unguis

[ uhng-gwis ]
See synonyms for unguis on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural un·gues [uhng-gweez]. /ˈʌŋ gwiz/.
  1. a nail, claw, or hoof.

  2. Botany. the clawlike base of certain petals.

Origin of unguis

1
1685–95; <Latin unguis a nail, claw, hoof; akin to Greek ónyx

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How to use unguis in a sentence

  • The ancient writers, seeing the valves separate, placed it in their systems under the name Patella unguis.

    A Conchological Manual | George Brettingham Sowerby
  • unguis: one of the claws at the end of the tarsus: also applied to a short process on the 6th antennal joint in some Aphids.

  • The malar bone, and the os unguis or lachrymal, are more or less developed according to the species considered.

British Dictionary definitions for unguis

unguis

/ (ˈʌŋɡwɪs) /


nounplural -gues (-ɡwiːz)
  1. a nail, claw, or hoof, or the part of the digit giving rise to it

  2. the clawlike base of certain petals

Origin of unguis

1
C18: from Latin

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