English

Noun

unguis ‎(plural ungues or unguises)

1. (zoology) The nail, claw, talon, or hoof of a finger, toe, or other appendage.
2. One of the terminal hooks on the foot of an insect.
3. (botany) The slender base of a petal in some flowers; a claw; an ungula.

Derived terms

• subunguis

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃negʰ-. Cognates include Ancient Greek ὄνυξ ‎(ónux), Old Irish inga, Sanskrit नख ‎(nakhá, “claw, nail”), Old Armenian եղունգն ‎(ełungn), Old Church Slavonic ногъть ‎(nogŭtĭ), Lithuanian nagas, Persian ناخن ‎(nâxon), Albanian nyell, and Old English næġel (English nail).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈun.ɡʷis/, [ˈʊŋ.ɡᶣɪs]

Noun

unguis m ‎(genitive unguis); third declension

1. (anatomy) fingernail, toenail
2. claw
3. hoof

Inflection

Third declension i-stem.

Derived terms

• ungula

References

• unguis in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• unguis in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “unguis”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.