hum

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌm

hum (plural hums)

1. A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.
2. An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.

   They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, and found the dishwasher on.

   • Shakespeare

     the shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums

3. Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.
4. (Britain, slang) unpleasant odour.
5. (dated) An imposition or hoax; humbug.
6. (obsolete) A kind of strong drink.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Beaumont and Fletcher to this entry?)

7. 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.

The Hum on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

hum (third-person singular simple present hums, present participle humming, simple past and past participle hummed)

1. (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.

2. (transitive) To express by humming.

   to hum a tune

   The team ominously hummed “We shall overcome” as they came back onto the field after the break.

3. (intransitive) To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly
   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 2

     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.

4. (intransitive) To buzz, be busily active like a beehive

   The streets were humming with activity.

5. (intransitive) To produce low sounds which blend continuously
6. (Britain, slang) To reek, smell bad.

   This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?

7. (transitive, Britain, dated, slang) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to deceive or impose upon; to humbug.

• bumble
• bustle
• hustle
• buzz
• croon
• whir

• hummer
• hummingbird
• humming-top

• humblebee

hum

1. Synonym of hmm: a noise indicating thought, consideration, &c.
   • 1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four:

     “'Hum!' said he. 'A fifth share! That is not very tempting.'
     “'It would come to fifty thousand apiece,' said I.

2. Synonym of um: a noise indicating doubt, uncertainty, &c.
   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 27:

     Ah, now, this is why we must proceed with great circumspection. They were both, hum, “put out” themselves.

• HMU, MUH, muh, uhm

Unknown. Maybe from Proto-Indo-European *skew- (“to cover, conceal”)

hum m (indefinite plural humi, definite singular huma)

1. rough sea

jocular abbreviation of humeur (cfr.)

hum n (plural hummen, diminutive hummetje n)

1. (good) mood

onomatopoeia

• h'm

hum!

1. uttering to attract attention, without literal meaning

hum

1. Alternative form of hem

• “hem, (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 June 2018.

hùm

1. water

• Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201:

  […] 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], […]

hum m (plural huns, feminine huma, feminine plural humas)

1. Obsolete spelling of um

From Proto-Slavic *xъlmъ.

• IPA^(key): /xûːm/

hȗm m (Cyrillic spelling ху̑м)

1. hillock
2. barrow, tumulus (mound of earth raised over a grave)

• glàvica, brežúljak

Unknown origin.

hum f (Cyrillic spelling хум)

1. (obsolete) arrogance

• ȍholōst

• “hum” in Hrvatski jezični portal