# fingernail

Pronunciation: US say "FING-gur-nayl" /ˈfɪŋɡɚˌneɪl/; UK say "FING-guh-nayl" /ˈfɪŋɡəˌneɪl/

## Noun

1. The hard, flat, slightly see-through covering at the tip of a human finger, useful for scratching and handling small things.
   - Simple: The hard, flat layer that grows over the tip of each finger.
   - _A torn fingernail can be surprisingly painful for days._
   - _She slid her fingernails under the edge of the sticker to peel it off._

## Origin

From Middle English finger neil(e), equivalent to finger + nail; compare Old English handnæġl, Dutch vingernagel, and German Fingernagel.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fingernail (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).