fingernail
Manicurist's canvas surface
A fingernail is the hard, flat plate of keratin covering the upper tip of each finger.
Fingernails protect the fingertips and aid in fine manipulation—scratching, peeling, prying.
They grow continuously and require trimming.
She tapped her fingernails on the table.
To do something by one's fingernails is to barely manage it, as if clinging to a ledge.
Dead skin at nail base
- lunulaNail base crescent
- matrixOrdered numerical arrangement
- keratinStructural hair protein
- free edgeUnattached nail portion
proximal · distal · lateral · growth · translucent · pinkish · hardness · brittle
Cosmetic fingertip grooming
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- filingStoring documents systematically
- buffingFriction-based shine work
- trimmingCutting away excess
shaping · emery board · clippers · cuticle pusher · nippers · soaking · lacquer · varnish
Superficial wound or mark
Liable to shatter
- splittingDividing into parts
- yellowingBecoming pale gold-brown
- fungusSpore-bearing organism
- ridgesNarrow elevated formations
hangnail · ingrown · discoloration · white spots · pitting · clubbing · thickening · infection
cuticle
Dead skin at nail base
free edge · proximal · distal · lateral · growth · translucent · pinkish · hardness · brittle · ridges
manicure
Cosmetic fingertip grooming
trimming · shaping · emery board · clippers · cuticle pusher · nippers · soaking · lacquer · varnish · gel
scratch
Superficial wound or mark
claw · rake · mark · score · etch · graze · nick · peel · pick · abrasion
brittle
Liable to shatter
ridges · hangnail · ingrown · discoloration · white spots · pitting · clubbing · thickening · infection · peeling
pinch
Squeeze with fingertips
precision · peel · pry · scrape off · dexterity · tactile · manipulation
- body part wordsAdam's apple, anklebone, armpit, backbone, belly button
- skin and hairskin, hair, dermis, epidermis, pore
- digit anatomythumb, toe, phalanx, phalanges, phalange
- body partsarm, leg, hand, back, chest
- nailsnails, toenails, finishing nails, galvanized nails, brad
- crescentscrescent, crescent moon, waning crescent, waxing crescent, crescent roll
fingernailskin
Body's outer layer
flesh · soft tissue · muscle · cartilage · mucous membrane
- like fingernails on a chalkboardSupremely irritating noise