agnail

A1G2N1A1I1L1
/ˈæɡneɪl/

noun

Torn skin near a toenail or fingernail.

Similar
hangnail
OriginMiddle English agnail ← Old English angnægl ← Proto-Germanic *naglaz →
Scrabble 7
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Meanings

nounagnail (plural agnails)

plural agnails

  1. Torn skin near a toenail or fingernail.

    […] Corrie bit another atom from off the corner of his nail. He had a troublesome "back-friend" or "agnail," at which he often bit.

    1866, E[liza] Lynn Linton, “Margaret and Ainslie”, in Lizzie Lorton of Greyrigg. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 121, column 2

    Synonyms: hangnail

  2. obsoleteA corn or sore on the toe or finger.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounTorn skin near a toenail or fingernail.

Similar
hangnail

More synonyms by meaning

nouna loose narrow strip of skin near the base of a fingernail; tearing it produces a painful sore that is easily infected

Similar
hangnail
Broader
skintegumentcutis
Also see
hangnail

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃nogʰ-
  2. Proto-Germanic*naglaz
  3. Old Englishangnægl
  4. Middle Englishagnail
  5. Englishagnail

From Middle English agnail, from Old English angnægl, from ang- + nægl, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ-.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

AngliaGalinaIlaganLianga
Cite this entry
APA

agnail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnail

MLA

“agnail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnail. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agnail,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnail.

Source: agnail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.