hangnail

[ hang-neyl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a small piece of partly detached skin at the side or base of the fingernail.

hangnail

/ ˈhæŋˌneɪl /

noun

a piece of skin torn away from, but still attached to, the base or side of a fingernail

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hangnail¹

1300–50; Middle English angenayle corn, Old English angnægl, equivalent to ang- (variant of enge narrow, painful; cognate with German eng, anger ) + nægl callus, nail; modern h- by association with hang

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hangnail¹

C17: from Old English angnægl, from enge tight + nægl nail ; influenced by hang

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Example Sentences

He said in an audible tone that the New Yorker was a human hangnail, no matter where he was born.

From Project Gutenberg

But it did matter to me that I had to dine on this hangnail pared from a sheep.

From Project Gutenberg

hangman's knot hang-on

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