Hump


[huhmp] /hʌmp/

noun
1.
a rounded protuberance, especially a fleshy protuberance on the back, as that due to abnormal curvature of the spine in humans, or that normally present in certain animals, as the camel or bison.
2.
Physical Geography.

3.
Railroads. (in a switchyard) a raised area down which cars pushed to its crest roll by gravity and momentum for automatic sorting through a series of preset switches.
4.
Slang: Vulgar.

5.
the hump.

verb (used with object)
6.
to raise (the back) in a hump; hunch:
The cat humped its back.
7.
Railroads. to sort (cars) by means of a hump.
8.
Informal. to exert (oneself) in a great effort.
9.
Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.
10.
Slang.

verb (used without object)
11.
to rise in a hump.
12.
Informal. to exert oneself; hustle or hurry.
13.
Slang: Vulgar. to engage in sexual intercourse.
Idioms
14.
over the hump, past the most difficult, time-consuming, or dangerous part or period:
The doctor says she’s over the hump now and should improve steadily.
/hʌmp/
noun
1.
a rounded protuberance or projection, as of earth, sand, etc
2.
(pathol) a rounded deformity of the back in persons with kyphosis, consisting of a convex spinal curvature
3.
a rounded protuberance on the back of a camel or related animal
4.
(Brit, informal) the hump, a fit of depression or sulking (esp in the phrase it gives me the hump)
5.
over the hump, past the largest or most difficult portion of work, time, etc
verb
6.
to form or become a hump; hunch; arch
7.
(transitive) (Brit, slang) to carry or heave
8.
(slang) to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
9.
(Austral & NZ, informal) hump one’s swag, (of a tramp) to carry one’s belongings from place to place on one’s back
n.

1680s (in hump-backed), from Dutch homp “lump,” from Middle Low German hump “bump,” from Proto-Germanic *hump-, from PIE *kemb- “to bend, turn, change, exchange.” Replaced, or perhaps influenced by, crump, from Old English crump. A meaning attested from 1901 is “mound in a railway yard over which cars must be pushed,” which may be behind the figurative sense of “critical point of an undertaking” (1914). Humpback whale is from 1725.
v.

“to do the sex act with,” attested from 1785, but the source of this indicates it is an older word. Meaning “to raise into a hump” is from 1840. Related: Humped; humping.

noun

[one of many fanciful coinages for something unspecified; probably related to hooter, ”anything trifling,” found fr the mid-1800s, and to hewgag, ”an indeterminate, unknown mythical creature,” similarly found; the syllable hoo-, which is prominent in such coinages, probably represents the interrogative pronoun who; the folk-music sense is based on this, in spite of a fanciful explanation by the singer Woody Guthrie, involving a loud singer called Hootin’ Annie]
see: over the hump

Read Also:

  • Hump and bump

    verb phrase To work hard and progress or propel haltingly: He says it costs him $10,000 a month to hump and bump his business along (1970s+)

  • Humpback

    [huhmp-bak] /ˈhʌmpˌbæk/ noun 1. a back that is humped in a convex position. 2. . 3. the . /ˈhʌmpˌbæk/ noun 1. another word for hunchback 2. Also called humpback whale. a large whalebone whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, closely related and similar to the rorquals but with a humped back and long flippers: family Balaenopteridae 3. a […]

  • Humpbacked

    [huhmp-bakt] /ˈhʌmpˌbækt/ adjective 1. having a hump on the back.

  • Humpback-salmon

    noun 1. a pink salmon inhabiting North Pacific waters: so-called because of the hump that appears behind the head of the male when it is ready for spawning.

  • Humpback-whale

    noun 1. a large whalebone whale of the genus Megaptera having long narrow flippers, and noted for its habit of arching deeply as it dives: once abundant in coastal waters, it is now rare but its numbers are increasing.


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