▪ I. hum, v.1
(hʌm)
Also 4–7 humme, 5 home, 6 homme.
[Known from end of 14th c.; echoic; cf. MHG. hummen, mod.G. dial. hummen, hommen, early mod.Du. (Kilian) hummen = hemmen to hem, emit voice; also bum v., and Ger. summen, brummen, Du. brommen, expressing the same or similar sounds, all with the characteristic labial-nasal m. See also humble v.2]
1. intr. To make a low continuous murmuring sound or note, as a bee or other insect; also said of a top or wheel in rapid rotation, a bell vibrating after being struck, etc.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 124 Yf that they [bees] humme. 1573–80 Baret Alv. H 717 To Humme like a Bee, bombilo. 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies xxviii. (1645) 310 Trembling bells..hum a great while longer then others. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VIII. 157 The gnat..is sometimes heard to hum about our beds at night. 1783 Crabbe Village i, The dull wheel hums doleful through the day. 1887 Bowen Virg. Eclog. vii. 13 Bees cluster and hum. 1924 Foundry (Cleveland) 1 Apr. 63 (Advt.), The wheels surely are humming in the foundries. 1937 Wodehouse Lord Emsworth & Others ix. 299 We buzzed on through the pleasant countryside... The engine of the two-seater hummed smoothly. 1972 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. 21/2 Computers hummed and slide rules flashed as City analysts tried to come to grips with the new corporation tax yesterday. |
2. a. intr. To make a low inarticulate vocal sound; esp. to utter such a sound in expression of dissent or dissatisfaction, or † of approbation or applause.
| 13.. Erkenwald 281 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1881) 272 Þen hummyd he þat þer lay..And gefe a gronynge. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 917 A chorle hommeth or grudgeth. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. vi. 42 The clowdy Messenger..hums; as who should say, you'l rue the time That clogges me with this Answer. 1687 Magd. Coll. & Jas. II (O. Hist. Soc.) vi. 142 Upon which the Rabble hummed. 1779–81 Johnson L.P., Sprat Wks. III. 11 When the preacher touched any favourite topick in a manner that delighted his audience, their approbation was expressed by a loud hum, continued in proportion to their zeal or pleasure. When Burnet preached, part of his congregation hummed so loudly and so long, that he sat down to enjoy it. 1893 J. S. Winter Aunt Johnnie II. 93 He hum'd at the cutlets and he pshaw'd at the salad. |
b. To sing with closed lips without articulation.
| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1226, I home and I hast, I do þat I may, With mery tvne þe trebyll to syng. c 1640 F. Hawkins Youth's Behav. (1663) 1 Sing not within thy mouth, humming to thy self, unless thou be alone. Mod. She was singing, or rather humming, in a low tone. |
c. To make an inarticulate murmur in a pause of speaking, from hesitation, embarrassment, etc. Usually in phr. to hum and ha (haw): see ha v., haw v.1
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 1150 (1199) Al rosy hewed tho woxe she, And gan to hum. 1530 Palsgr. 588/2 He hummeth and haeth and wyll nat come out withall. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 165 Hum and stroke thy Beard. 1632 Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry iv. i, Do you stand Humming and hahing now? 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. xi, Don't stand humming and hawing, but speak out. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xiii. ii. V. 30 Robinson apologetically hums and hahs. |
| trans. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. ii. 1161 [You] never hum'd and hah'd Sedition. a 1680 ― Rem. (1759) II. 103 A fifth-monarchy man..humms and hahs high Treason. |
3. To give forth an indistinct sound by the blending of many voices, etc.; hence (colloq.) to be in a condition of busy activity, to be all astir. Phr. to make things (or something specified) hum: to bring to such a condition, to liven things up.
| 1726–46 Thomson Winter 632 The city swarms intense. The public haunt..warm with mixed discourse, Hums indistinct. 1814 Byron Corsair iii. xviii, The haven hums with many a cheering sound. 1842 Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 37, I scarce can hear the people hum About the column's base. 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn 224 He lit into that horse with his whip and made him fairly hum. 1887 M. Roberts Western Avernus iii. 34 The owner of the farm..came home, and, in American parlance, ‘fairly made things hum’. 1889 Pall Mall G. 15 July 1/3 [In] the expressive nomenclature of the Far West, Hong-kong ‘just hums’ all the time. 1893 R. Kipling Many Invent. 29 The whole country was humming with dacoits. 1898 Daily News 11 Jan. 5/1 The report that he had plenty of money, and would make things hum at the club. 1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl xviii. 205 We took you on this paper to help us make things hum! I understand you made things hum over in England. 1906 Nation (N.Y.) 18 Jan. 44 The colleges are making athletic reform hum, as if to make up for lost time. 1911 E. M. Clowes On Wallaby x. 265 But still things are, as the American would express it, ‘beginning to hum’ in the irrigation line. 1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. xxx, I want money to spend in Butte,..and make things hum. 1922 H. S. Walpole Cathedral i. vii. 135, I hardly need to tell you that he's not quite the man to make things hum. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 107 By gum! Wouldn't it just make things hum? 1973 Times 16 Jan. 17/7 Our view is that if you get the logistics right and do get concentration of the best modern equipment you can really get something humming in the 1974 period. |
4. a. trans. To utter with humming; to sing with closed lips and without articulation.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. v. iii, One gives nods and hums what he would speake. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 157 ¶7 Then [she] would hum over Two or Three Notes. 1808 Scott Marm. i. ii, Low humming..Some ancient Border gathering song. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xv, The bees..hummed forth their drowsy satisfaction. |
b. to hum and ha: see after 2 c.
† 5. To greet with a hum; to hum up, hum down, to express approval or disapproval of, by humming.
| 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. viii, Such as are most humm'd and applauded there. 1682 New News fr. Bedlam 43 By canting and ranting I'le hum all their Gigs. 1692 tr. Sallust 42 All humm'd him down and call'd him Enemy and Parricide. 1733 Revolution Politicks iii. 55 Here the whole Council humm'd him up, and approved of the same. |
6. To bring (into a specified state) by humming.
| 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 181 The busy bee hath humm'd himself to rest. 1871 J. C. Jeaffreson Ann. Oxford II. iii. 24 Such ‘hummers’, as those who hummed James the First into good contentment with himself. |
Hence hummed (hʌmd), ppl. a. (in sense 4).
| 1849 H. Mayo Pop. Superst. (1851) 156 Singing the words to M. de Puységur's mentally hummed air. 1898 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 338/2 A hummed song of the country. |
▪ II. hum, v.2 arch.
[Short for humbug v.]
1. trans. To impose upon, hoax, take in, humbug. (slang or colloq.)
| 1751 Student II. 288 How were people of learning and good understanding hum'd out of their money and judgment. Ibid. 290 Pray let them be hum'd if you please. 1765 Meritriciad 26 She hums by turns, the Vet'ran, and the Fop. 1782 F. Burney Lett. to S. Crisp Aug., You and I know better than to hum or be hummed in that manner. 1805 W. Hunter in Naval Chron. XIII. 24 Admiral Saunders had hummed me about my promotion. a 1845 Hood Spring i, How couldst thou thus poor human nature hum? |
2. trans. and intr. To borrow (without any intention of returning); to scrounge. Austral. slang.
| 1918 Aussie Sept. 4/2 Don't shout cigarettes, hum them. 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 122 To hum, to cadge. 1935 Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Jan. 21/4 Where other 'Bidgee whalers ‘hummed’ a town for booze, Mick ‘hummed’ it for tea, going from house to house with his plea: ‘Missus, could y' spring a cup o' tea?’ 1938 X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) xviii. 234 Gertch—you old blowbag! You're only humming for a drink. Nick off home. |
Hence ˈhumming vbl. n.
| 1807 M. Pennington Life Eliz. Carter I. 32 That species of false wit which is now called quizzing and was formerly known by the equally barbarous term of humming. |
▪ III. hum, v.3 slang.
(hʌm)
intr. To smell disagreeably. Hence hum n.3, a disagreeable smell.
| 1902 C. H. E. Brookfield Random Reminisc. xi. 200 The burglar..finds a piece of Camembert cheese in the buffet, and exclaims: ‘Lor’! it do 'um!’ 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands xv. 197 Ther hum iv it was so fearful..Killin' cats is rotten luck. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 23 Things didn't smell, but ponged, niffed or hummed. Ibid., An awful pong or hum. 1946 I. L. Idriess In Crocodile Land xvi. 111 The abos certainly did ‘hum’. 1970 Daily Tel. 31 Oct. 1/3 When the wind drops this stuff really hums. |
▪ IV. hum, n.1
(hʌm)
Also 6–7 humme, 8 humm.
[Cognate with hum v.1 It is doubtful whether sense 3 belongs here.]
I. 1. a. A low continuous sound made by a bee or other insect, also, by a spinning top, machinery in motion, etc. (Distinguished from a buzz by not being sibilant.)
| 1601 Holland Pliny xi. x. (R.), One of them [bees] raiseth all the rest with two or three big hums or buzzes. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 189 The Mosquito..not only wheals, but domineers by its continual Hums. 1786 tr. Beckford's Vathek (1868) 44 The sullen hum of those nocturnal insects. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Relig. Wks. (Bohn) II. 100 The hum of the mill. 1893 Peel Spen Valley 156 The busy hum of the spinning-wheel. |
b. The indistinct sound produced by the blending of distant voices or noises; a murmur; in quot. 1625, a ‘buzz’ of rumour.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. Prol. 5 From Camp to Camp..The Humme of eyther Army stilly sounds. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. v. i, The last hum that it made, was, that your Father, And Picklocke are fall'n out. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xxvi, A busy hum of voices from the tribunal. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 189 The hum of expectation sounding louder and louder. |
c. Med. In full venous hum. A continuous humming sound sometimes heard during auscultation in the upper chest and the sides of the neck, esp. in children and in cases of anæmia, and attributed to the turbulence of the flow of venous blood.
| 1839 J. Hope Treatise Dis. Heart (ed. 3) i. iv. 118 By the adroit management of the stethoscope..the venous murmur may often be raised, by a gradual swell, into a more or less musical hum, such as is yielded by a child's humming-top. I propose to denominate this the Venous Hum; for..this is..more intelligible than noise of the devil, by which term, derived from a plaything known to few, M. Bouillaud has designated the hum in question. 1876, 1891 [see venous a. 2]. 1907 H. S. Anders Physical Diagnosis xiv. 346 The venous hum or bruit de diable heard over the jugulars. 1960 J. S. Butterworth et al. Cardiac Auscultation (ed. 2) ix. 81 The venous hum is usually heard only in the upright position. Ibid., The hum will disappear with finger compression of the jugular veins. |
d. Electronics. (Usu. without a or pl.) Unwanted low-frequency variations in current or voltage (the cause of which is usually the alternating frequency of the mains) which will give rise in a loudspeaker to a steady humming sound; the sound so produced.
| 1929 K. Henney Princ. Radio xvi. 406 A hum output of 44 millivolts. 1934 J. H. Reyner Television viii. 90 The hum appears as a series of black bands moving slowly across the screen. 1950 A. Marcus Radio Servicing xv. 714 An antenna that is too close and parallel to a power line may pick up hum by induction. 1966 R. King Electrical Noise i. 3 Mains hum..may be generated from cathodes of thermionic valves heated by alternating current or by electromagnetic induction from near by mains frequency transformers and chokes. |
2. a. An inarticulate vocal murmur uttered with closed lips in a pause of speaking, from hesitation, embarrassment, or affectation. (Usually in phr. hums and ha's (haws): see ha n.2, haw n.4)
| 1469 J. Paston in P. Lett. No. 607 II. 347 He wold have gotyn it aweye by humys and by hays, but I wold not so be answeryd. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 74 These Shrugs, these Hum's, and Ha's. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 32 ¶1 There were many very proper Hums and Pauses in his Harangue. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. v, After some hesitation, and many hums and ha's. 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour (1893) 141 After sundry ‘hums’, ‘indeeds’, ‘sos’, etc. |
b. A similar sound uttered as an expression of applause or approbation, or of mild surprise or dissent.
| 1653 Noctes Hibernæ i. 8 The greatest praise unto the Preacher comes From the Attentive Hearer's tears, not humnes. 1687 Magd. Coll. & Jas. II (Oxf. Hist. S.) vi. 134 Whereupon there was a tumultuous hum, or acclamation, made by the bystanders. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii. (1871) II. 641 The hum with which William's speech had been received, and the hiss which had drowned the voice of Seymour. 1877 T. A. Trollope A Peep behind Scenes xix. 277 There arose a little hum of approbation from all present. |
c. A singing in a low tone with the lips closed, without articulation; an indistinct murmur.
| 1630 B. Jonson New Inn iii. ii, Lord B. Would I could charm her! Host. Trundle will do it with his hum. 1711 E. Ward Quix. I. 381 No sooner did the Goat-herds find, Antonio by his Hum inclin'd To sing a Song. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Elmhurst, An eccho, which returns a hum, or clap with the hands..10 or 12 times. |
II. † 3. A kind of liquor; strong or double ale. Obs. (Cf. humming ppl. a. 2 b.)
| 1616 B. Jonson Devil an Ass i. i, Strong-waters, Hum, Meath, and Obarni. a 1621 Fletcher Wild Goose Chase ii. iii, Would I had some hum. 1670 Cotton Voy. Irel., The best Cheshire hum he e'er drank in his life. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hum, or Humming Liquor, Double Ale, Stout, Pharoah. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) I. 311 To get us stout hum, when Christmas is come. |
| attrib. 1629 Shirley Wedding ii. (N.), Sold For physic in hum-glasses and thimbles. |
III. Comb. hum-bucking coil Electronics [buck v.6], a coil arranged so as to cancel the hum in another coil by providing a signal of the opposite phase; † hum-cap = sense 3 (cf. huff-cap); hum-note, a musical note of the character of a hum.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hum-cap, old, mellow and very strong Beer. 1896 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 155 The hum-note of this great bell was too deep for a scientific test. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 425/1 Hum-bucking coil. 1950 A. Marcus Radio Servicing xv. 715 Some loudspeakers, especially of the electrodynamic type, have hum-bucking coils. 1967 P. Spring Tape Recorders vii. 90 The hum-bucking coil..picks up hum in opposite phase to the hum picked up by the head and of such magnitude that the two hum signals cancel. |
▪ V. hum, n.2
[Short for humbug n.]
1. A piece of humbug; an imposition, a hoax. (slang or colloq.)
| 1751 Student II. 288 What a delightful Hum had we about a poor man's getting into a quart bottle. 1753 Garrick in Scots Mag. Oct. 517/2 'Twas all a hum. 1799 Coleridge Lett. (1895) 270 The Bristol Library is a hum, and will do us little service. 1841 Blackw. Mag. L. 415 Is Homer a hum, and the Iliad a hoax? 1885 Punch 5 Sept. 114/2 Political honesty's all a big hum. |
2. A persistent borrower, a scrounger. Austral. slang.
| 1919 V. Marshall World of Living Dead, The ‘hum’, the unskilled derelict or derelict-to-be who stands upon the ‘pub’ corner kerb, ‘bites’ all and sundry, and, at regular intervals, succeeds in getting lumbered for ‘vag’. 1953 Caddie Sydney Barmaid xxxiii. 183 The speciality of the hum is the lone drunk. |
▪ VI. hum, n.3
see hum v.3
▪ VII. hum, n.4 Physical Geogr.
(hjuːm)
[Serbo-Croat, = hill.]
A small, usually conical, hill characteristic of karst topography.
| 1921 Geogr. Rev. XI. 602 (caption) General view of a polje strewn with hums. Ibid. 604 The former limestone mass being represented by isolated fragments which Cvijic calls ‘hums’. 1937 Wooldridge & Morgan Physical Basis Geogr. xix. 289 Residual limestone masses or hummocks rising above polje floors are called ‘hums’. 1971 B. W. Sparks Rocks & Relief v. 204 The interfluvial areas are finally reduced to little hillocks known as hums. |
▪ VIII. hum, int.
(həm)
An inarticulate exclamation uttered with the lips closed, either in a pause of hesitation or embarrassment, or as expressing slight dissatisfaction, dissent, etc. (Cf. hem, h'm, um.)
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 158, I cry'd hum..But mark'd him not a word. 1598 ― Merry W. iii. v. 141 Hum: ha? Is this a vision? 1847 Lytton Lucretia i. Prol., Hum! do you still miss your mother? 1855 Dickens Dorrit i. xxxi, I have a—hum—a spirit, sir, that will not endure it. |