Hum

A hum is a sound made by singing a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a melody. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds. It keeps the volume at a low level, so humming is rarely used in musical productions, with some exceptions such as scat singing and vocables. Humming is sometimes used to keep the melody when the singer does not know the lyrics.

A hum has a particular timbre (or sound quality), usually a monotone or with slightly varying tones. There are other similar sounds not produced by human singing that are also called hums, such as a sound produced by machinery in operation or by an insect in flight. The hummingbird was named for the sound that bird makes in flight.

Meaning

Prior to the 18th century, humming was used in England as a form of applause^{[citation needed]}. Whole crowds would hum to show their approval of a public statement, a sermon, or a piece of news. Humming can also be attributed to being bored. The person who is bored makes an ostentatious show of humming to indicate their impatience. Humming might also be a sign of being in an uncomfortable situation in which, out of nervousness, a person starts humming.Humming can also be used to show feelings of emptyness.

See also

Look up hum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Hum - an apparently widespread phenomenon involving a low-frequency hum of unknown origin, inaudible to most people
• Mains hum - an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon that causes a low frequency (50 or 60 Hz) audible signal.