THUMB
What does "THUMB" mean?
The short, thick first digit of the human hand, set apart from the fingers.
Meanings
- The short, thick, opposable digit of the hand. He pricked his thumb on the needle.
- To turn pages or flip through with the thumb. She thumbed through the magazine.
- To request a ride by signaling with an outstretched thumb. They thumbed a lift to the coast. informal
Did you know?
- The 'b' in 'thumb' is a counterfeit - Old English 'thuma' had no 'b', and scribes only added it to match words like 'dumb' and 'limb'.
Word origin
From Old English 'þūma', from Proto-Germanic '*þūmô', from a root meaning 'swollen'; the silent 'b' was added later by analogy with words like 'dumb' and 'limb'.
Remember it
THUMB ends in a silent 'b', just like DUMB, NUMB, and CRUMB - the 'b' is there but stays quiet.
A little poem
Stubby, set apart-
the lone digit that can face
all the others down.
haiku
Wordplay
- Why does 'thumb' have a silent 'b'? Because it would feel numb without one.
What it teaches
The thumb works by standing opposed to the rest; sometimes the part that disagrees is what makes the whole hand useful.
Quick facts
What does THUMB mean?
The short, thick first digit of the human hand, set apart from the fingers.
Is THUMB a valid word?
Yes — THUMB is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is THUMB?
THUMB has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does THUMB come from?
From Old English 'þūma', from Proto-Germanic '*þūmô', from a root meaning 'swollen'; the silent 'b' was added later by analogy with words like 'dumb' and 'limb'.
What can THUMB teach us?
The thumb works by standing opposed to the rest; sometimes the part that disagrees is what makes the whole hand useful.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.