Thumber

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who uses the thumb prominently, either by pressing keys or flipping through pages; an informal term for one who operates a device by thumb movements; someone who frequently signals or gestures using the thumb
2. An individual who manipulates objects or screens primarily with the thumb; a casual descriptor for a person who thumbs through written material or menus; one who communicates or interacts chiefly by thumb gestures
3. One who presses, flips, or scrolls items using the thumb; a colloquial reference to someone navigating interfaces or paper by thumb action; a user characterized by thumb-driven input or expression

Etymology: "Thumber" is about as transparent as English compounds get: it is the noun "thumb" with the agent suffix "-er," the same ending found in "baker" or "writer," so it names whoever performs the action. The thumb itself traces back to Old English "þūma," a word that has stayed remarkably stable in form through the centuries, while the suffix has been attached to countless verbs to name doers. The meaning has drifted from the literal. A thumber is anyone who works a phone, tablet or menu chiefly with a thumb, and by extension someone who flicks through pages of printed material in the same loose, one-handed way. The sense of communicating mostly through thumb gestures follows the same pattern, turning a body part into a verb-like activity and then into a description of a person.

Synonyms: thumb player, picker