nayl
Middle English
Etymology
Inherited from Old English næġl.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /næi̯l/
- Rhymes: -æi̯l
Noun
nayl (plural nayles)
- A nail (fingernail or toenail).
- a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Deuteronomy 21:12”, in Wycliffe's Bible:
- Thou schalt brynge hir in to thin hows; which womman schal schaue the heer, and schal kitte the nailes aboute...
- You should bring her into your house; that woman should shave her hair and cut her nails...
- A nail (metal fastening pin):
- a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 2007–2008:
- The nayl ydryven in the shode anyght; / The colde deeth, with mouth gapyng upright...
- The nail driven in the head's crown at night; / The cold death, with mouth gaping upright...
- (biblical) One of nails used to nail Jesus to the cross.
- (figurative) A bothersome predicament or annoyance.
- (figurative) A decisive point in a debate or disagreement.
- A nail (unit of longness or mass)
- The equivalent to a human nail in animals (e.g. a claw)
- (rare) An ocular malady present in humans and animals.
References
- “nail, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-15.
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