thumbkin

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noun

An instrument of torture for compressing the thumb; a thumbscrew.

Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounthumbkin (plural thumbkins)

plural thumbkins

  1. historicalAn instrument of torture for compressing the thumb; a thumbscrew.
  2. childishrareThe thumb.

    Thumbkin is the pusher. Pointer shows us where to go. Tall-man wears the thimble, And helps us all to sew.

    1895, Margaret Naomi MacArthur, Kindergarten Review, Finger Play, page 75

Origin

From thumb + -kin.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

thumbkin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbkin

MLA

“thumbkin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbkin. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thumbkin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbkin.

Source: thumbkin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.