fingernail

[fing-ger-neyl]

noun

1. the nail at the end of a finger.

2. Printing.,  a parenthesis.

fingernail

/ ˈfɪŋɡəˌneɪl /

noun

1. a thin horny translucent plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the end joint of each finger

Word History and Origins

Origin of fingernail¹

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; finger, nail

Example Sentences

Hewlett had detected metal buried inside some gravel—digging it up, he found a chunk of gold about half the size of his pinkie fingernail.

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Except for one picked cuticle on a fingernail, which was ever so slightly rimmed with blood.

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Every game was the football equivalent of fingernails down a blackboard.

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Although it is obsolete in this sense, the verb survives in Welsh English in the sense of to scratch, especially with claws or fingernails, along with the noun use, to scratch.

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"She said, 'I think he's just holding on by his fingernails'," Lulu recalls.

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Related Words

• paw 
• tentacle