hum
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English hummen (“to hum, buzz, drone, make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment”); akin to Dutch hommelen (“to bumble, buzz”), dialectal Dutch hommen (“to buzz, hum”), Middle High German hummen (“to hum”), probably ultimately of imitative origin.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hum (plural hums)
- A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.
- An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.
- They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, and found the dishwasher on.
- c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- the shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums
- Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.
- (UK, slang) Unpleasant odour.
- (dated) An imposition or hoax; humbug.
- (obsolete) A kind of strong drink.
- c. 1622, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger [et al.?], “Beggars Bvsh”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- you do provide me hum enough , And lour to bouse with
- (with article) A phenomenon, or collection of phenomena, involving widespread reports of a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming, rumbling, or droning noise not audible to all people.
- 2011 June 13, “Who, What, Why: Why is 'the hum' such a mystery?”, in BBC News[1]:
- There is a range of theories from farm or factory machinery to conspiracy theories such as flying saucers. And yet, "the hum" remains an unsolved case.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
The Hum on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Verb edit
hum (third-person singular simple present hums, present participle humming, simple past and past participle hummed)
- (intransitive) To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed.
- We are humming happily along with the music.
- (transitive) To express by humming.
- to hum a tune
- The team hummed “We Shall Overcome” as they came back onto the field after the break.
- (intransitive) To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly
- 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:
- A slight gloom fell upon the table. Jacob was helping himself to jam; the postman was talking to Rebecca in the kitchen; there was a bee humming at the yellow flower which nodded at the open window.
- (intransitive) To buzz, be busily active like a beehive
- The streets were humming with activity.
- (intransitive) To produce low sounds which blend continuously
- (Britain, slang) To reek, smell bad.
- This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?
- (transitive, UK, dated, slang) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to deceive or impose upon; to humbug.
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Interjection edit
hum
- Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c.
- 1890, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four, London: Spencer Blackett:
- “'Hum!' said he. 'A fifth share! That is not very tempting.'
“'It would come to fifty thousand apiece,' said I.
- Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c.
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 27:
- Ah, now, this is why we must proceed with great circumspection. They were both, hum, “put out” themselves.
Derived terms edit
See also edit
Anagrams edit
Akan edit
Pronunciation edit
- Tone: M
Predicate edit
hum
- An identity for a "nom-int-txt" code: a wilde wish.
- hum ɔkɔ - a life cycle
Albanian edit
Etymology edit
Unknown. Maybe from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”).
Noun edit
Bahnar edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Bahnaric *huːm ~ hoːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *huum ~ *ʔum. Cognate with Sedang huam, Cua tahoːp, Pacoh houm, Puoc ʔuːm, Nyah Kur hóom. Probably also related to the forms with initial *s-, such as Khasi sum and Hu θúm.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
hum
- to bathe
Dutch edit
Etymology 1 edit
jocular abbreviation of humeur (cfr.)
Noun edit
hum n (plural hummen, diminutive hummetje n)
- (good) mood
Etymology 2 edit
Onomatopoeia
Alternative forms edit
Interjection edit
hum!
- uttering to attract attention, without literal meaning
French edit
Etymology edit
Expressive onomatopoeia; possible descent in ancient Latin or Frankish interjections.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
hum
- (onomatopeia, colloquial) um..., hm
Further reading edit
- “hum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Jakaltek edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Mayan *huuʼng.
Noun edit
hum
References edit
- Church, Clarence; Church, Katherine (1955) Vocabulario castellano-jacalteco, jacalteco-castellano[2] (in Spanish), Guatemala C. A.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 45; 23
Middle English edit
Pronoun edit
hum
- Alternative form of hem (“them”)
Ngamo edit
Noun edit
hùm
References edit
- Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
- […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
- (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Ngamo hùm [Schuh], […]
Phalura edit
Etymology edit
From Pashto [script needed] (hum).
Pronunciation edit
Particle edit
hum (discourse, Perso-Arabic spelling ہُم)
- also, as well as
References edit
Portuguese edit
Pronunciation edit
Numeral edit
hum m (feminine huma)
Usage notes edit
In Brazil, this spelling is still seen in finance-related slips such as lottery tickets, cheques and receipts, in order to prevent fraud.
Article edit
hum m (plural huns, feminine huma, feminine plural humas)
Interjection edit
hum
Serbo-Croatian edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *xъlmъ.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hȗm m (Cyrillic spelling ху̑м)
Declension edit
Synonyms edit
Etymology 2 edit
Unknown.
Noun edit
hum f (Cyrillic spelling хум)
References edit
- “hum” in Hrvatski jezični portal