Where does “finger” come from?

Finger comes from Old English finger, from Proto-Germanic fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe, the root for five, reflecting the digit's association with counting.

finger (English): A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals

Definitions

  1. A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals

Ancestry of “finger”, step by step

finger traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Finger

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFingerfinger
2Middle High Germanvingerfinger
3Old High Germanfingarfinger
4Proto-West Germanicfingrfinger
5Proto-Germanicfingrazfinger
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpenkʷrós—

via Middle English fynger

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishfyngerA finger; The toes; Something unimportant, small,...
2Old Englishfingerfinger

Words derived from “finger”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European penkʷrós →Every word from Proto-Germanic fingraz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic fingr →