Etymologically
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This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 07:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /neɪl/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English nail, inherited from Old English nægel, nægl (“fingernail; metal peg”),[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *naglaz,[3][4] cognate with Dutch nagel, German Nagel and Old Norse nagl,[2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *(o)nogh- (“nail of a finger or toe”), also the source of ὄνυξ (ónux, “claw”) and unguis (“fingernail”).[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fingernail or toenail: about 725 in the OED, before 725 in Barnhart;[7][2] a metal peg, in scōhnægl, shoe nail, before 800.[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline judges the fingernail sense to be the original, though many figurative uses come from the metal spike.[3] A claw or talon is from before 1100.[7] As a unit of cloth measure, about 2¼ inches, it is from the late 14th century.[3][4] To hit the nail on the head is by the 1520s,[3] on the nail, at once, from the 1590s,[3] and hard as nails from 1828.[3] Word Origins traces nail a lie to shopkeepers nailing forged coins to the counter.[8] The verb, to fasten with nails, is Old English næglian;[3] to catch or arrest is by 1760 and 1930.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – a fingernail.[7]
  • before 800 – a metal spike.[2]
  • late 14th century – a unit of length.[3]
  • 1520s – hit the nail on the head.[3]
  • 1828 – hard as nails.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thin pointed piece of metal with a flat head, hammered in to join things.
  2. The hard covering on the tip of a finger or toe.

Verb

  1. To fasten with nails.
  2. (informal) To catch or arrest; to expose: nail a lie.
  3. (informal) To do something perfectly.

Word family

  • nailer
  • nailless
  • naillike
  • hobnail
  • nailhead
  • renail
  • thumbnail
  • treenail
  • fingernail
  • toenail
  • onyx
  • ungulate

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press