vbl. sb. [-ING1.]
1. The action of the verb STRUM.
1775. Ash, Suppl., Strumming, the act of stringing or tuning in a clumsy manner.
1817. Byron, Beppo, ii. And there are songs and quavers, roaring, humming, Guitars, and every other sort of strumming.
1825. C. M. Westmacott, Engl. Spy, I. 362. The strumming of an ill-toned piano.
1887. Besant, The World went, xiii. As for tea, with the strumming of a harpsichord,… I cannot endure it.
1894. Jessopp, Random Roaming, etc. ii. 75. We provide pianos for elementary schools, and encourage strumming.
2. Sc. ‘A thrilling sensation, sometimes implying giddiness.’ (Jam.)
1822. Hogg, Perils of Man, II. vii. 234. I’ll never forget sic queer strummings as I had within me. Oh, I wad fain hae been at them! There was a kind o’ yeuk, a kind o’ kittling, a sort o’ prinkling in my blood like.
