Standard Lemma guide

fingernail

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈfɪŋɡɚˌneɪl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F IH1 NG G ER0 N EY2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The hard, flat translucent covering near the tip of a human finger, useful for scratching and fine manipulation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the nail at the end of a finger

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nail

Narrower terms: thumbnail

History

Etymology

From Middle English finger neil(e); equivalent to finger + nail. Compare Middle English nayl of fynger (“fingernail”) and Old English handnæġl (“fingernail”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Fingernail (“fingernail”), West Frisian fingerneil (“fingernail”), Dutch vingernagel (“fingernail”), German Fingernagel (“fingernail”), Danish fingernegl (“fingernail”), Swedish fingernagel (“fingernail”), Norwegian fingernegl (“fingernail”), Icelandic fingurnögl (“fingernail”).

Across languages

Translations

204 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Abkhaz: анапхыц (anapʼxəc) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Afrikaans: nael — covering near the tip of finger
  • Afrikaans: vingernael — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ainu: アㇺ (am) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Albanian: thua — covering near the tip of finger
  • Southern Altai: тырмак (tïrmak) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Amharic: ጥፍር (ṭəfr) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Arabic: ظُفْر (ẓufr) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Arabic: ظِفِر (ẓifir) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Armenian: եղունգ (eġung) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Assamese: নখ (nokh) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Asturian: uña — covering near the tip of finger
  • Avar: малъ (mals) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Aymara: sillu — covering near the tip of finger
  • Azerbaijani: dırnaq — covering near the tip of finger
  • Bashkir: тырнаҡ (tırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Belarusian: пазно́гаць (paznóhacʹ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Belarusian: но́гаць (nóhacʹ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Bengali: নখ (nokh) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Bulgarian: но́кът (nókǎt) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Burmese: လက်သည်း (laksany:) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Buryat: хюмһан (xjumhan) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Carpathian Rusyn: нохоть (noxotʹ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Catalan: ungla — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chakma: 𑄚𑄮𑄇𑄴 (nok) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chechen: мӏара (mˀara) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chichewa: khadabo — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chickasaw: ilbakchosh — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese Cantonese: 指甲 (zi2 gaap3) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese Cantonese: 手指甲 (sau2 zi2 gaap3) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese: зыҗя (zɨjia) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese: җиҗя (jijia) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese: зыҗягэзы (zɨjiagezɨ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese: зыҗягэр (zɨjiager) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Eastern Min Chinese: 掌甲 (ciēng-gák) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Gan Chinese: 指甲 (ziit6 gat) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese: 掌甲 (chéng-kah) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Jin Chinese: 指甲 (zeh4 jiah4) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese Mandarin: 指甲 (zhǐjia) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chinese Mandarin: 手指甲 (shǒuzhǐjia) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Wu Chinese: 手節掐 /手节掐 (5seu-ciq-khaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Xiang Chinese: 指甲子 (zhr6 ga6 zr) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Chuvash: чӗрне (čĕrne) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Crimean Tatar: tırnak — covering near the tip of finger
  • Czech: nehet — covering near the tip of finger
  • Danish: negl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Danish: fingernegl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Dolgan: тыҥырак — covering near the tip of finger
  • Dutch: vingernagel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Dutch: nagel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Egyptian: a:n-t:D51 (ꜥnt) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Egyptian: iAb-b-qs-Z1-F51 (ꜣb) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Erzya: кенже (kenže) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Estonian: küüs — covering near the tip of finger
  • Finnish: sormen kynsi — covering near the tip of finger
  • Finnish: sormenkynsi — covering near the tip of finger
  • Franco-Provençal: ongla — covering near the tip of finger
  • French: ongle — covering near the tip of finger
  • French: ongle de main — covering near the tip of finger
  • Gagauz: tırnak — covering near the tip of finger
  • Galician: uña — covering near the tip of finger
  • Galician: unlla — covering near the tip of finger
  • Georgian: ფრჩხილი (prčxili) — covering near the tip of finger
  • German: Fingernagel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Greek: νύχι (nýchi) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ancient Greek: ὄνυξ (ónux) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Gujarati: નખ (nakh) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Hausa: farce — covering near the tip of finger
  • Hawaiian: maiʻao — covering near the tip of finger
  • Hebrew: ציפורן \ צִפֹּרֶן (tsipóren) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Hindi: नाख़ुन (nāxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Hungarian: köröm — covering near the tip of finger
  • Icelandic: nögl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Icelandic: fingurnögl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Indonesian: kuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ingush: мӏара (mˀara) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Irish: ionga méire — covering near the tip of finger
  • Italian: unghia — covering near the tip of finger
  • Japanese: 爪 (tsume) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Japanese: ツメ (tsume) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kalmyk: хумсн (xumsn) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kannada: ಉಗುರು (uguru) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kapampangan: kuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Karachay-Balkar: тырнакъ (tırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Karakalpak: tırnaq — covering near the tip of finger
  • Karelian: kynzi — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kashubian: paznokc — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kashubian: nokc — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kazakh: тырнақ (tyrnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Khakas: тырғах (tırğax) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Khmer: ក្រចកដៃ (krɑɑcɑɑk day) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Khmer: ក្រចក (krɑɑcɑɑk) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Korean: 손톱 (sontop) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Koryak: вагылӈын (vagəlŋən) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kumyk: тырнакъ (tırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Central Kurdish: نینۆک (nînok) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Northern Kurdish: nînok — covering near the tip of finger
  • Kyrgyz: тырмак (tırmak) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Lao: ເລັບມື (lep mư̄) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Latgalian: nogs — covering near the tip of finger
  • Latin: unguis — covering near the tip of finger
  • Latvian: nags — covering near the tip of finger
  • Linngithigh: a'alan — covering near the tip of finger
  • Lithuanian: nagas — covering near the tip of finger
  • Luhya: litere — covering near the tip of finger
  • Luxembourgish: Fangernol — covering near the tip of finger
  • Macedonian: нокт (nokt) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Malay: kuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Malayalam: നഖം (nakhaṁ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Manchu: ᡥᡳᡨᠠᡥᡡᠨ (hitahūn) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Manchu: ᡤᠠᠯᠠ ᡥᡠᡵᡠ — covering near the tip of finger
  • Māori: kuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Māori: maikuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Marathi: नख (nakh) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Eastern Mari: кӱч (küč) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Mokilese: kikin poa — covering near the tip of finger
  • Moksha: кенже (kenže) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Mongolian: хумс (xums) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Mongolian: ᠬᠢᠮᠤᠰᠤ (qimusu) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Muak Sa-aak: p.sim3 — covering near the tip of finger
  • Mundurukú: ibunũ — covering near the tip of finger
  • Classical Nahuatl: iztetl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Navajo: áláshgaan — covering near the tip of finger
  • Nepali: नङ (naṅ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fingernegl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: fingernagl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Odia: ନଖ (nakha) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ojibwe: (my fingernail) nishlanzh — covering near the tip of finger
  • Church Slavic: ногъть (nogŭtĭ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Church Slavic: ⱀⱁⰳⱏⱅⱐ (nogŭtĭ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Old East Slavic: пазногъть (paznogŭtĭ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Old East Slavic: ногъть (nogŭtĭ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Old English: næġl — covering near the tip of finger
  • Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰃𐰺𐰭𐰴 — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ossetian: ных (nyx) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Pannonian Rusyn: нохец (noxec) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Pashto: نوک (nuk) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Dari: نَاخُن (nāxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Iranian Persian: ناخُن (nâxon) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Pirahã: xopói — covering near the tip of finger
  • Pitjantjatjara: maṟa piri — covering near the tip of finger
  • Pitjantjatjara: miltji — covering near the tip of finger
  • Polabian: nüďit — covering near the tip of finger
  • Polish: paznokieć — covering near the tip of finger
  • Old Polish: nogieć — covering near the tip of finger
  • Portuguese: unha — covering near the tip of finger
  • Punjabi: ਨਹੁੰ (nahũ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Punjabi: ਨਾਖ਼ੁਨ (nāxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Punjabi: نَون٘ہہ (nauṉh) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Punjabi: ناخُن (nāxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Quechua: sillu — covering near the tip of finger
  • Rapa Nui: akikuku — covering near the tip of finger
  • Romanian: unghie — covering near the tip of finger
  • Russian: но́готь (nógotʹ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Russian: но́гти (nógti) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Sanskrit: नख (nakha) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Serbo-Croatian: но̏кат — covering near the tip of finger
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȍkat — covering near the tip of finger
  • Shor: тырбақ (tırbaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Slovak: necht — covering near the tip of finger
  • Slovene: noht — covering near the tip of finger
  • Lower Sorbian: nokś — covering near the tip of finger
  • Upper Sorbian: nochć — covering near the tip of finger
  • Spanish: uña — covering near the tip of finger
  • Spanish: uña de dedo — covering near the tip of finger
  • Spanish: uña de mano — covering near the tip of finger
  • Spanish: uña dactilar — covering near the tip of finger
  • Spanish: quirouña — covering near the tip of finger
  • Sranan Tongo: nangra — covering near the tip of finger
  • Sundanese: tanggai — covering near the tip of finger
  • Swahili: kucha — covering near the tip of finger
  • Swedish: fingernagel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Swedish: nagel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tagalog: kuko — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tajik: нохун (noxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tamil: விரல் நகம் (viral nakam) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tamil: நகம் (nakam) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Taos: mą̏cʼélena — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tarifit: iššar — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tarifit: aššar — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tatar: тырнак (tırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Telugu: గోరు (gōru) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Telugu: నఖము (nakhamu) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Thai: เล็บมือ (lép-mʉʉ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tigrinya: ጽፍሪ (ṣəfri) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Turkish: tırnak — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ottoman Turkish: طرناق (tırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ottoman Turkish: درنق (dırnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Turkmen: dyrnak — covering near the tip of finger
  • Tuvan: дыргак (dırgak) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Ukrainian: ні́готь (níhotʹ) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Urdu: ناخُن (nāxun) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Uyghur: تىرناق (tirnaq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Uzbek: tirnoq — covering near the tip of finger
  • Vietnamese: móng — covering near the tip of finger
  • Vietnamese: móng tay — covering near the tip of finger
  • Volapük: doatanuel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Welsh: ewin (y llaw) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Woiwurrung: dhirrip — covering near the tip of finger
  • Yakut: тыҥырах (tïŋïraq) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Yami: koko — covering near the tip of finger
  • Yiddish: נאָגל (nogl) — covering near the tip of finger
  • Zealandic: naegel — covering near the tip of finger
  • Zulu: uzipho class 11/10 — covering near the tip of finger