Meanings
plural least fingers
- Synonym of little finger.
But, both on account of convenience and long established custom, the left hand is generally considered the ring hand—and the least finger of that hand holds the ring.
1858 September, H. A. P., “Rings”, in Richard C[unningham] McCormick, editor, The Young Men’s Magazine, volume II, number 5, New York, N.Y.: N. A. Calkins, […], published 1859, page 2162 more examples
There will thus be encountered in order the tendons of the extensor pollicis brevis, extensor pollicis longus, the two tendons of the index, that of the middle, that of the ring, and the two tendons of the least finger: […]
1916, “Musculospiral Paralysis Due to Ancient Compound Fracture of Humerus—Tendon-transference (Flexor Carpi Radialis to Extensors of Digits)”, in P[enn-]G[askell] Skillern, Jr., editor, The Clinics of John B[enjamin] Murphy, M.D., at Mercy Hospital, Chicago, volume V, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: W[alter] B[urns] Saunders Company, →OCLC, page 291But here, confronting God, one could not but be struck as if by lightning, for here, from the heavens of the presbytery, bursting the bounds of human comprehension of all that was holy, came forth, bold as the unimaginable first fire of light of the world’s unimaginable first dawn, the hand of the Creator, clenched save for index finger and least finger, which were extended outright and straight in the sign of la mano cornuta.
2002, Nick Tosches, In the Hand of Dante, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 248Synonyms: little finger
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of little finger.
Origin
- Old Englishlǣst finger
- Middle Englishleste finguer
- Englishleast finger
From Middle English leste finguer, lest fynger, lest fyngyr, from Old English lǣst finger.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
least finger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20finger
“least finger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20finger. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “least finger,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/least%20finger.
Source: least finger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.