subs. (old).—See quot.
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. HUMSTRUM. A musical instrument made of a mopstick, a bladder, and some packthread, thence also called bladder and string, and hurdy gurdy; it is played on like a violin, which is sometimes ludicrously called a HUMSTRUM: sometimes, instead of a bladder, a tin canister is used.
