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finger

/ˈfɪŋɡəː/ noun

In Latin: digitus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about finger at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb).
    her fingers were long and thin
  2. The length of breadth of a finger used as a linear measure.
  3. One of the parts of a glove that provides covering for a finger or thumb.

verb

  1. Feel or handle with the fingers.
    finger the binding of the book
  2. Examine by touch.
    Feel this soft cloth!
  3. Search for on the computer.
    I fingered my boss and found that he is not logged on in the afternoons

Origin

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 also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)