Definition: drum
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
drum
n 1: a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a
hollow cylinder with a membrane stretch across each end
[syn: membranophone, tympan]
2: the sound of a drum; "he could hear the drums before he
heard the fifes"
3: a bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends [syn: barrel]
4: a cylindrical metal container used for shipping or storage
of liquids [syn: metal drum]
5: a hollow cast-iron cylinder attached to the wheel that forms
part of the brakes [syn: brake drum]
6: small to medium-sized bottom-dwelling food and game fishes
of shallow coastal and fresh waters that make a drumming
noise [syn: drumfish]
v 1: make a rhythmic sound: "Rain drummed against the
windshield"; "The drums beat all night" [syn: beat, thrum]
2: play the drums
3: study intensively, as before an exam; "I had to bone up on
my Latin verbs before the final exam" [syn: cram, grind
away, bone up, swot, get up, mug up, swot up, bone]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Swag \Swag\, n. [Australia]
(a) A tramping bushman's luggage, rolled up either in canvas
or in a blanket so as to form a long bundle, and carried
on the back or over the shoulder; -- called also a
bluey, or a drum.
(b) Any bundle of luggage similarly rolled up; hence, luggage
in general.
He tramped for years till the swag he bore seemed
part of himself. --Lawson.
Vase \Vase\ (v[=a]s or v[aum]z; 277), n. [F. vase; cf. Sp. & It. vaso; fr. L. vas, vasum. Cf. Vascular, Vessel.] 1. A vessel adapted for various domestic purposes, and anciently for sacrificial uses; especially, a vessel of antique or elegant pattern used for ornament; as, a porcelain vase; a gold vase; a Grecian vase. See Illust. of Portland vase, under Portland. No chargers then were wrought in burnished gold, Nor silver vases took the forming mold. --Pope. 2. (Arch.) (a) A vessel similar to that described in the first definition above, or the representation of one in a solid block of stone, or the like, used for an ornament, as on a terrace or in a garden. See Illust. of Niche. (b) The body, or naked ground, of the Corinthian and Composite capital; -- called also tambour, and drum. Note: Until the time of Walker (1791), vase was made to rhyme with base,, case, etc., and it is still commonly so pronounced in the United States. Walker made it to rhyme with phrase, maze, etc. Of modern English practice, Mr. A. J. Ellis (1874) says: ``Vase has four pronunciations in English: v[add]z, which I most commonly say, is going out of use, v["a]z I hear most frequently, v[=a]z very rarely, and v[=a]s I only know from Cull's marking. On the analogy of case, however, it should be the regular sound.''
Drum \Drum\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drummed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drumming.] 1. To beat a drum with sticks; to beat or play a tune on a drum. 2. To beat with the fingers, as with drumsticks; to beat with a rapid succession of strokes; to make a noise like that of a beaten drum; as, the ruffed grouse drums with his wings. Drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair. --W. Irving. 3. To throb, as the heart. [R.] --Dryden. 4. To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc,; -- with for.
Drum \Drum\, n. [Cf. D. trom, trommel, LG. trumme, G. trommel,
Dan. tromme, Sw. trumma, OHG. trumba a trumpet, Icel. pruma a
clap of thunder, and as a verb, to thunder, Dan. drum a
booming sound, drumme to boom; prob. partly at least of
imitative origin; perh. akin to E. trum, or trumpet.]
1. (Mus.) An instrument of percussion, consisting either of a
hollow cylinder, over each end of which is stretched a
piece of skin or vellum, to be beaten with a stick; or of
a metallic hemisphere (kettledrum) with a single piece of
skin to be so beaten; the common instrument for marking
time in martial music; one of the pair of tympani in an
orchestra, or cavalry band.
The drums cry bud-a-dub. --Gascoigne.
2. Anything resembling a drum in form; as:
(a) A sheet iron radiator, often in the shape of a drum,
for warming an apartment by means of heat received
from a stovepipe, or a cylindrical receiver for steam,
etc.
(b) A small cylindrical box in which figs, etc., are
packed.
(c) (Anat.) The tympanum of the ear; -- often, but
incorrectly, applied to the tympanic membrane.
(d) (Arch.) One of the cylindrical, or nearly cylindrical,
blocks, of which the shaft of a column is composed;
also, a vertical wall, whether circular or polygonal
in plan, carrying a cupola or dome.
(e) (Mach.) A cylinder on a revolving shaft, generally for
the purpose of driving several pulleys, by means of
belts or straps passing around its periphery; also,
the barrel of a hoisting machine, on which the rope or
chain is wound.
3. (Zo["o]l.) See Drumfish.
4. A noisy, tumultuous assembly of fashionable people at a
private house; a rout. [Archaic]
Not unaptly styled a drum, from the noise and
emptiness of the entertainment. --Smollett.
Note: There were also drum major, rout, tempest, and
hurricane, differing only in degrees of multitude and
uproar, as the significant name of each declares.
5. A tea party; a kettledrum. --G. Eliot.
Bass drum. See in the Vocabulary.
Double drum. See under Double.
Drum \Drum\, v. t.
1. To execute on a drum, as a tune.
2. (With out) To expel ignominiously, with beat of drum; as,
to drum out a deserter or rogue from a camp, etc.
3. (With up) To assemble by, or as by, beat of drum; to
collect; to gather or draw by solicitation; as, to drum up
recruits; to drum up customers.
Drumfish \Drum"fish`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any fish of the family Sci[ae]nid[ae], which makes a loud noise by means of its air bladder; -- called also drum.
Croaker \Croak"er\ (-?r), n.
1. One who croaks, murmurs, grumbles, or complains
unreasonably; one who habitually forebodes evil.
2. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A small American fish (Micropogon undulatus), of the
Atlantic coast.
(a) An American fresh-water fish (Aplodinotus
grunniens); -- called also drum.
(c) The surf fish of California.
Note: When caught these fishes make a croaking sound; whence
the name, which is often corrupted into crocus.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
drum Ancient slow, cylindrical magnetic media that were once state-of-the-art storage devices. Under BSD Unix the disk partition used for swapping is still called "/dev/drum"; this has led to considerable humour and not a few straight-faced but utterly bogus "explanations" getting foisted on newbies. See also "The Story of Mel". (1994-12-22)
Source: Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
drum adj, n. Ancient techspeak term referring to slow, cylindrical magnetic media that were once state-of-the-art storage devices. Under some versions of BSD Unix the disk partition used for swapping is still called `/dev/drum'; this has led to considerable humor and not a few straight-faced but utterly bogus `explanations' getting foisted on newbies. See also "The Story of Mel" in Appendix A.
