Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗To touch or cover with the thumb. · To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily. · To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride. · To hitchhike.
The shortest and thickest 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. · The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider. · A thumbnail picture. · A top hatch plate for covering an excavator bucket, used to keep material in the digger bucket after scooping it up, and not letting it spill out.
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.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Root classification mention*tewh₂-ine-pro
- Inherited-form mentionthombeenm
- Inherited-form mentionþūmaang
- Inherited-form mention*þūmōgmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*þūmôgem-pro
- Inherited-form mention*tūm-ine-pro
- Cognate mentiontommefy
- Cognate mentionduimnl
- Cognate mentionDuumnds
- Cognate mentionDaumende
- Cognate mentiontumnrn
- Cognate mentiontummesv
- Cognate mentionдюймru
- Cognate mentionτύμβοςgrc
- Cognate mentiontyfucy
- Cognate mentiontumērela
- Cognate mentiontumėtilt
- Cognate mention𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙ae
- Cognate mentionतुम्रsa
This page abbreviates 3 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.
{
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"1": "en",
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"3": "*tewh₂-"
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{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "thombe"
},
"expansion": "Middle English thombe"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "þūma",
"4": "",
"5": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "Old English þūma (“thumb”)"
},
{
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"5": "to grow"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "tomme",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian tomme (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "duim",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "Dutch duim (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds",
"2": "Duum",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "Low German Duum (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Daumen",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "German Daumen (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "tomme",
"3": "",
"4": "inch"
},
"expansion": "Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tomme (“inch”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nrn",
"2": "tum",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "Norn tum (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "tumme",
"3": "",
"4": "thumb"
},
"expansion": "Swedish tumme (“thumb”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ru",
"2": "дюйм",
"3": "",
"4": "inch"
},
"expansion": "Russian дюйм (djujm, “inch”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "grc",
"2": "τύμβος",
"3": "",
"4": "burial mound"
},
"expansion": "Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cy",
"2": "tyfu",
"3": "",
"4": "to grow"
},
"expansion": "Welsh tyfu (“to grow”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "tumēre",
"3": "",
"4": "to swell"
},
"expansion": "Latin tumēre (“to swell”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "lt",
"2": "tumėti",
"3": "",
"4": "to thicken, clot"
},
"expansion": "Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ae",
"2": "𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙",
"3": "",
"4": "strong"
},
"expansion": "Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sa",
"2": "तुम्र",
"3": "",
"4": "strong, thick",
"tr": "túmra"
},
"expansion": "Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”)"
},
{
"name": "pagename",
"args": {},
"expansion": "thumb"
},
{
"name": "pagename",
"args": {},
"expansion": "thumb"
},
{
"name": "EtymOnLine",
"args": {},
"expansion": "Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “thumb”, in Online Etymology Dictionary."
}
],
"links": [
[
"thombe",
"thombe#Middle_English"
],
[
"thoume",
"thoume#Middle_English"
],
[
"thoumbe",
"thoumbe#Middle_English"
],
[
"þūma",
"þuma#Old_English"
],
[
"*þūmō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þūmō"
],
[
"*þūmô",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þūmô"
],
[
"*tūm-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tūm-"
],
[
"tomme",
"tomme#West_Frisian"
],
[
"duim",
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],
[
"Duum",
"Duum#Low_German"
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[
"Daumen",
"Daumen#German"
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[
"Danish",
"tomme#Danish"
],
[
"Norwegian Bokmål",
"tomme#Norwegian_Bokmål"
],
[
"tomme",
"tomme#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
],
[
"tum",
"tum#Norn"
],
[
"tumme",
"tumme#Swedish"
],
[
"tum",
"tum#Swedish"
],
[
"дюйм",
"дюйм#Russian"
],
[
"τύμβος",
"τύμβος#Ancient_Greek"
],
[
"tyfu",
"tyfu#Welsh"
],
[
"tumēre",
"tumere#Latin"
],
[
"tumėti",
"tumėti#Lithuanian"
],
[
"𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙",
"𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙#Avestan"
],
[
"तुम्र",
"तुम्र#Sanskrit"
],
[
"‐b",
"‐b"
],
[
"tomb",
"tomb#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To touch or cover with the thumb.",
"To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.",
"To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.",
"To hitchhike."
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"The shortest and thickest 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.",
"The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.",
"A thumbnail picture.",
"A top hatch plate for covering an excavator bucket, used to keep material in the digger bucket after scooping it up, and not letting it spill out."
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