origin of "thumb Your Nose"?

Answer 1

"Thumb your nose" has been around for a long, long time. It was the equivalent of giving someone the bird back in Shakespeare's day.

A version of it (biting ones thumb) appeared in Romeo and Juliet.

"Originated in the 1640's in Vienna. Gained popularity when Shakespeare is said to have 'thumbed his nose' at Edmond Rostand."

Answer 2

Thumbing Your Nose

Answer 3

Here is something I found -
" "Thumbing one's nose" has no sinister meaning that I know of beyond indicating extreme contempt. The gesture basically consists of touching your nose with the tip of your thumb, spreading your other fingers upward, and wiggling them in the most annoying way you can manage. This gesture, also known as "giving the five-finger salute" and "cocking a snook," dates back to at least the 18th century and is probably much older. As is true of many kinds of human non-verbal communication, the gesture itself has probably always been meaningless, and it's the thought that counts. The recipient of a "nose thumbing" finds it insulting simply because he or she knows it is meant to be insulting. Who knows? Perhaps there's a parallel universe somewhere where a cheerful wave is considered a deadly insult."

---Further info on branch to your nose---
"Another dark and much discussed passage must still be referred to: "And, lo, they put the branch to their nose" (Ezek 8:17). The usual explanation (whereof the context gives some valuable hints) is that a rite connected with the worship of Baal (the sun) is here alluded to (see Smend and A.B. Davidson's commentaries on the passage). A similar custom is known from Persian sun-worship, where a bunch (baretsma) of dates, pomegranates or tamarisks was held to the nose by the worshipper, probably as an attempt to keep the Holy One (sun) from being contaminated by sinful breath (Spiegel, Eranische Altertamer, III, 571).

Answer 4

An early example (ca. 592 B.C.) may be Ezekiel 8:17 "Behold, they put the branch to their nose."

Answer 5

Sounds stupid, don't it?