nail

nail · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃nogʰ-“nail”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*naglaz
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*nagl
4. Old English · inherited fromnæġl
5. Middle English · inherited fromnail
6. English todaynail

From Middle English nail, nayl, Old English næġl, from Proto-West Germanic *nagl, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ- (“nail”). Cognates Compare North Frisian Nail (“nail”), Saterland Frisian Nail (“nail”), West Frisian neil, German and Low German Nagel, Dutch and Swedish nagel, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål negl, Norwegian Nynorsk nagl, Finnish naula (“nail”), Estonian nael (“nail”), (compare Irish ionga, Latin unguis, Albanian nyell (“ankle, hard part of a limb”), Lithuanian nagas, Russian нога́ (nogá, “foot, leg”), но́готь (nógotʹ, “nail”), Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux), Persian ناخن (nâxon), Sanskrit नख (nakhá).

nail · verb²

1. Old English · inherited fromnæġlan
2. Middle English · inherited fromnaylen
3. English todaynail

From Middle English naylen, from Old English næġlan.

Nail · proper noun³

From nail, hence a metonymic occupational surname for a maker of nails, or a nickname for a tall and slender person.

Words from the same roots