hum

hum¹ low continuous sound

Etymology

The sound word is inherited from Middle English hummen, also homme,^[2][3] probably of imitative origin.^{[4][5][2][6][7]} It is parallel to Middle High German hummen and Dutch hommelen (“to hum”),^[5][8][2] and the OED compares dialectal German hummen, summen and brummen, and brommen, all with the same expressive m.^[7][9] Partridge notes that Middle Dutch hummelen was originally a frequentative,^[10] and Merriam-Webster relates it to hommel (“bumblebee”).^[8] Weekley connects it with humblebee.^[11] The noun (1469) and the interjection (1548) are formed in the same imitative way.^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make an inarticulate murmur in a pause of speech, from hesitation or embarrassment: about 1374, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.^[7][5][2]

Semantic evolution

By the early 15th century the verb was used of the droning of bees and other insects, and later of spinning tops, wheels and machinery.^[7][2][4] Singing with closed lips is recorded from about 1485,^[7][4] though Barnhart dates it only to 1640.^[5] In the 17th century an audience could hum a speaker up or down, to show approval or disapproval (1642–1733).^[7] The sound of many voices together (1730, in Thomson; 1726 for Barnhart) led to the colloquial sense of being busy and lively, recorded in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn (1884),^[7][5][4] perhaps by comparison with a beehive.^[4] Weekley notes the American phrase to make things hum.^[11] The noun, an inarticulate murmur, appears in the Paston Letters in 1469, and was used of the hum of insects (1601), of distant voices (in Shakespeare's Henry V), of a sound heard in the veins (1839) and of electrical interference (1929).^[7][5] Johnson (1755) defined the interjection as a sound of doubt and deliberation, quoting Macbeth.^[12] In slang hum has meant to smell unpleasantly, in Australia from 1885;^[13][7] the OED suggests the buzzing of flies over rotten matter.^[7] In Scotland and parts of England, a cow hummed when lowing softly and a cat when purring.^[14] Hum was also a strong ale in the early 17th century, from humming ale, though the OED doubts that it belongs here.^[13][7]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – to murmur in hesitation, in Chaucer.^[7][5]
• c. 1420 – of insects, to make a low continuous sound.^[7][2]
• 1469 – noun, a hesitating murmur.^[7][5]
• c. 1485 – to sing with closed lips.^[7]
• 1548 – interjection, expressing hesitation or doubt.^[7]
• 1601 – noun, the low sound of insects or machinery.^[7]
• 1602 – transitive, to hum a tune.^[7]
• 1730 – to give out the blended sound of many voices; later, to be busy.^[7]
• 1884 – to be busy and active, in Huckleberry Finn.^[5][4]
• 1885 – to smell unpleasantly (Australian slang).^[13]
• 1929 – noun, electrical hum.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make a low, steady, buzzing sound, as bees or machines do: The fridge hummed in the corner.^[15][8][7]
2. To sing with the lips closed, without words: She hummed a lullaby to the baby.^[15][8][7]
3. To make a murmuring sound of hesitation, as in hum and haw, to be slow to decide.^[15][7][9]
4. (informal) To be full of busy activity: By noon the market was humming.^[15][7]
5. (British slang) To smell unpleasant.^[15][7]

Noun

1. A low, steady sound, like that of bees or of machinery.^[8][7]
2. The blended, distant noise of voices or traffic: the hum of the city.^[8][7]
3. (electronics) Unwanted low-frequency noise from an alternating current, heard in sound equipment.^[7]
4. An inarticulate murmur of hesitation, doubt or approval.^[8][7]

Interjection

1. Expressing hesitation, doubt or mild disagreement.^[8][7][12]

Word family

• hummable
• hummer
• underhum
• hummingbird
• ho-hum

hum² hoax, humbug

Etymology

The slang word for a hoax is short for humbug, both as a noun and as a verb.^{[7][9][8][16][13]}

Earliest recorded meaning

To trick or hoax: Green's dictionary finds humming, hoaxing, in Edmund Hickeringill about 1680;^[13] the OED's first quotation for both noun and verb is of 1751.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Both noun and verb are now archaic,^[9] but the verb survived in dialect use in Scotland and England for to cheat or deceive.^[14][9] In Australian slang from 1918–19 to hum is to borrow without meaning to return, and a hum is a scrounger.^[7][9]

Timeline

• c. 1680 – humming, hoaxing.^[13]
• 1751 – noun, a hoax; verb, to hoax.^[7]
• 1918 – verb, to scrounge (Australian slang).^[7]
• 1919 – noun, a scrounger (Australian slang).^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic slang) A hoax or sham.^[9][7][8]
2. (Australian slang) A persistent borrower; a scrounger.^[7][9]

Verb

1. (archaic slang) To trick or deceive.^[9][7][8]
2. (Australian slang) To scrounge or cadge.^[7][9]