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Webster 1913 Edition

Nail

Nail

(nāl)
,
Noun.
[AS.
naegel
, akin to D.
nagel
, OS. & OHG.
nagal
, G.
nagel
, Icel.
nagl
, nail (in sense 1),
nagli
nail (in sense 3), Sw.
nagel
nail (in senses 1 and 3), Dan.
nagle
, Goth.
ganagljan
to nail, Lith.
nagas
nail (in sense 1), Russ.
nogote
, L.
unguis
, Gr.
ὅνυξ
, Skr.
nakha
. √259.]
1.
(Anat.)
the horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end of the fingers and toes of man and many apes.
His
nayles
like a briddes claws were.
Chaucer.
☞ The nails are strictly homologous with hoofs and claws. When compressed, curved, and pointed, they are called
talons
or
claws
, and the animal bearing them is said to be unguiculate; when they incase the extremities of the digits they are called hoofs, and the animal is ungulate.
2.
(Zool.)
(a)
The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
(b)
The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
3.
A slender, pointed piece of metal, usually with a head{2}, used for fastening pieces of wood or other material together, by being driven into or through them.
☞ The different sorts of nails are named either from the use to which they are applied, from their shape, from their size, or from some other characteristic, as shingle, floor, ship-carpenters’, and horseshoe nails, roseheads, diamonds, fourpenny, tenpenny (see
Penny
,
Adj.
), chiselpointed, cut, wrought, or wire nails, etc.
4.
A measure of length, being two inches and a quarter, or the sixteenth of a yard.

Nail

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Nailed
(nāld)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Nailing
.]
[AS.
naeglian
. See
Nail
,
Noun.
]
1.
To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails;
as, to
nail
boards to the beams
.
He is now dead, and
nailed
in his chest.
Chaucer.
2.
To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails.
The rivets of your arms were
nailed
with gold.
Dryden.
3.
To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion; hence, to catch; to trap.
When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at once how I
nailed
them.
Goldsmith.
4.
To spike, as a cannon.
[Obs.]
Crabb.
To nail an assertion
or
To nail a lie
, etc.,
to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; – an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter.

Webster 1828 Edition

Nail

NAIL

,
Noun.
If the word was originally applied to a claw or talon, the primary sense may be to catch, or it may be a shoot.
1.
The claw or talon of a fowl or other animal.
2.
The horny substance growing at the end of the human fingers and toes.
3.
A small pointed piece of metal, usually with a head, to be driven into a board or other piece of timber, and serving to fasten it to other timber. The larger kinds of instruments of this sort are called spikes; and a long thin kind with a flattish head, is called a brad.
4.
A stud or boss; a short nail with a large broad head.
5.
A measure of length, being two inches and a quarter, or the 16th of a yard.
6.
On the nail, in hand; immediately; without delay or time of credit; as, to pay money on the nail.
7.
To hit the nail on the head, to hit or touch the exact point.

NAIL

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To fasten with nails; to unite, close or make compact with nails.
2.
To stud with nails.
3.
To stop the vent of a cannon; to spike.

Definition 2024

Nail

Nail

See also: nail

Saterland Frisian

Noun

Nail m

  1. (anatomy) nail

nail

nail

See also: Nail

English

Noun

A metal nail (fastener).

nail ‎(plural nails)

  1. The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
    When I'm nervous I bite my nails.‎
  2. The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
  3. The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
  4. A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapterII:
      Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  5. A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol.
  6. An archaic English unit of length equivalent to 1/20th of an ell or 1/16th of a yard (2.25 inches or 5.715 cm).
Derived terms
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

From Old English næġlan

Verb

nail ‎(third-person singular simple present nails, present participle nailing, simple past and past participle nailed)

  1. (transitive) To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.
    He nailed the placard to the post.
  2. (intransitive) To drive a nail.
    He used the ax head for nailing.
  3. (transitive) To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.
    • Dryden
      The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.
  4. (slang) To catch.
    • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 261a.
      we'll nail the sophist to it, if we can get him on that charge;
  5. (transitive, slang) To expose as a sham.
  6. (transitive, slang) To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.
    I really nailed that test.
  7. (transitive, slang) To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
    • 2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport:
      Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson departed early with injury but Chris Paterson nailed a penalty from wide out left to give Scotland an early lead, and Jackson's replacement Dan Parks added three more points with a penalty which skimmed over the crossbar.
  8. (transitive, slang) Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.
    There’s a benefit gala at the Boston Pops tonight, and... well, I’m trying to nail the flautist. - Brian Griffin in the TV series Family Guy
  9. To spike, as a cannon.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Crabb to this entry?)
Synonyms
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Welsh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nai̯l/

Noun

nail

  1. Nasal mutation of dail.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
dail ddail nail unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Etymology

From Old Frisian neil, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz. More at nail.

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