nail

English Online Dictionary. What means nail‎? What does nail mean?

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: nāl, IPA^(key): /neɪl/, [neɪ̯ɫ]
• Rhymes: -eɪl

Etymology 1

From Middle English nail, nayl, Old English næġl, from Proto-West Germanic *nagl, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ- (“nail”).

Noun

nail (plural nails)

1. The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.

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. The claw of a bird or other animal.
5. 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.
6. A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol.
7. An archaic English unit of length equivalent to ¹⁄₂₀ of an ell or ¹⁄₁₆ of a yard (2+¹⁄₄ inches or 5.715 cm).

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• claw
• talon

Etymology 2

From Middle English naylen, 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.

   Coordinate terms: pin, rivet, screw; see also Thesaurus:join

2. (intransitive) To drive a nail.

   Synonym: hammer

3. (transitive) To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.

   • The rivets of their arms were nail'd with gold.

4. (slang) To catch.

   Synonyms: arrest, collar, nick; see also Thesaurus:capture
5. (transitive, slang) To expose as a sham.
6. (transitive, slang) To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.

   Synonyms: ace, fullbring, fulfill

   Antonym: screw

7. (transitive, slang) To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
8. (transitive, vulgar, slang) Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.

   Synonyms: dick, pound, rail, screw; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
9. (military) To spike, as a cannon.
10. (transitive) To nail down: to make certain, or confirm.

    Synonyms: clinch, fix, lock down, pin down

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• Wikipedia disambiguation page on both meanings of nail
• Wikipedia disambiguation page on spike
• Nail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• I-lan, INLA, Ilan, LNAI, Lain, Lani, Lian, Lina, Nila, anil, lain

Bouyei

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɐi˨˦/

Etymology 1

Noun

nail

1. grandmother

Etymology 2

Noun

nail

1. snow
2. ice

Middle English

Noun

nail

1. Alternative form of nayl

Vietnamese

Etymology

English nail.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [new˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [new˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [new˧˧]
• Phonetic: nêu
• Homophone: nêu

Noun

nail

1. nailcare

   làm nail ― perform nailcare

   nghề nail ― nailcare as a profession

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nai̯l/

Noun

nail

1. Nasal mutation of dail.

Mutation