finger

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ UK /ˈfɪŋɡə/ See IPA manual

Freq #1746

Meanings

1

noun
One of the four long thin parts at the end of the hand, sometimes including the thumb.

She wore a gold ring on her left finger.
2

noun
A long thin piece of food shaped like a finger.

The children ate fish fingers for lunch.
3

verb
To touch or handle something with the fingers.

He nervously fingered the coins in his pocket.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 verb · to touch or handle... thumb

More claw digit informantluppertalon toe

Word family

Forms fingeredfingeringfingers

Derived forms arrow-fingerbefingerbutterfingersear-fingereigenfingerfat-fingerfinger's-breadthfinger-and-toefinger-bangfinger-barfinger-beamfinger-bowl

Related forms artiodactyldactyldactylographydactylologyfistmacrodactylyperissodactylprestidigitation pterodactyl

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

index finger
the finger immediately next to the thumb

Noun + noun

Idioms (4)

See all

Simplified etymology

Finger is an Old English word of Germanic origin.

Etymology

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”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.

fynger Middle English finger Old English *fingr Proto-West Germanic *fingraz Proto-Germanic *penkʷrós Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# finger

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɪŋɡə/
**Frequency rank:** 1746

## Meanings
1. One of the four long thin parts at the end of the hand, sometimes including the thumb.
2. A long thin piece of food shaped like a finger.
3. To touch or handle something with the fingers.

## Examples
- She wore a gold ring on her left finger.
- The children ate fish fingers for lunch.
- He nervously fingered the coins in his pocket.

## Synonyms
- claw
- digit
- informant
- lupper
- talon
- toe

## Derived Forms
- arrow-finger
- befinger
- butterfingers
- ear-finger
- eigenfinger
- fat-finger
- finger's-breadth
- finger-and-toe
- finger-bang
- finger-bar
- finger-beam
- finger-bowl

## Related Forms
- artiodactyl
- dactyl
- dactylography
- dactylology
- fist
- macrodactyly
- perissodactyl
- prestidigitation
- pterodactyl

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fynger
- Root: finger
- Root: *fingr
- Root: *fingraz
- Root: *penkʷrós

## Etymology
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”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.

## AI Etymology
Finger has a PIE background in *pénkʷe. Finger comes 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”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five. In current use, the main senses are “One of the four long thin parts at the end of the hand, sometimes including the thumb” and “A long thin piece of food shaped like a finger”.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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