Literary notes about thrum (AI summary)
"Thrum" appears in literature as a versatile term that conveys both sound and a tactile quality. Its onomatopoeic use mimics rhythmic or pulsating auditory effects, as in musical instruments and machines that emit a steady, almost hypnotic regularity ([1], [2], [3]). The word is also employed to evoke the background hum of engines or ambient life, suggesting movement and persistent energy ([4], [5], [6]). In other contexts, "thrum" extends its reach to describe the action of fingers or hands on strings or fabric, imbuing common movements with a lyrical, measured vibration ([7], [8], [9]). Its adaptability is further demonstrated when it characterizes woven textures or ornamental features, adding a sensory layer to descriptions of objects and settings ([10]). This range of applications reveals how the term enriches narrative imagery through sound, touch, and rhythmic resonance ([11], [12]).
- "Thrum, thrum, thrum, thrummmm, thrummmmmmmmmmmm."
— from The Little House in the Fairy Wood by Ethel Cook Eliot - Thrum-thrum-tiddy-thrum went the Admiral's instrument.
— from The Astonishing History of Troy Town by Arthur Quiller-Couch - But he had not sat there more than a quarter of an hour, when he suddenly heard the thrum of a guitar somewhere quite close.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Orchards flashed by; there was a rock tunnel, where the lights shone fiercely on rough-hewn stone, and the thrum of the motor became a roar.
— from The Car of Destiny by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson - I knelt on the deck and listened to the thrum of the diesel engines.
— from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - With the steering-wheel in my hand, the steady thrum of the motor seemed to say, “You'll do it; you'll do it;—I'll help you to do it.”
— from The Car of Destiny by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson - Never thrum with your fingers, rub your hands, yawn, or sigh aloud in company.
— from Searchlights on Health: Light on Dark Corners
A Complete Sexual Science and a Guide to Purity and Physical Manhood, Advice To Maiden, Wife, And Mother, Love, Courtship, And Marriage by B. G. (Benjamin Grant) Jefferis - There was one Anchises, a twice five-fingered Trojan, that (as old stories say) used to thrum her jacket.
— from A Burlesque Translation of Homer by Bridges, Thomas, active 1759-1775 - His hands trembled as he continued to thrum upon the strings.
— from If Any Man Sin by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody - The thrum is the fringed end of a weaver’s web; a thrum hat was made of very coarse tufted woollen cloth.
— from It Might Have Been: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot by Emily Sarah Holt - How she had to work and thrum at these duets and sonatas in the Street, before they appeared in public in the Square!
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - Within my ears I hear a "thrum;" Before my eyes there floats a haze; And mocking shadows flit and come, And make my nights a constant daze !
— from Quips and Quiddities: A Quintessence of Quirks, Quaint, Quizzical, and Quotable