thumb
verbEtymology
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”), Russian дюйм (djujm, “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.
7 senses
- 1To touch or cover with the thumb.
- 2To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
- 3To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.
- 4To hitchhike.
- 5To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil…
- 6To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to…
- 7To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling…
To touch or cover with the thumb.
- to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon
- News agencies reported Lavrov had been sent to hospital for a checkup, only for the Russian foreign ministry to rush out a picture of Lavrov in shorts, sporting an Apple watch and Jean-Michel Basquiat-inspired T-shirt, thumbing his notes for his first address at the summit on Tuesday.2022 November 15, Patrick Wintour, “Sergei Lavrov, a fixture of Russian diplomacy facing his toughest test in Ukraine”, in The Guardian:
With through To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
- thumb through
- I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.
1 more example
- It is also disconcerting when you suddenly realise that the driver isn't steering, but may be thumbing over his Customs papers with his feet up.1948 March and April, “Notes and News: Lines in County Donegal”, in Railway Magazine, page 129:
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.1977, Diana Wynne Jones, Charmed Life:
- So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.
- Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained.1969, Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster, Me and Bobby McGee:
1 more example
- Thumbed a diesel down, outside a cafe.1980, Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, Smoky Mountain Rain:
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.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
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.2009, Jon Sharp, The Trailsman #337: Silver Showdown:
- Rainford reached down and found the revolver. Thumbing the cylinder open, he inspected the load.2015, Tony Monchinski, Bad Men (I Kill Monsters Book 3):
1 more example
- Andy opened the revolver, thumbed in a cartridge.2015, Don Fitzsimmons, If You Need a Laugh:
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.2011, Hans-Christian Vortisch, GURPS Tactical Shooting, page 14:
- Derived terms
- thumb a lift, thumb a ride, thumb down, thumb one's nose, thumb through, well-thumbed
- Related terms
- fanning