humming

adj, noun — 4 senses

humming

adj

/ˈhʌmɪŋ/

Etymology From hum + -ing.

1

Making a hum sound.

2

Archaic Of ale or beer: very strong.

But at night crowds of visitors called at his cot, / For he told a right marvellous tale; / Yet a stronger attraction by chance he had got, / A barrel of old humming ale.1889, John Bickerdyke, The Curiosities of Ale & Beer: An Entertaining History, page 13:

3

UK, Slang Very bad-smelling.

Derived terms: humming October, humming stone, humming-top, humming top

humming

noun

Etymology From Middle English hummynge, equivalent to hum + -ing.

1

The sound of something that hums; a hum.

There are some contemporary additions to these scattered fragments from Shakespeare. Mostly they are songs; sometimes they are various screechings and hummings[…]1969 December 8, New York Magazine, volume 2, number 49, page 70:

Synonyms: bombination, buzz, buzzing, drone, droning, hum, humming, thrum, thrumming, whirr, whirring, whizz, whizzing
Antonyms: snapping
Derived terms: hummingbird
Hypernyms: sound
Hyponyms: crooning, girn, purr, purring

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.