thumb

Meaning

Noun

1. 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.
2. The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
3. (colloquial) A thumbnail picture.

Verb

1. To touch or cover with the thumb.
2. To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
3. 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.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/θʌm/

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.