Humming

'I shan't say anything,' said Pooh at last.
'I shall just hum to myself, as if I was waiting for something.'
(A.A. Milne)

Humming is the sound produced by something small, fast and constant, such as the wings of a bumblebee, the needle of a sewing machine, or the ceaseless stream of faraway traffic. There can be something peaceful and comforting about humming: The song a mother sings to soothe her child. The sound of machinery working as it should. Your own content utterings when everything is good.

Yet the neverendingness of humming can be enough to drive one mad. The annoying noise of the fan which goes on and on and on. The ever-present buzz of the traffic, even when you think yourself far away from civilization. A person you don't like voicing the most imbecile of tunes, and on top of it all getting it wrong.

Even worse is the irritation when the humming has no known source. The Taos hum is a low, mystifying sound which some people claim they can hear in very silent places, particularly in Western Europe. If you know where to find these places, please hum me a line.

Mm-m mm mm mm mmmm...

Is humming good or bad?

Don't worry about it. Just hum.

Hum"ming (?), a.

Emitting a murmuring sound; droning; murmuring; buzzing.

© Webster 1913.

Hum"ming, n.

A sound like that made by bees; a low, murmuring sound; a hum.

Hummingale, lively or strong ale. Dryden. -- Humming bird Zool., any bird of the family Trochilidae, of which over one hundred genera are known, including about four hundred species. They are found only in America and are most abundant in the tropics. They are mostly of very small size, and are not for their very brilliant colors and peculiar habit of hovering about flowers while vibrating their wings very rapidly with a humming noise. They feed both upon the nectar of flowers and upon small insects. The common humming bird or ruby-throat of the Eastern United States is Trochilus culubris. Several other species are found in the Western United States. See Calliope, and Ruby-throat. -- Humming-bird moth Zool., a hawk moth. See Hawk moth, under Hawk, the bird.

© Webster 1913.