Where does “fingernail” come from?
Fingernail comes from Middle English nail, from Proto-Germanic naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₃nogʰ-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe meaning five.
fingernail (English): The hard, flat translucent covering near the tip...
Definitions
- The hard, flat translucent covering near the tip...
Ancestry of “fingernail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | finger | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, ... |
| 2 | German | Finger | finger |
| 3 | Middle High German | vinger | — |
| 4 | Old High German | fingar | finger |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | fingr | finger |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fingraz | finger |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | penkʷrós | — |
Words derived from “fingernail”