scroll-bar thumb"

  4. 4
    the part of a glove that provides a covering for the thumb wordnet
  5. 5
    A thumbnail picture. Internet, colloquial
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb wordnet
  2. 7
    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. 1
    To touch or cover with the thumb. transitive

    "to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon"

  2. 2
    feel or handle with the fingers wordnet
  3. 3
    To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily. transitive

    "thumb through"

  4. 4
    travel by getting free rides from motorists wordnet
  5. 5
    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."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    look through a book or other written material wordnet
  2. 7
    To hitchhike.

    "So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown."

  3. 8
    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."

  4. 9
    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."

  5. 10
    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."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Derived 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.

Etymology 2

Derived 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.

Etymology 3

From its thumb-like shape.

See also for "thumb"

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