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finger

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪŋɡəː/

The English word “finger” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals.
  2. Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals, particularly
  3. The lower, smaller segment of an arthropod claw.
  4. One of the supporting structures of wings in birds, bats, etc. evolved from earlier toes or fingers.
  5. One of the slender bony structures before the pectoral fins of gurnards and sea robins (Triglidae).
  6. Something similar in shape to the human finger, particularly
  7. Finger-shaped pieces of food.
  8. A tube extending from a sealed system, or sometimes into one in the case of a cold finger.
  9. Synonym of foxglove (D. purpurea).
  10. Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body, particularly
  11. Various protruding plant structures, as a banana from its hand.
  12. A lobe of the liver.
  13. The teeth parallel to the blade of a scythe, fitted to a wooden frame called a crade.
  14. The projections of a reaper or mower which similarly separate the stalks for cutting.
  15. Synonym of jet bridge: the narrow elevated walkway connecting a plane to an airport.
  16. A leaf in a finger tree data structure.
  17. Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.
  18. Synonym of hand, the part of a clock pointing to the hour, minute, or second.
  19. A policeman or prison guard.
  20. An informer to the police, (especially) one who identifies a criminal during a lineup.

Etymology

PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fynger, finger, from Old English finger (“finger”), from Proto-West Germanic *fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (“finger”), from Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós, from *pénkʷe (“five”). Cognate with West Frisian finger, German and Low German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish finger, Faroese and Icelandic fingur; see…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.