Hummer
/ˈhʌmər/noun
A person, animal, or machine that hums, or a trademarked large sport-utility vehicle produced by General Motors.
Did you know?The Hummer vehicle’s name comes from “Humvee,” itself derived from the military acronym HMMWV, not directly from the verb “hum.”
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
hummen
“To make a continuous low, indistinct sound; probably an imitative formation.”
16th Century
English
hum
“A murmuring or buzzing sound, and the act of producing it.”
16th–17th Century
English
hummer
“A person or thing that hums.”
20th Century
Military English
HMMWV
“Abbreviation for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.”
1980s–1990s
American English
Humvee / Hummer
“The military vehicle’s spoken nickname and later its civilian sport-utility-vehicle brand name.”
Explore more surprising origins