forefinger

[fawr-fing-ger, fohr-]

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noun

the first finger next to the thumb.

Origin of forefinger

First recorded in 1400–50, forefinger is from the late Middle English word forefyngure. See fore-, finger

Also called index finger.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for forefinger

digit, pointer

Examples from the Web for forefinger

Contemporary Examples of forefinger

The emphasis was his: a high quivering shout, a forefinger stabbing upward.
Yeshayahu Leibowitz Is Not The Name Of A Street
Gershom Gorenberg
April 18, 2013

Historical Examples of forefinger

And Andy knew that he had the life of a man under the command of his forefinger.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
To be crushed, as it were, under the tip of a forefinger was an unpleasant experience.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Doctor taps Mr. Dibble on the eyebrow with his forefinger, and away they go.
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
A young Savoyard, eighteen years old, had had his forefinger shot off.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
"Now, I'll put you in a corner," forensically shaking a forefinger at him.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for forefinger

forefinger

noun

the finger next to the thumbAlso called: index finger

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

Word Origin and History for forefinger

mid-15c., from fore- + finger (n.). So called because it is considered the first next to the thumb.

forefinger in Medicine

forefinger

[fôr′fĭng′gər]

n.

index finger