Thumbling
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A tiny, thumb-sized person; manikin
"There is a long list of such spirits, including dwarfs, elves, gnomes, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, thumblings (like Tom Thumb), and dactyli (which means fingers). As with the Menehune, the thumblings and the dactyl-fingers are masculine figures, and so are the ancient gnomes."
- 2 Anything small, comparable to the size of a human thumb
"Passing through the kitchen to the scullery, to which place she ordered us, I saw Deborah was very busy frying thumblings — small croquettes about the size of a big man's thumb — […]"
Example
More examples"There is a long list of such spirits, including dwarfs, elves, gnomes, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, thumblings (like Tom Thumb), and dactyli (which means fingers). As with the Menehune, the thumblings and the dactyl-fingers are masculine figures, and so are the ancient gnomes."
Etymology
From thumb + -ling. Compare Dutch duimeling, Middle Low German dûmelinc, dûmelink, German Däumling. Compare also Icelandic þumlungur (“thumb; inch”) (measurement).
Related phrases
More for "thumbling"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.