ad unguem

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad unguem.

Adverb

ad unguem

1. ad unguem

   Synonym: alla perfezione

Latin

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek εἰς ὄνῠχᾰ (eis ónukha, literally “to a nail”): an expression borrowed from sculptors, who, in modelling, give the finishing touch with the fingernail, or from joiners, who test the accuracy of joints in wood by the fingernail.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ad ˈun.ɡʷem/, [äd̪ ˈʊŋɡʷɛ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ad ˈun.ɡwem/, [äd̪ ˈuŋɡwem]

Adverb

ad unguem (not comparable)

1. to a hair, to a nicety; precisely, exactly; to an exacting standard

   Synonym: in unguem

References

• “unguis · I.B.5”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “unguis · 1.b” on page 2,093/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)