Then, there's something called "thumbpicking" by its Kentucky practioners. As far as I can tell, it's just another approach to fingerpicking (literally, of course, thumb-and-finger picking). The only definining characteristic of "thumbpicking" that I can see is that most of those who practice it tend to be very skilled players.

If I'm not mistaken, Merle Travis himself was and is a self-proclaimed "thumbpicker." He does not (understandably) call himself a "Travis picker." That term seems to have been originated by folkies trying to more-or-less imitate the playing of Mr. Travis, a musical personality associated more closely with the Nashville commercial-country music industry than with the folk world, and a true virtuoso who has absorbed a wide range of musical influences, including jazz.

Is "Travis picking" nothing more or less than a pale imitation of Merle Travis's "thumbpicking"?