Save Gender Feminine Usage Literature Pronounced Pron. /ˌθʌm.bə.ˈliː.nə/(English) [key·simplify] Meaning & History English translation of Danish Tommelise, a name created from Danish tommel "thumb" by Hans Christian Andersen for the title character of his 1835 fairy tale. In the story she is a miniature girl who grows out of a grain of barley. Categories body parts, ends in -ina, ends in -lina, fairytales, film titles, invented, literature, littleness, movies, popular culture, The Pretenders songs