▪ I. humph, int. (and n.)
(hʌmf)
Also 7 hemph.
The inarticulate syllable ‘h'mf!’, used: † a. app. as a signal: cf. humph v. 1. Obs.
| 1681 Otway Soldier's Fort. iv. i, Truly a good Conscience is a great Happiness; and so I'll pledge you, hemph, hemph. |
b. as an expression of doubt or dissatisfaction. Also n., as a name for this utterance.
| 1815 Sixteen & Sixty i. ii, Humph!..her lips are of the brightest. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet Let. ii, A half articulated ‘humph!’ which seemed to convey a doubt. 1840 Hood Up the Rhine 75 My Uncle received this intelligence with a ‘Humph’. 1865 Kingsley Herew. iv, ‘Humph!’ says the eagle. 1872 Darwin Emotions iv. 86 His humph of assent was rendered by a slight modulation strongly emphatic. |
▪ II. humph, v.
[f. prec.]
intr. To utter an inarticulate ‘h'mf!’. † a. as a signal. Obs.
| 1681 Otway Soldier's Fort. ii. i, I desire you to humph..and look back at me. |
b. as an expression of doubt or dissatisfaction.
| 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park xlv, After humphing and considering over a particular paragraph. 1834 L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 70 Some of the polite Frenchmen humphed, and shrugged their shoulders. |