finger

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See also: Finger

English[edit]

A human hand, showing its four fingers and thumb.
An X-ray of human fingers.
The Egyptian hieroglyph for "finger" (ḏbꜥ, D50).
Fish fingers.

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English finger, from Old English finger (“finger”), from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (“finger”) (compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish finger), from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós, *penkʷ-ros 'fifth' (compare Old Irish cóicer 'set of five people', Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”)), from *pénkʷe (“five”). More at five.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

finger (plural fingers)

  1. (anatomy) A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (usually) exclusive of the thumb.
    Humans have two hands and ten fingers. Each hand has one thumb and four fingers.
    • 1916, The Finger Talk of Chicago's Wheat-Pit, Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 89, p. 81:
      Each finger extended represents one-eighth of a cent. Thus when all four fingers and the thumb are extended, all being spread out from one another, it means five-eighths.
    • 2014 March 29, “Don’t cramp my style”, in The Economist, volume 410, number 8880:
      In 1993 [Victor Candia] noticed that the fingers of his left hand were starting to curl up as he played [on his guitar]. It felt to him as if a magnet in his palm were preventing him from opening them. A week later, he could not play at all.
  2. (zoology) Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals, particularly:
    1. The lower, smaller segment of an arthropod claw.
    2. One of the supporting structures of wings in birds, bats, etc. evolved from earlier toes or fingers.
    3. One of the slender bony structures before the pectoral fins of gurnards and sea robins (Triglidae).
  3. Something similar in shape to the human finger, particularly:
    • 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion, p. 250:
      ...spires whose ‘silent finger points to Heaven’...
    1. (cooking) Finger-shaped pieces of food.
      chocolate fingers; fish fingers; cheese fingers
    2. (Britain regional, botany, usually in plural, obsolete) Synonym of foxglove (D. purpurea).
  4. Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body, particularly:
    a finger of land; a finger of smoke
    1. (botany) Various protruding plant structures, as a banana from its hand.
    2. (anatomy, obsolete) A lobe of the liver.
    3. (historical) The teeth parallel to the blade of a scythe, fitted to a wooden frame called a crade.
    4. The projections of a reaper or mower which similarly separate the stalks for cutting.
    5. (nautical) Clipping of finger pier: a shorter, narrower pier projecting from a larger dock.
    6. (aviation) Synonym of jet bridge: the narrow elevated walkway connecting a plane to an airport.
  5. Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.
    • 1611, Bible (KJV), Exodus 8:19:
      The Magicians said vnto Pharaoh; This is the finger of God.
    1. (obsolete) Synonym of hand, the part of a clock pointing to the hour, minute, or second.
    2. (US, obsolete slang) A policeman or prison guard.
    3. (US, rare slang) An informer to the police, (especially) one who identifies a criminal during a lineup.
    4. (US, rare slang) A criminal who scouts for prospective victims and targets or who performs reconnaissance before a crime.
  6. (units of measure) Various units of measure based or notionally based on the adult human finger, particularly
    1. (historical) Synonym of digit: former units of measure notionally based on its width but variously standardized, (especially) the English digit of 1⁄16 foot (about 1.9 cm).
      • Bishop John Wilkins (1614-1672)
        a piece of steel three fingers thick
    2. (historical) A unit of length notionally based on the length of an adult human's middle finger, standardized as 4½ inches (11.43 cm).
    3. (historical) Synonym of digit: 1⁄12 the observed diameter of the sun or moon, (especially) with regard to eclipses.
    4. (alcohol, originally US) An informal measure of alcohol based on its height in a given glass compared to the width of the pourer's fingers while holding it.
      Gimme three fingers of bourbon.
  7. (fashion) A part of a glove intended to cover a finger.
  8. (informal, obsolete) Skill in the use of the fingers, as in playing upon a musical instrument.
  9. (informal, rare) Someone skilled in the use of their fingers, (especially) a pickpocket.
  10. (Britain slang) A person.

Synonyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from the noun finger

Translations[edit]

the breadth of a finger — see digit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

finger (third-person singular simple present fingers, present participle fingering, simple past and past participle fingered)

  1. (transitive) To identify or point out. Also put the finger on. To report to or identify for the authorities, rat on, rat out, squeal on, tattle on, turn in, to finger.
  2. (transitive) To poke or probe with a finger or fingers.
    • c. 1589–1593, Shakespeare, William, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 1, Scene 2:
      Let the papers lie; / You would be fingering them to anger me.
    • 2009, Win Blevins, Dreams Beneath Your Feet, page 135:
      Feeling tender around the face, she fingered herself gingerly. Yes, it was swollen, very sore around the cheekbones, with dried blood on the outsides of her eye sockets, below her nostrils, and below one ear.
  3. (transitive) To use the fingers to penetrate and sexually stimulate one's own or another person's vagina or anus; to fingerbang
    • 2007, Madeline Bastinado, A Talent for Surrender, page 201:
      She fingered him, spreading the gel and sliding the tip of her finger inside him.
    • 2008, Thomas Wainwright (editor), Erotic Tales, page 56:
      She smiled, a look of amazement on her face, as if thinking that maybe this was the cock that she had been fantasizing about just now, as she fingered herself to a massive, body-engulfing orgasm.
  4. (transitive, music) To use specified finger positions in producing notes on a musical instrument.
  5. (transitive, music) To provide instructions in written music as to which fingers are to be used to produce particular notes or passages.
  6. (transitive, computing) To query (a user's status) using the Finger protocol.
    • 1996, "Yves Bellefeuille", List of useful freeware, comp.archives.msdos.d, Usenet:
      PGP mail welcome (finger me for my key).
  7. (obsolete) To steal; to purloin.
    • c. 1599–1602, Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2:
      in the dark / Groped I to find out them, had my desire, / Fingered their packet, and in fine withdrew / To mine own room again,
  8. (transitive, obsolete) To execute, as any delicate work.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • "finger, n., in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /fenɡər/, [ˈfeŋˀɐ]

Noun[edit]

finger c (singular definite fingeren, plural indefinite fingre)

  1. finger
Inflection[edit]
Declension of finger
common
gender		 Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative finger fingeren fingre fingrene
genitive fingers fingerens fingres fingrenes
Further reading[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See fingere (“to simulate”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /fenɡɡeːr/, [ˈfeŋɡ̊eːˀɐ̯], [ˈfeŋɡ̊eɐ̯ˀ]

Verb[edit]

finger or fingér

  1. imperative of fingere

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós.

Noun[edit]

finger m (definite singular fingeren, indefinite plural fingre or fingrer, definite plural fingrene)

  1. (anatomy) a finger

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós.

Noun[edit]

finger m (definite singular fingeren, indefinite plural fingrar, definite plural fingrane)

  1. (anatomy) a finger

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *fingraz, which is from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós, *penkʷ-ros, a suffixed form of *pénkʷe (“five”). Compare Old Frisian finger, Old Saxon fingar, Old High German fingar, Old Norse fingr, Gothic 𐍆𐌹𐌲𐌲𐍂𐍃 (figgrs).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

finger m

  1. finger

Declension[edit]

Declension of finger (strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative finger fingras
accusative finger fingras
genitive fingres fingra
dative fingre fingrum

Old Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós.

Noun[edit]

finger m

  1. finger

Declension[edit]

Declension of finger (masculine a-stem)
case singular plural
nominative finger fingerar, fingera
accusative finger fingerar, fingera
genitive fingeres fingera
dative fingere fingerum, fingerem

Descendants[edit]

Old Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz.

Noun[edit]

finger m

  1. finger

Declension[edit]

Declension of finger (consonant stem)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative finger fingrin finger fingrini(r), -rene(r)
accusative finger fingrin finger fingrina, -rena
dative fingri, -e fingrinum, -enom fingrum, -om fingrumin, -omen
genitive fingers fingersins fingra fingranna

or (with neuter gender)

Declension of finger (a-stem)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative finger fingrit finger fingrin
accusative finger fingrit finger fingrin
dative fingri, -e fingrinu, -eno fingrum, -om fingrumin, -omen
genitive fingers fingersins fingra fingranna

Descendants[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Etymology[edit]

From Old Swedish finger, from Old Norse fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

finger n, c

  1. (anatomy) a finger (the body part)

Declension[edit]

Declension of finger
singular plural
Neuter indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative finger fingret fingrar fingrarna
genitive fingers fingrets fingrars fingrarnas
Declension of finger
singular plural
Common indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative finger fingern fingrar fingrarna
genitive fingers fingerns fingrars fingrarnas

Genus[edit]

The neuter declension is much more common than the common declination.

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian finger, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷrós. Compare English finger, Dutch vinger, Low German and German Finger, Danish finger.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

finger c (plural fingers)

  1. finger
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