finger
UK /ˈfɪŋɡəː/ · US /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms fingers fingering fingered
- noun 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. “Humans have two hands and ten fingers. Each hand has one thumb and four fingers.”
- noun (zoology) Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals, particularly:
- noun The lower, smaller segment of an arthropod claw.
- noun One of the supporting structures of wings in birds, bats, etc. evolved from earlier toes or fingers.
- noun One of the slender bony structures before the pectoral fins of gurnards and sea robins (Triglidae).
- noun Something similar in shape to the human finger, particularly:
- noun (cooking) Finger-shaped pieces of food. “chocolate fingers; fish fingers; cheese fingers”
- noun (chemistry) A tube extending from a sealed system, or sometimes into one in the case of a cold finger.
- verb (transitive) To identify or point out; to blame for something.
- verb (transitive) To report to or identify for the authorities; to inform on.
- verb (transitive) To poke, probe, feel, or fondle with a finger or fingers.
- verb (transitive, sex) To use the fingers to penetrate or sexually stimulate one's own or another person's vulva, vagina, or anus.
- verb (transitive, music) To use specified finger positions in producing notes on a musical instrument.
- verb (transitive, music) To provide instructions in written music as to which fingers are to be used to produce particular notes or passages.
- verb (transitive, Internet) To query (a user's status) using the Finger protocol.
- verb (obsolete) To steal; to purloin.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A city in Tennessee.
Synonyms
tendril foxglove jet bridge hand digit fingering technique touch bloke lad boy guv toe claw talon informant lupper put the finger on rat on rat out squeal on fingerbreadth finger's breadth thumb feel
Etymology
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 also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.
English, German, and Jewish surname, from the noun finger.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of the five terminating members of the hand; a digit; esp., one of the four extermities of the hand, other than the thumb.
- noun Anything that does work of a finger; as, the pointer of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; especially (Mech.) a small projecting rod, wire, or piece, which is brought into contact with an object to effect, direct, or restrain a motion.
- verb To touch with the fingers; to handle; to meddle with.
- verb To touch lightly; to toy with.
Etymology [AS. finger; akin to D. vinger, OS. & OHG. fingar, G. finger, Icel. fingr, Sw. & Dan. finger, Goth. figgrs; of unknown origin; perh. akin to E. fang.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “finger”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details