Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗To make a sound from the vocal cords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed. · To express by humming. · To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly. · To buzz, be busily active like a beehive.
Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c. · Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c.
A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed. · An often indistinct sound resembling human humming. · Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive. · Unpleasant odour.
From Middle English hummen (“to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment”); akin to Dutch hommelen (“to bumble, buzz”), dialectal Dutch hommen (“to buzz, hum”), Middle High German hummen (“to hum”), probably ultimately of imitative origin.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "hummen",
"t": "to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment"
},
"expansion": "Middle English hummen (“to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "hommelen",
"t": "to bumble, buzz"
},
"expansion": "Dutch hommelen (“to bumble, buzz”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "hommen",
"t": "to buzz, hum"
},
"expansion": "Dutch hommen (“to buzz, hum”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "gmh",
"2": "hummen",
"t": "to hum"
},
"expansion": "Middle High German hummen (“to hum”)"
},
{
"name": "onomatopoeic",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"title": "imitative"
},
"expansion": "imitative"
}
],
"links": [
[
"hummen",
"hummen#Middle_English"
],
[
"hommelen",
"hommelen#Dutch"
],
[
"hommen",
"hommen#Dutch"
],
[
"hummen",
"hummen#Middle_High_German"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To make a sound from the vocal cords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed.",
"To express by humming.",
"To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly.",
"To buzz, be busily active like a beehive."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive",
"transitive"
],
"recordId": "3843526601c6d80ac1ac4fd1a3f9daec088e635f8863e0769379a0bc02c5e336",
"rawRecordSha256": "5092162d49cb21335f039a7121f67c0169f28105a2cce84f184e6406730761c3",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 254265
},
{
"pos": "intj",
"glosses": [
"Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c.",
"Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c."
],
"tags": [],
"recordId": "4008ff1d9a6b1d4d995c1e1b2ddc0d837b27e5b576f159d78315540738c8aa5e",
"rawRecordSha256": "e7f1715ee1dbe7fb8048702f580b18be18683c9093f29bdd92eae9a7d8fcd1c6",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 254266
},
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.",
"An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.",
"Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.",
"Unpleasant odour."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"slang"
],
"recordId": "9566f6c7637732d18cb635db98994a01626b211f4caacd9a1f4523f497a08245",
"rawRecordSha256": "79ce381a911253fc187a7bf7ec308117ec175dfa8bebebf4dc476e4b374ad3d8",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 254264
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 6,
"glosses": 0
}
}