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Thumb   /θəm/   Listen
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.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Thumb" Quotes from Famous Books



... out the lump of sugar between his thumb and finger, and shook it, Stephanie uttered the wild note again, and sprang quickly towards him; then she stopped short, there was a conflict between longing for the sweet morsel and instinctive fear of him; ...
— Farewell • Honore de Balzac
... my head when I chose you, Babet, and the soft place was in my heart!" replied Jean, heartily. The compliment was taken with a smile, as it deserved to be. "Look you, Babet, I would not give this pinch of snuff," said Jean, raising his thumb and two fingers holding a good dose of the pungent dust,—"I would not give this pinch of snuff for any young fellow who could be indifferent to the charms of such a pretty lass as ...
— The Golden Dog - Le Chien d'Or • William Kirby
... and I have imagined a man three hundred thousand miles high picking up a ball like the earth and looking at it and holding it in his hand. It would be about like a billiard-ball to him, and he would turn it over in his hand and rub it with his thumb, and where he rubbed over the mountain ranges he might say, 'There seems to be some slight roughness here, but I can't detect it with my eye; it seems perfectly smooth to look at.' The Himalayas to him, the highest peak, would be one-sixty-thousandth of his ...
— Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete - The Personal And Literary Life Of Samuel Langhorne Clemens • Albert Bigelow Paine
... all, Than black haws, in early Fall— Fruit so sweet the frost first sat, Dainty-toothed, and nibbled at! And will any poet sing Of a lusher, richer thing Than a ripe May-apple, rolled Like a pulpy lump of gold Under thumb and finger-tips, And poured molten through the lips? Go, ye bards of classic themes, Pipe your songs by classic streams! I would twang the redbird's wings In the ...
— Riley Child-Rhymes • James Whitcomb Riley
... time in breaking up bits of bark and casting them from his thumb nail. "Have you ever had any talk with her ...
— The Sagebrusher - A Story of the West • Emerson Hough


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