thumbnail

Pronunciation: /ˈθʌm.neɪl/

The English word “thumbnail” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

The fingernail on the thumb.
A rough sketch (e.g., the size of one's thumbnail).
A small picture, used as a compact representation of a larger image.
A small picture representing a post or a video in a list.

verb

To describe concisely.
To create a smaller representation of (a larger image).

Etymology

From thumb + nail. Compare West Frisian tommeneil (“thumbnail”), Dutch duimnagel (“thumbnail”), German Daumennagel (“thumbnail”). The phrase thumbnail sketch was first attested 1852. Verb sense attested 1930s.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “thumbnail” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

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