ungual

[ uhng-gwuhl ]

adjective
  1. of, pertaining to, bearing, or shaped like a nail, claw, or hoof.

Origin of ungual

1
1825–35; <Latin ungu(is) a nail, claw, hoof (akin to Greek ónyx) + -al1

Other words from ungual

  • sub·un·gual, adjective

Words Nearby ungual

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ungual in a sentence

  • The ungual phalanx progressively decreases in size from the first to the fourth.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • The limbs are plantigrade, and have five digits with rather pointed ungual phalanges.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • The terminal or ungual phalanges of the digits are commonly specially modified to support nails, claws, or hoofs.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • In Orycteropus the pollex is absent, while the other digits are terminated by pointed ungual phalanges.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • In the Chiroptera the pes is pentedactylate, and the digits are terminated by long curved ungual phalanges.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for ungual

ungual

ungular (ˈʌŋɡjʊlə)

/ (ˈʌŋɡwəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or affecting the fingernails or toenails

  2. of or relating to an unguis

Origin of ungual

1
C19: from Latin unguis nail, claw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012