THUMB • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Thumb

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noun

Thumb n. The short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex. "Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring."

Thumb band, a twist of anything as thick as the thumb.

Thumb blue, indigo in the form of small balls or lumps, used by washerwomen to blue linen, and the like.

Thumb latch, a door latch having a lever formed to be pressed by the thumb.

Thumb mark.

(a)

The mark left by the impression of a thumb, as on the leaves of a book.

(b)

The dark spot over each foot in finely bred black and tan terriers.

Thumb nut, a nut for a screw, having wings to grasp between the thumb and fingers in turning it; also, a nut with a knurled rim for the same perpose.

Thumb ring, a ring worn on the thumb.

Thumb stall.

(a)

A kind of thimble or ferrule of iron, or leather, for protecting the thumb in making sails, and in other work.

(b)

(Mil.) A buckskin cushion worn on the thumb, and used to close the vent of a cannon while it is sponged, or loaded.

Under one's thumb, completely under one's power or influence; in a condition of subservience. (Colloq.)

verb

Thumb v. t. (past & past part. thumbed; pres. part. thumbing)

1.

To handle awkwardly.

2.

To play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune.

3.

To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon. "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."

Thumb v. i. To play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum.

See images of 'Thumb'

Etymology of 'Thumb'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Thumb" Quotes from Famous Books

... adventure; at which I laughed heartily, and then his countenance cleared up. 'My dear soul (said he) when I saw a sort of a wild baist, snarling with open mouth at the Master of the Ceremonies, like the red cow going to devour Tom Thumb, I could do no less than go to the assistance of the little man; but I never dreamt the baist was one of Mrs Bramble's attendants — O! if I had, he might have made his breakfast upon Derrick and welcome — But you know, my dear friend, how natural it is for us Irishmen to blunder, and to ...

— The Expedition of Humphry Clinker • Tobias Smollett

... courtyard, and descended the stairs through the hole in the floor of the cupola-covered stone platform. And there stood the lingam on its altar at the foot of the stairs, and there were the doors just as we had left them, looking as if they had been pressed into the molten stone by an enormous thumb. I thought we were going to be able to prove something of our ...

— Caves of Terror • Talbot Mundy

... nationality in Europe bristles with difficulties. It cannot be solved by theory and rule of thumb. What is a nation? Shall it be determined by speech, by blood, by geographical boundary, by historic tradition? The freedom and independence of a country can and ever should be assured when with one voice it demands the same. It is ...

— New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915 • Various

... to look trouble in the face, and he returned to his father not so thoroughly in the spirit of a specious gaiety. It did him good, though, to see the colonel's fingers close on the old pipe, with a motion of the thumb, indicating a resumed habit, caressing a smooth, warm boss. The colonel soberly but luxuriously lighted up, and they sat and puffed a while in silence. Jeffrey drew up a chair for his father's feet ...

— The Prisoner • Alice Brown

... hailed the other boats, and the detectives returned to the barge. A light thrown into the tiny cabin disclosed amid the disorder an open kit-bag full of linen. Green pulled out the top shirt and felt its texture between thumb and finger. Then he pointed to the name of a West-end maker ...

— The Grell Mystery • Frank Froest

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