Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Tom Thumb |
Tom ThumbNoun1. English folklore: an imaginary hero who was no taller than his father's thumb. 2. A very small person. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Slang in 1811 | TOM THUMB. A dwarf, a little hop-o'my-thumb. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Tom Thumb is the name of a traditional hero in English folklore, who was no bigger than his father's thumb. The name is often adopted for people or objects of small stature.
General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883), a dwarf who achieved great game under circus pioneer P.T. Barnum.
Stratton was 4 years old, the son of a Bridgeport, Connecticut carpenter, when Barnum met him. He was 25 inches tall and weighed just 15 pounds at the time.
Barnum taught him to sing, sance and perform and made him an international celebrity with a tour of Europe. Stratton's marriage in February, 1863, to another midget, Lavinia Warren, was front-page news. They stood atop a grand piano in New York City's Grace Episcopal Church to greet some 2,000 guests.
Tom Thumb was the name of the first American-built steam locomotive used on a common-carrier railroad. Designed and built by Peter Cooper in 1830, it was designed to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to use steam engines. Cooper held a race between Tom Thumb and a horse along Baltimore and Ohio tracks near Baltimore. Tom Thumb led until an engine belt slipped. The horse then pulled ahead and won.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Tom Thumb."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Littleness | Dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf; atomy, dandiprat; doll, puppet; Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb; manikin, mannikin; homunculus, dapperling,dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf; atomy, dandiprat; doll, puppet; Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb; manikin, mannikin; homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Tom Thumb |
| English words defined with "Tom Thumb": Willow warbler. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Tom Thumb": Boast of England ♦ Grumbo ♦ Red Rose Knight. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Tom thumb (1958) Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr. (1940) Farmer Tom Thumb (1940) Tom Thumb (1936) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | General Tom Thumb's grand wedding march, composed by E. Mack. Respectfully dedicated to General Tom Thumb & lady / T. (?) Sinclair lith., Phila. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Tom Thumb, full-length portrait, facing front, standing on table with tablecloth. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | World's Fair, Railroad Building. Pageant, the Tom Thumb. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
tom thumb | 370 |
peeping tom thumb | 18 |
tom thumb food store | 12 |
secret adventure of tom thumb | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "Tom Thumb"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Dutch | Klein Duimpje. (various references) | |
Esperanto | Dikfingrulo. (various references) | |
French | Petit Poucet. (various references) | |
Frisian | Tomke (cave-dweller, cave-man, troglodyte, wren). (various references) | |
German | Däumling (thumbstall). (various references) | |
Greek | κοντορεβιθούλησ. (various references) | |
Hungarian | Hüvelyk Matyi (hop-o'-my-thumb). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | omtay umbthay.(various references) | |
Swedish | tummeliten. (various references) | |
Turkish | parmak çocuk, cüce (dwarf, elf, gnome, ground-, homunculus, hop-o'-my-thumb, lilliputian, manikin, midget, nano-, pigmy, pygmean, pygmy, runt, scrub, scrubby, shrimp). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | pollex. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-h-m-m-o-t-t-u" | |
-3 letters: mouth, thumb. | |
-4 letters: bhut, both, bott, bout, butt, moth, mott, mutt, thou, tomb, tout, umbo. | |
-5 letters: bot, bum, but, hmm, hob, hot, hub, hum, hut, mho, mob, mom, mot, mum, mut, ohm, out, tho, tom, tot, tub, tut, umm. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Anagrams 11. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
