hump

Word family

• humpback
  nounB2
• humpbacked
  adjectiveB2
• humpy
  adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe something raised, but they differ in size, shape, and context. A hump is a broad, rounded rise — think of a speed hump on a road or the curve of a camel's back. A bump is smaller and sharper, like a stone you trip over or a pimple on your skin. A lump is a solid mass, often under a surface — you might feel a lump in your mattress or discover a lump under your skin. A mound is a larger pile, usually of earth or loose material, and is often deliberately built — a burial mound or a mound of mashed potatoes on a plate. A bulge is a swelling that pushes outward from inside, like a bulge in a suitcase that is packed too full. Use hump when you mean a broad, rounded rise in a surface or landscape; use bump for a small, sharp projection; use lump for something solid and shapeless you find; use mound for a heaped-up pile; and use bulge when something is straining outward from within.

Common collocations

Etymology

The word 'hump' entered English in the late 1600s, probably borrowed from Dutch 'homp' meaning a lump or thick piece, which is related to Low German 'hump' (a bump or heap). The verb sense of carrying something on your back developed naturally from the image of the rounded hump itself — to hump something was to make a hump on your back by carrying a load. The vulgar sexual meaning appeared much later, around the early 1900s, drawing on the image of a curved, thrusting motion. The phrase 'over the hump' (past the worst) emerged during the Second World War among air crews describing the most dangerous part of a flight over the Himalayas.