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thumb

 
Dictionary: thumb   (thŭm) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
    1. The short thick digit of the human hand, next to the index finger and opposable to each of the other four digits.
    2. A corresponding digit in other animals, especially primates. Also called pollex.
  2. The part of a glove or mitten that covers the thumb.
  3. Architecture. An ovolo.

v., thumbed, thumb·ing, thumbs.

v.tr.
  1. To scan (written matter) by turning over pages with or as if with the thumb.
  2. To disarrange, soil, or wear by careless or frequent handling.
  3. Informal. To solicit (a ride) from a passing vehicle by signaling with the thumb.
v.intr.
  1. To scan written matter by turning over pages with or as if with the thumb: thumbed through the latest issue of the magazine.
  2. Informal. To hitchhike.
idioms:

all thumbs

  1. Lacking physical coordination, skill, or grace; clumsy.
thumb (one's) nose
  1. To express scorn or ridicule by or as if by placing the thumb on the nose and wiggling the fingers.
thumbs down
  1. An expression of rejection, refusal, or disapproval.
thumbs up
  1. An expression of approval, success, or hope.
under (one's) thumb
  1. Under the control of someone; subordinate to.

[Middle English, from Old English thūma.]


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Thesaurus: thumb
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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Thesaurus

verb

    To look through reading matter casually. browse, dip into, flip through, glance at (or over) (or through), leaf (through), riffle (through), run through, scan, skim. See investigate, words.

Hacker Slang: thumb
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Home > Library > Technology > Hacker Slang

The slider on a window-system scrollbar. So called because moving it allows you to browse through the contents of a text window in a way analogous to thumbing through a book.

English Folklore: thumbs
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Home > Library > Literature & Language > English Folklore

A surprising number of gestures and practices of past times involved the thumb. The folding of the thumb into the palm of the hand, with the other fingers closed over it, was believed to be a protection against witches, or general evil:

Some years ago, children in Northumberland were taught to double the thumb within the hand as a preservative from danger, and especially to repel sorcery. It was the custom also to fold the thumbs of dead persons within the hand for the same purpose …'. (W. Hutchinson, View of Northumberland (1778), quoted in Lean, 1903: ii. 456)


Opie and Tatem give a number of references to this action, commencing with one dated c.1350 and running up through the 19th century, although on the strength of the available information it would seem to have been a mainly north country or Scottish practice. The idea that a part of the body itching signifies a future event is well attested in English lore, and this combined with the protective thumb in the hand presumably explains Shakespeare's lines ‘By the pricking of my thumbes, Something wicked this way comes’ (Macbeth iv. i). Nineteenth- and 20th-century references to holding or squeezing thumbs are more akin in meaning to the modern crossing fingers for luck.

Another Shakespeare quotation, ‘I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it’ (Romeo and Juliet, i. i) indicates another gesture, meaning a challenge or insult, which is well attested in Britain from the 16th to 18th centuries. Morris equates this with the ‘teeth flick’ gesture current in many parts of Europe.

The thumbs-up gesture, to signify assent or ‘OK’ is so well accepted that few English people would even question its meaning. The popular, but incorrect, explanation is that it dates from Roman times, when the crowd would signify the fate of a vanquished gladiator by thumbs up or down. What they did in that context was either hide theirthumbs in their hand, or extend them, although there are other Latin sources which speak of other thumb gestures. In the absence of the spurious antiquity given the gesture by the Roman connection, all we can be sure of is that it existed in England in the mid-17th century, as the earliest reasonably unambiguous reference to ‘thumbs up’ in England is found in John Bulwer's Chirologia (1644) ‘To hold up the thumbe is the gesture … of one shewing his assent or approbation. To hold up both thumbs, is an expression imparting a transcendency of praise’ (quoted in Morris, 1979: 191). Another thumb gesture may hold the key to further elucidation. In previous times, a regular method for two people to seal a bargain was for them to wet their thumbs and press them together—summed up by the phrase ‘Here's my thumb on it’. This certainly signifies agreement, and Hazlitt (1905: 586-7) provides a reference to the custom in a letter in the Close Rolls of King John, dated 1208, and it continues to be reported until at least the late 19th century, although again most of the references are Scottish.

The raised thumb could also be a form of greeting: ‘It is still the custom—or was fifty years ago in the North of England—for coachmen whose hands are occupied driving to salute a comrade by raising the thumb’ (N&Q 160 (1931), 393).

Other thumb lore includes the 17th- and 18th- century custom of widows signifying their status by wearing a thumb-ring (Hazlitt, 1905: 586-7), and in the post-Second World War period, the erect thumb has also become the international sign of the hitch-hiker, although in some parts of southern Europe it is considered an obscene gesture (see Morris, 1979).

See also FINGERS.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

  • Opie and Tatem, 1989: 404
  • Morris, 1979: 186-204
  • Hazlitt, 1905: 586-7
  • Chambers, 1878: i. 358-60
  • N&Q 160 (1931), 190-1, 231, 286, 393
Science Dictionary: opposable thumb
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Home > Library > Science > Science Dictionary

A thumb that can be used for grasping.

  • Opposable thumbs are one of the distinguishing features of primates.
  • The opposable thumb of human beings allows us to use tools.

    • Word Tutor: thumb
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    Home > Library > Literature & Language > Spelling & Usage
    pronunciation

    IN BRIEF: The short, thick finger nearest the wrist.

    pronunciation At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer. — Marshall Lumsden

    Wikipedia: Thumb
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    Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
    For other uses, see Thumb (disambiguation).
    The Thumb
    Thumb-up.jpg
    The "thumbs up" gesture is a sign of approval in some cultures, but an obscene gesture in others.[1]
    Latin pollex, digitus primus, digitus I
    Artery princeps pollicis artery
    Lymph infraclavicular lymph nodes[2]
    MeSH Thumb
    Fingers
    Hand.svg
    Thumb · Index · Middle · Ring · Little

    The thumb when a person is standing in the medical anatomical position is the lateral-most digit of the hand. The Medical Latin English adjective for thumb is pollical.

    Contents

    Anatomy

    Bones

    The thumb consists of three bones:

    Name Location Nerve
    extensor pollicis longus forearm posterior interosseous nerve
    abductor pollicis longus forearm posterior interosseous nerve
    flexor pollicis longus forearm anterior interosseous nerve
    extensor pollicis brevis forearm posterior interosseous nerve
    abductor pollicis brevis hand median nerve
    flexor pollicis brevis hand median nerve
    opponens pollicis hand median nerve
    adductor pollicis hand ulnar nerve (deep branch)

    The extensor pollicis longus tendon and extensor pollicis brevis tendon form what is known as the anatomical snuff box (an indentation on the lateral aspect of the thumb at its base) The radial artery can be palpated anteriorly at the wrist(not in the snuffbox) In the hand, the abductor pollicis brevis, adductor pollicis, flexor pollicis brevis, and opponens pollicis form the thenar eminence.

    Opposable thumbs

    An animal species is said to have opposable thumbs if the thumb is capable of bending in such a way that it can touch all the other digits on the hand. Most species do not have opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs are a signature feature of the primate family, and played a large role in the ancient humans inventing and using tools.

    Hitchhiker's thumb

    Hitchhiker's thumbs

    A recessive congenital condition known as "hitchhiker's thumb" exists, if the thumb, when extended (as in a "thumbs-up") can extend backwards toward the nail and outwards. People who do not have this condition are able to extend the thumb straight out with little backward bending. Neither condition appears to have any ill-effect on the thumb's function[citation needed]. While most people have either "hitchhiker's thumb" on both thumbs or neither, in some people the condition only presents itself on one thumb.

    As one of five digits, and as companion to four fingers

    The English word "finger" has two senses, even in the context of appendages of a single typical human hand:

    1. The four digits, not including the thumb.
    2. Any of the five digits.

    Linguistically, it appears that the original sense was the broader of these two: penkwe-ros (also rendered as penqrós) was, in the inferred Proto-Indo-European language, a suffixed form of penkwe (or penqe), which has given rise to many Indo-European-family words (tens of them defined in English dictionaries) that involve or flow from concepts of fiveness.

    The thumb shares the following with each of the (other) four fingers:

    • Having a skeleton of phalanges, joined by hinge-like joints that provide flexion toward the palm of the hand
    • Having a "back" surface that features hair and a nail, and a hairless palm-of-the-hand side with fingerprint ridges instead

    The thumb contrasts with each of the (other) four by being the only finger that:

    • Is opposable
    • Has two phalanges rather than three
    • Has greater breadth in the distal phalanx than in the proximal phalanx
    • Is attached to such a mobile metacarpus (which produces most of the opposability)

    Grips

    Typical interdigital grips include the tips of thumb and second finger (forefinger/index finger) holding a pill or other small item, or thumb and sides of second and third fingers holding a pen or pencil.

    Origin of the human thumb

    Opposable thumbs are shared by many primates, including most simians, and some prosimians. Darwinius masillae, a transitional form between simians and prosimians, living about 47 million years ago, had opposable thumbs, providing a "precision grip" useful for climbing and gathering fruit.[3]

    The evolution of the fully opposable or prehensile thumb is usually associated with Homo habilis, the forerunner of Homo sapiens.[4][5][6] This, however, is the suggested result of evolution from Homo erectus (around 1 mya) via a series of intermediate anthropoid stages, and is therefore a much more complicated link.

    The most important factors leading to the habile hand (and its thumb) are:

    • The freeing of the hands from their walking requirements—still so crucial for apes today, as they have hands for feet, which in its turn was one of the consequences of the gradual pithecanthropoid and anthropoid adoption of the erect bipedal walking gait
    • The simultaneous development of a larger anthropoid brain in the later stages

    It is possible, though, that a more likely scenario may be that the specialized precision gripping hand (equipped with opposable thumb) of Homo habilis preceded walking, with the specialized adaptation of the spine, pelvis, and lower extremities preceding a more advanced hand. And, it is logical that a conservative, highly functional adaptation be followed by a series of more complex ones that complement it. With Homo habilis, an advanced grasping-capable hand was accompanied by facultative bipedalism, possibly implying, assuming a co-opted evolutionary relationship exists, that the latter resulted from the former as obligate bipedalism was yet to follow.[7] Walking may have been a byproduct of busy hands and not vice versa.

    HACNS1 (also known as Human Accelerated Region 2) is a gene enhancer "that may have contributed to the evolution of the uniquely opposable human thumb, and possibly also modifications in the ankle or foot that allow humans to walk on two legs". Evidence to date shows that of the 110,000 gene enhancer sequences identified in the human genome, HACNS1 has undergone the most change during the evolution of humans following the split with the ancestors of chimpanzees.[8]

    Importance

    The opposable thumb has helped the human species develop more accurate fine motor skills. It is also thought to have directly led to the development of tools, not just in humans or their evolutionary ancestors, but other primates as well. The opposable thumb ensured that important human functions such as writing were possible.[9][10] The thumb, in conjunction with the other fingers, makes human hands and those of other species with similar hands some of the most dexterous in the world.[11]

    Other animals with opposable thumbs

    Many animals also have some kind of opposable thumb or toe.

    Opposable thumb on rear foot of an opossum

    Most birds have at least one opposable digit on the foot, in various configurations, but these are seldom called "thumbs".

    References

    1. ^ Desmond Morris, Peter Collett, Peter Marsh and Marie O'Shaughnessy, 1979 Gestures: Their Origin and Meanings - The Thumb Up Webified by Bernd Wechner
    2. ^ clinicalconsiderations at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
    3. ^ Early Primate Provides Evolution Clues, a May 19, 2009 article from ABC News
    4. ^ http://www.reference-wordsmith.com/cgi-bin/lookup.cgi?category=&where=headword&terms=Homo
    5. ^ The Evolution of the Human Species (from Evolutionary Theory Conference Summary), Esalen Center for Theory & Research
    6. ^ The NEXUS: Technology Timeline - Hominids
    7. ^ W E H Harcourt-Smith and L C Aiello feet and the evolution of human bipedal locomotion. J Anat. 2004 May, accessed 2007 November
    8. ^ HACNS1: Gene enhancer in evolution of human opposable thumb
    9. ^ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/01/g68/lonsdorf.html Lesson Plans - Chimps, Humans, Thumbs, and Tools]National Geographic, 2006, accessed April 26, 2007
    10. ^ Damonte, Kathleen Thumbs Are Handy DigitsNational Science Teachers Association: Science & Children: The Elementary Science Classroom. February 2004, accessed April 26, 2007
    11. ^ Chaisson, Eric J. Cosmic Evolution - Epoch 6 - Biological Evolution. Tufts University. 2007, accessed April 26, 2007
    v • d • e
    Human anatomy (TA A01.1)
    Head

    Forehead · Ear · Jaw · Face (Cheek, Eye, Nose, Mouth, Chin) · Occiput · Scalp · Temple

    		 Human body features-en.svg
    Neck
    Torso
    Limbs

    Shoulder · Axilla · Arm

    Elbow · Forearm

    Wrist · Hand · Finger (Thumb · Index · Middle · Ring · Little)
    Lower limb/
    (see also leg)
    Hip · Buttocks · Thigh

    Knee · Calf · Crus

    Ankle · Heel · Foot · Toe (Hallux · Fifth) · Sole
    Skin

    This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

    Translations: Thumb
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    Home > Library > Literature & Language > Translations

    Dansk (Danish)
    n. - tommelfinger
    v. tr. - fingerere ved, lave fingermærker i
    v. intr. - skimme, tomle

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    fummelfingret, have ti tommelfingre
    • thumb a ride    køre på tommelfingeren, blaffe
    • thumb through    bladre gennem
    • thumbs down    tommelen nedad
    • thumbs up    tommelen op
    • under someone's thumb    i nogens magt
    • well thumbed    bære præg af flittig gennembladring

    Nederlands (Dutch)
    duim, liften bij iemand onder de plak zitten

    Français (French)
    n. - pouce
    v. tr. - feuilleter, faire de l'auto-stop
    v. intr. - indiquer qch du pouce

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    (être) très maladroit
    • thumb a ride    faire de l'auto-stop
    • thumb through    feuilleter, parcourir
    • thumbs down    signal, signe de (faire qch), (fig) rejet (idée), accueil peu enthousiaste (d'une nouvelle expérience)
    • thumbs up    approbation, signal/signe
    • under someone's thumb    sous la domination d'une personne
    • well thumbed    lu et relu (livre)

    Deutsch (German)
    n. - Daumen
    v. - per Anhalter fahren, trampen, durchblättern, abgreifen

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    ungeschickt
    • thumb a ride    per Anhalter fahren, trampen
    • thumb through    durchblättern
    • thumbs down    Ablehnung
    • thumbs up    Zustimmung
    • under someone's thumb    unter jmds. Fuchtel
    • well thumbed    zerlesen

    Ελληνική (Greek)
    n. - (ανατ.) αντίχειρας
    v. - φυλλομετρώ, τσακίζω (τη σελίδα βιβλίου), (καθομ.) κάνω οτοστόπ

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    είμαι αδέξιος
    • thumb a ride    κάνω οτοστόπ
    • thumb through    ξεφυλλίζω ή φυλλομετρώ βιβλίο
    • thumbs down    χειρονομία απόρριψης ή καταδίκης
    • thumbs up    χειρονομία έγκρισης ή απαλλαγής
    • under someone's thumb    υποταγμένος σε κάποιον
    • well thumbed    (βιβλίο) πολυξεφυλλισμένο

    Italiano (Italian)
    chiedere un passaggio, sfogliare, pollice

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    goffo
    • sticks/stands out like a sore thumb    salta subito agli occhi, si nota
    • thumb a ride    fare l'autostop, farsi dare un passaggio
    • thumb through    sfogliare
    • thumbs down    disapprovazione
    • thumbs up    evviva!, approvazione
    • under someone's thumb    sotto il controllo di

    Português (Portuguese)
    n. - polegar (m)
    v. - dedilhar, manusear

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    desajeitado, desastrado
    • sticks/stands out like a sore thumb    destoar
    • thumb a ride    pedir carona
    • thumb through    folhear com o polegar
    • thumbs down    gesto de desaprovação
    • thumbs up    exclamação de satisfação, gesto de aprovação
    • under someone's thumb    debaixo da pressão de alguém
    • well thumbed    muito manuseado

    Русский (Russian)
    перелистывать, большой палец (руки), большой палец (перчатки), мера длинны = 1 дюйм, просить подвозить

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    неуклюжий
    • sticks/stands out like a sore thumb    бросаться в глаза, колоть глаза, оскорблять взор
    • thumb a ride    стоять на дороге и просить у водителей подвезти куда-нибудь по пути
    • thumb through    перелистать книгу
    • thumbs down    знак неодобрения чего-л.
    • thumbs up    знак одобрения чего-л. "ладно! давай!"
    • under someone's thumb    быть всецело под чьим-то влиянием
    • well thumbed    замусоленный (о книге)

    Español (Spanish)
    n. - dedo pulgar
    v. tr. - hacer autostop, hacer dedo, hojear (con el pulgar), manejar, tocar, ejecutar torpemente, manosear
    v. intr. - hacer autostop, hacer dedo

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    torpe
    • thumb a ride    hacer autostop, hacer dedo, pedir aventón
    • thumb through    hojear
    • thumbs down    estar en contra de, desaprobar
    • thumbs up    ¡buena suerte!
    • under someone's thumb    estar dominado por alguien
    • well thumbed    muy usado, bien sobado

    Svenska (Swedish)
    n. - tumme
    v. - tumma på, använda flitigt, bläddra igenom

    中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
    拇指, 第一指, 一拇指的宽度, 用拇指翻动, 竖起拇指要求搭便车, 笨拙地摆弄, 靠搭便车旅行, 用拇指翻书, 迅速翻阅

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    笨手笨脚
    • thumb a ride    竖起拇指要求免费搭车, 搭便车
    • thumb through    翻查
    • thumbs down    反对, 责备
    • thumbs up    翘拇指, 准许, 赞成
    • under someone's thumb    在某人支配下
    • well thumbed    经常被翻阅的

    中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
    n. - 拇指, 第一指, 一拇指的寬度
    v. tr. - 用拇指翻動, 豎起拇指要求搭便車, 笨拙地擺弄, 靠搭便車旅行
    v. intr. - 用拇指翻書, 豎起拇指要求搭便車, 迅速翻閱

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    笨手笨腳
    • thumb a ride    豎起拇指要求免費搭車, 搭便車
    • thumb through    翻查
    • thumbs down    反對, 責備
    • thumbs up    翹拇指, 准許, 贊成
    • under someone's thumb    在某人支配下
    • well thumbed    經常被翻閱的

    한국어 (Korean)
    n. - 엄지손가락, 마리화나 담배, 엄지 손가락
    v. tr. - 엄지손가락으로 넘기다, 훑어보다, 서투르게 연주하다
    v. intr. - 엄지손가락으로 책장을 넘기며 읽다, 편승을 부탁하다, 히치하이크 하다

    idioms:

    • thumb through    급히 훑어보다
    • thumbs down    못쓰겠어, 돼먹지를 않았어!
    • under someone's thumb    ~의 손아귀에 쥐여서, ~이 시키는 대로
    • well thumbed    훌륭한 연주

    日本語 (Japanese)
    n. - 親指
    v. - 親指でめくる, ヒッチハイクする, 頼む, ページをめくる

    idioms:

    • all thumbs    ぎこちない不器用な
    • thumb a ride    ヒッチハイクする
    • thumb one's nose at    あざける
    • thumb through    急いで目を通す
    • thumbs down    拒否の合図
    • thumbs up    賛意の合図

    العربيه (Arabic)
    ‏(الاسم) أبهام اليد (فعل) يقلب الصفحات بأبهامه تحت سلطه فلان أو نفوذه‏

    עברית (Hebrew)
    n. - ‮אגודל, בוהן‬
    v. tr. - ‮ביקש טרמפ, קיבל הסעה‬
    v. intr. - ‮דיפדף באגודל, הפך דפים, ליכלך באגודל, ביקש טרמפ, קיבל הסעה‬

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