lunula

L1U1N1U1L1A1
US/ˈlun.ju.lə/US/ˈlun.jʊ.lə/

noun

Something shaped like a crescent or half-moon; especially the pale area at the base of the fingernail.

Similar
parenthesesbracketshalf-moonlunule
OriginLatin lūnula →
Scrabble 6
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Meanings

nounlunula (plural lunulae or (archaic) lunulæ)

plural lunulae · archaic plural lunulæ · alternative lunule

  1. anatomySomething shaped like a crescent or half-moon; especially the pale area at the base of the fingernail.
  2. Ancient RomehistoricalA crescent moon-shaped pendant worn by girls in Ancient Rome.
  3. rareCharacters of the pair ( ); parentheses.

Synonyms & antonyms

"(" or ")"

Similar
parenthesesbrackets

nounthe crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernail

Similar
half-moonlunule
Broader
arearegion
Also see
half-moonlunalunule

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinlūnula
  2. Englishlunula

Borrowed from Latin lūnula. By surface analysis, luna + -ula.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian лунула
  • лунула (lunula)pale area at the base of the fingernail
Catalan lúnula
  • lúnulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Chinese Mandarin 甲弧影
  • 甲弧影 (jiǎhúyǐng)pale area at the base of the fingernail
Czech lunula
  • lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Esperanto lunulo
  • lunulopale area at the base of the fingernail
Finnish lunula, puolikuu
  • lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
  • puolikuupale area at the base of the fingernail
French lunule
  • lunulepale area at the base of the fingernail
German Nagelmöndchen, Lunula
  • Nagelmöndchenpale area at the base of the fingernail
  • Lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Indonesian lunula
  • lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Italian lunula
  • lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Polish obłączek, rąbek
  • obłączekpale area at the base of the fingernail
  • rąbekpale area at the base of the fingernail
  • lunulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Portuguese lúnula
  • lúnulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Romanian lunulă
  • lunulăpale area at the base of the fingernail
Russian лу́нула
  • лу́нула (lúnula)pale area at the base of the fingernail
Spanish lúnula
  • lúnulapale area at the base of the fingernail
Tamil லுனுலா
  • லுனுலா (luṉulā)pale area at the base of the fingernail
Cite this entry
APA

lunula. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lunula

MLA

“lunula.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lunula. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lunula,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lunula.

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