Thrumping

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Producing a steady, pulsing hum or throb, as with a heavy beat or a stringed instrument plucked idly ; informally describing something huge, great or outstanding
2. Making a continuous rhythmic drone or beat, like a plucked string or a pounding pulse ; slang meaning enormous or exceptionally good
3. Giving off a steady, vibrating throb or drone ; colloquially used to mean very big, impressive or superb

Etymology: "Thrumping" is the present participle of "thrump," a verb whose sound is the point: it is onomatopoeic, built to imitate a heavy, repeated beat. The same family of sounds shows up in "thump" and "thud," words that mimic a blow landing on something solid, and "thrump" seems to sit alongside them, with the extra "r" lending a rolling, drawn-out quality to the noise. Its use as an adjective follows naturally from the verb. Once a sound can be described as "thrumping," the word can modify anything that produces that sound, so a thrumping bass line or a thrumping headache carries the same steady, heavy pulse into a different setting.