Strums

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. To produce sound from a stringed instrument by brushing strings with the fingers or a pick
2. To make music on a guitar or similar instrument by sweeping fingers or a plectrum across its strings
3. To gently brush the strings of an instrument to create a musical tone

Etymology: Strum has no clear ancestor in another language. It is most likely imitative, built to echo the rough, rattling noise of a hand sweeping across several strings at once. Its close relative is probably "thrum," an older English word for playing a stringed instrument carelessly or monotonously, and the two share that blurred, repeated sound. The sound shapes the meaning. A strum is one broad sweep across the strings rather than a single plucked note, so the word describes the motion of the hand more than any melody. That is why a guitar is strummed while a harp is plucked, even though both are played with the fingers.