nail

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits
  2. noun a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener
  3. noun a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard

Etymology

From Middle English nail, nayl, Old English næġl, from Proto-West Germanic *nagl, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ- (“nail”). Cognates Compare North Frisian Nail (“nail”), Saterland Frisian Nail (“nail”), West Frisian neil, German and Low German Nagel, Dutch and Swedish nagel, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål negl, Norwegian Nynorsk nagl, Finnish naula (“nail”), Estonian nael (“nail”), (compare Irish ionga, Latin unguis, Albanian nyell (“ankle, hard part of a limb”), Lithuanian nagas, Russian нога́ (nogá, “foot, leg”), но́готь (nógotʹ, “nail”), Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux), Persian ناخن (nâxon), Sanskrit नख (nakhá).

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