thumb

English Online Dictionary. What means thumb‎? What does thumb mean?

English

Alternative forms

• thum, thume, thumbe (all obsolete)

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θʌm/
• Rhymes: -ʌm

Noun

thumb (plural thumbs)

2. 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.
3. (graphical user interface) The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.

4. (colloquial, Internet) A thumbnail picture.

Synonyms

• (digit): pollex, digit I, first digit (anatomy); thumby (colloquial)

Hypernyms

• (digit): digit, finger

Hyponyms

• (digit): opposable thumb

Derived terms

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.
2. (transitive, with through) To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.

   Synonyms: peruse (in one of its senses), flip through
3. (travel) To hitchhike
4. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.
5. To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
6. To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.

Synonyms

• (to turn pages): browse, leaf, page, peruse

Derived terms

Related terms

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

Translations

References

Albanian

Alternative forms

• thumbi, thump

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

• thumbull

Middle English

Alternative forms

• þumb

Noun

thumb (plural thumbes)

1. Alternative form of þombe (“thumb”)