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单词 finger
释义

fingern.

Brit. /ˈfɪŋɡə/, U.S. /ˈfɪŋɡər/
Forms: Old English fincer (rare), Old English fincgr- (inflected form, rare), Old English fincr- (inflected form, rare), Old English fingcer (Northumbrian), Old English fringre (dative singular, transmission error), Old English fyngr- (inflected form, rare), Old English–early Middle English fingr- (inflected form), Old English (rare)–1500s fynger, Old English– finger, early Middle English finker, early Middle English fringra (genitive plural, transmission error), early Middle English fringres (plural, transmission error), early Middle English uingere, Middle English ffynger, Middle English fingere, Middle English fingre, Middle English fingur, Middle English fiyngir, Middle English fygger, Middle English fynge (perhaps transmission error), Middle English fyngir, Middle English fyngor, Middle English fyngre, Middle English fyngur, Middle English fyngure, Middle English fyngyr, Middle English fyngyre, Middle English fyngyrr, Middle English vingre, Middle English (1800s– English regional (south-western)) vinger, Middle English–1500s fenger, Middle English–1500s fingar, Middle English–1500s fyngere, Middle English–1600s finguer, 1500s ffinger, 1500s fyngar; Scottish pre-1700 fingar, pre-1700 fingir, pre-1700 fingire, pre-1700 fingre, pre-1700 fyngar, pre-1700 fynger, pre-1700 fyngir, pre-1700 fyngire, pre-1700 fyngre, pre-1700 fyngyre, pre-1700 1700s– finger; also Irish English (Wexford) 1700s–1800s vinger.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian finger , Old Saxon fingar (Middle Low German finger ), Old Dutch fingar (Middle Dutch, Dutch vinger ), Old High German fingar (Middle High German vinger , German Finger ), Old Icelandic fingr , Old Swedish finger (Swedish finger ), Old Danish fingær (Danish finger ), Gothic figgrs , further etymology uncertain, perhaps < a suffixed form of the Indo-European base of five adj. (although this presents semantic difficulties with regard to the function of the suffix), or perhaps < a suffixed form of the Indo-European base of fang v.1 (although this presents phonological difficulties). Compare fist n.1 Form history and pronunciation. In Old English usually a strong masculine; a rare weak genitive plural form fingrena is also attested. Regional pronunciations with loss of /ɡ/ after /ŋ/ are attested from the 16th cent. onwards, and are common in Scotland, the north of Ireland, and the north of England. J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 440 records pronunciations with initial /v/ from Sussex, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, and Devon. Semantic history. Compare (with a similar semantic range) Anglo-Norman dei and Old French, Middle French doi , Middle French, French doigt (see doigté n.) and its etymon post-classical Latin digitus (see digit n.), which this word often translates. In finger of God at sense 1c ultimately after Hebrew 'eṣbaʿ 'ĕlōhīm (Exodus 8:19); compare post-classical Latin digitus Dei (Vulgate), German Finger Gottes (1523 in Luther's translation of the Bible as Gottis finger ). With use with reference to land (compare sense 6b) compare the early place name Fingringaho, Essex (second half of the 10th cent. in an 11th-cent. copy; now Fingringhoe), in which the first element apparently refers to a broad finger of land projecting out between Roman River and Geeton Creek.
I. Senses relating to the part of the body.
1.
a. Each of the five slender jointed parts attached to either hand; (also, in narrower sense) each of the four excluding the thumb.The four fingers (excluding the thumb) are commonly numbered first to fourth, starting from that next to the thumb; but they may, in some contexts, be numbered second to fifth, with the thumb counted as the first finger.Each of the fingers is also often assigned a name, as annular finger, ear-finger, first finger, index finger, least finger, medical finger, physician finger, etc.: see the first element. †fool's finger: see quot. 1611 at middle finger n. 1a. See also forefinger n., little finger n., middle finger n., ring finger n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun]
fingerOE
talons1594
nimblesa1637
the ten stealers1655
Welsh comb1788
forks1819
hooks1829
fingerlet1836
bread hook1845
dactyl1889
grab-hook1946
OE tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Vitell.) ii. 238 Nim æppel mid þinre wynstran handa mid twam fingrum, þæt is mid þuman & mid hringfingre.
OE Maxims II 38 Rand sceal on scylde, fæst fingra gebeorh.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 13 Ne for-swerie þu þe þas x bebode þe godalmihti seolf idihte and awrat mid is aȝene fringres [read fingres].
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 320 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 309 Þeos fif fingres þe deuel hath.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 3166 Gretand scho spak, hire fingers wraste, þe blode out brak.
a1500 in S. J. H. Herrtage & H. B. Wheatley Catholicon Anglicum (1881) 131 (MED) The fifte fynger is the thowmbe.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Kiii Caused..a merueylous swete sauour to respire & smell about his fyngers.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiiii* To put it vpon the fowerth finger of the womans left hande.
1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar i. 42 A little child should boldly put his finger in the cavern of an Aspick.
1685 R. Boyle Short Mem. Hist. Mineral Waters 48 Lightly calcin'd..till it became..friable between the Fingers.
1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 229 They lay their four Fingers along the Artery.
1794 W. Cowper Let. 5 Jan. (1984) IV. 446 My pen slips out of my fingers.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iii. i. 38 Those pallid hands whose fingers twine With one another.
1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. i. ii. 4 The fingers are 5 in number in each hand: they are named thumb, index, middle, ring, and little finger.
1898 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games II. 383 Each person has his fingers clenched, and the thumb extended.
1945 Folk-lore 56 257 Primitive man, like children, counted on his fingers and toes, hence the universality of the decennary system.
1995 V. Chandra Red Earth & Pouring Rain (1996) 9 He fed paper into it and proceeded to let his fingers fly over the keys, like a musician playing some strange species of instrument.
2003 F. Kidman Songs from Violet Café ii. 16 His long fingers were thickened from planting in all weathers.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts, esp. with reference to the finger as a means of touching or grasping, or of indicating by pointing.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > [noun] > an indication or sign
tokeningc888
fingereOE
senyeOE
markOE
showing?c1225
blossomc1230
signa1325
signifyingc1384
evidencea1393
notea1398
forbysena1400
kenninga1400
knowinga1400
showerc1400
unningc1400
signala1413
signification?a1425
demonstrancec1425
cenyc1440
likelinessc1450
ensign1474
signifure?a1475
outshowinga1500
significativea1500
witter1513
precedent1518
intimation1531
signifier1532
meith1533
monument1536
indicion?1541
likelihood1541
significator1554
manifest1561
show1561
evidency1570
token-teller1574
betokener1587
calendar1590
instance1590
testificate1590
significant1598
crisis1606
index1607
impression1613
denotementa1616
story1620
remark1624
indicium1625
denotation1633
indice1636
signum1643
indiction1653
trace1656
demonstrator1657
indication1660
notationa1661
significatory1660
indicator1666
betrayer1678
demonstration1684
smell1691
wittering1781
notaa1790
blazonry1850
sign vehicle1909
marker1919
rumble1927
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > small piece
fingereOE
snedec1000
seed?a1200
morselc1300
bittlock?a1400
farthingc1405
spota1413
lipetc1430
offe?1440
drewc1450
remnantc1450
parcel1483
crap1520
flakec1525
patch1528
spark1548
a piece1559
sparklec1570
inch1573
nibbling?1577
scantling1585
scrat1593
mincing1598
scantle1598
halfpenny1600
quantity1600
nip1606
kantch1608
bit1609
catch1613
scripa1617
snap1616
sippeta1625
crumblet1634
scute1635
scantleta1642
snattock1654
cantlet1700
tab1729
pallion1738
smallness1818
knobble1823
wisp1836
eOE Prose Dialogue of Solomon & Saturn II (2009) 74 Se halga cantic [sc. the paternoster], he hafað gyldene fingras.
?a1425 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Lamb. 472) (2000) ii. xxi. 1146 Thise two strynges..maken good acord in the harpe of thi soule, whanne thei ben craftli touchid with the fyngir of resoun.
1596 J. Norden Progr. Pietie f. 78v If it be his pleasure to touch vs this night with the finger of death, we may be so readilie prepared, that we bee not taken at vnawares.
1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 221 An ancient Clearke..is an excellent finger of a Court; and doth many times point the way to the Iudge himselfe.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Surrey 86 The least finger thereof [i.e. body of lies] finding credit could prove heavy enough to crush any innocence with posterity.
1730 H. Wharton Some Manifestations & Comms. of Spirit 88 This preparative Work which I am in, saith the Lord the Spirit..will be as a Finger of divine Light, pointing unto all.
1793 A. Robinson Short Hist. Persecution of Christians i. 26 An alarm to the observers of persecution! A finger pointing to civil liberty in distress or ruins.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion vi. 250 Spires whose ‘silent finger points to Heaven’. View more context for this quotation
1862 B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. iii. 112 The fingers of the rain In light staccatos on the window played.
1891 B. Harte First Family Tasajara i. 27 On whose mute brown lips Nature seemed to have laid the finger of silence.
1923 T. S. Eliot Waste Land iii. 14 The last fingers of leaf Clutch and sink into the wet bank.
1960 G. R. Stevens Canad. National Railways 345 The finger of suspicion was pointed to the Grand Trunk.
1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final li. 553 What is distressing about the 18 July meeting is that the finger of blame was pointed only at the management.
2014 Glasgow Herald (Nexis) 25 Jan. (Features section) 17 The report that placed icy fingers of fear around my heart.
c. Regarded as the means or agency by which something is done or action is taken; esp. something regarded as comparable to the human finger in being an agent or instrument of action for a specified entity, authority, etc., esp. God. Frequently in finger of God, finger of fate, finger of destiny, etc. Cf. hand n. 1b, hand n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [noun] > instrument of work of
fingereOE
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > as instrument of work
finger1577
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) viii. 4 Quoniam uidebo caelos opera digitorum tuorum : for ðon ic gesie heofenas werc fingra ðinra.
OE Ælfric Homily (Corpus Cambr. 188) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 271 Ða cwæþ se Hælend to þam heardheortum folce: Witodlice gif ic aflige on Godes fingre deofla, Godes rice becymð soðlice on eow. Godes finger soðlice getacnode þone Halgan Gast.
a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 21 (MED) Þou [sc. Holy Spirit] vinger of godes honde.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 1731 (MED) Yformed and creat Thoruȝ þe fynger of his sapience.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 5v All things handled with honest and vertuous fyngers prosper the better.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. viii. 19 The Magicians said vnto Pharaoh; This is the finger of God. View more context for this quotation
1645 E. Waller Wks. 19 Foole that forget'st her stubborne looke, This softnesse from thy finger tooke.
1655 J. Thurloe Let. 4 Mar. in T. Carte Coll. Orig. Lett. (1739) II. 88 It is too evident, that the finger of Job, viz. Spain, is in all this business.
1727 D. Defoe Syst. Magick i. iii. 79 What they did by their Sorcery..,was not done by the Finger of God.
1784 S. Watts Chinese Maxims v. 45 The glowing ore, fair Nature's finger wrought.
1794 A. Geddes Let. to Right Rev. J. Douglass 6 That you consulted your Divines seems unquestionable: their finger is evident in the construction of your censure.
1838 H.D. Burdon Lost Evid. I. v. 112 Do you not spy the finger of destiny in the whole of this strange circumstance?
1857 Glasgow Herald 14 Aug. The whole affair concerns the Russian system of policy, as inaugurated by Peter the Great; and the man must be blind who does not see the Russian finger at work.
1913 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 496/1 He is their head, not a finger of Government.
1983 Newsweek (Nexis) 11 July 53 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had died within hours of each other, inspiring a now-forgotten but typical orator to find ‘the finger of Providence’ in the coincidence.
2005 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 118 148 Where the Christian sees the intervention of Providence in the affairs of men, he saw the finger of Fate or destiny.
2.
a. A unit of length approximately equal to the breadth of a finger. As a definite measure: (usually) three-quarters of an inch (one sixteenth of a foot, approx. 1.9 cm); (also, variously) a quarter of an inch or 7/ 8 of an inch. Cf. digit n. 3.In some contexts not readily distinguishable from sense 2b. Cf. finger breadth n. at Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > breadth of finger
fingereOE
fingermealc1175
finger breadtha1535
digit1625
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > inch > three quarters of an inch
fingereOE
fingermealc1175
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xiv. 296 From dæle þara fota feower fingra gemet [L. mensura quattuor digitorum] seo þruh wæs þæm lichoman lengre.
OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §8. 228 Þa wagas wæron eac gyldne mid gyldnum þelum anæglede fingres þicce.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 319 Longe boondis..iiij fyngris brood.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 97 Nere a fote lang and v. fyngers on brede.
c1450 J. Capgrave Solace of Pilgrims (Bodl. 423) (1911) 152 (MED) Þe mesure..was too braches and iii fyngeris.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 56 A Hande breadth. Conteyninge in it 4 Fingers. A Fote. Conteyninge in it 4 Hande breadth.
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation i. xviii. f. xix Foure graines of barlye make a fynger: foure fingers a hande: foure handes a foote.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 19 Their tayle is about three fingers long.
1672 London Gaz. No. 736/4 A Lawn Pocket handkerchief,..laced round with a fine Point lace about 4 fingers broad.
1711 Mil. & Sea Dict. (ed. 4) at Quoyn The standing Quoyns, made of Barrel-Boards, about four Fingers broad.
1719 G. London & H. Wise J. de la Quintinie's Compl. Gard'ner (ed. 7) 167 You must lay a Finger thick of Moss upon those Shelves.
1750 tr. L. Heister Gen. Syst. Surg (ed. 4) i. ii. 47 A Brass Plate of three Fingers in length, and two in breadth, A A, is perforated in the middle.
1802 E. Forster tr. Arabian Nights II. 307 The lady..had on a rose-coloured girdle at least four fingers in width.
1839 R. M. Martin Statistics Colonies Brit. Empire 362/1 Bengal... Long Measure.—3 jows (or barley corns) = 1 finger.
1901 J. Black Illustr. Carpenter & Builder Ser.: Home Handicrafts 35 The laths should be laid a ‘finger’, that is, a ¼in. apart.
1927 Class. Jrnl. 22 340 As a boy I have seen the charges in old-style shot-guns estimated by fingers.
2002 Loaded July (Encycl. Eroticus Suppl.) 5/3 The Brazilian. Leaves a vertical stripe in front, two to three fingers in width.
b. A unit of length approximately equal to the length of the middle or index finger; as a definite measure typically taken to be 4½ inches (an eighth of a yard, approx. 11.5 cm). Now historical.See note at sense 2a. Cf. finger-length n. and adj. at Compounds 2a.
ΚΠ
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cliv. 1050 Fruyt of siliqua is..a fynger longe and an vnche brode.
1760 tr. J. G. Keysler Trav. through Germany (ed. 3) II. lxiii. 210 The inside of the shell is white, but the outside is of an ash colour: the largest of those found at Ancona are not much above a finger in length.
1900 F. Jackson Hist. Hand-made Lace Gloss. 209 Finger, a measure of length used by needlewomen; it is 4½ inches.
1905 Notes & Queries 21 Jan. 41/2 In England women measure cloth by the long finger or half-span, the length of the middle finger, from tip to knuckle, bent.
1953 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 66 37 They [sc. travelling traders in Ireland] sold tobacco for a penny a finger—the middle finger of the right hand from the top to the knuckle.
1972 in Dict. Newfoundland Eng. (at cited word) I recall my mother using her middle finger as a measure and giving the length of a stocking leg as being so many ‘fingers’ long instead of inches.
c. Astronomy. One twelfth of the diameter of the sun or moon, used esp. as a unit to express the magnitude of an eclipse; = digit n. 2. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > [noun] > disc, face > digit
point?c1400
finger1561
prick1561
punct1561
digit1591
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > moon > [noun] > digit
point?c1400
finger1561
prick1561
punct1561
scruple1633
digit1807
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation ii. viii. sig. Eiii For the quantitie of these Eclipses, the Astronomers deuide into .xii. equall partes, aswell the Diameter of the Sunne as of the Moone. And these partes they call fyngers [Sp. dedos], punctes or prickes.
1612 A. Hopton Concordancy of Yeares 129 Like as the body of the Sun, so also the body of ye Moone is imagined to bee diuided into 12 parts, because their diameters appeare as a foot long, so that we say they bee eclipsed so many digits or fingers.
1938 Amer. Jrnl. Semitic Langs. & Lit. 55 119 Akkullanu early in the reign reports to Esarhaddon that at sunrise the sun was eclipsed; the eclipse was two fingers broad.
2011 C. Montelle Chasing Shadows v. 194 Thirteen lines will give twelve spaces which may be related to the Mesopotamian division of the (whole) disk of the moon into twelve fingers, and the Greek tradition which measures the magnitude of an eclipse in twelfths of the lunar diameter.
d. Originally U.S. A quantity of a liquid (typically an alcoholic drink, esp. a spirit) in a glass, bottle, etc., measured with reference to the breadth of a finger.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > amount of drink > small amount
nipperkin1619
noggin1648
pony1708
squib1756
finger1820
tot1828
nobbler1842
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > specific quantity of
dramc1590
leaguer1712
finger1820
glassful1841
four1869
nip1869
half1888
two1894
snifter1910
treble1968
balloon1973
triple1981
peg2003
1813 M. L. Weems Drunkard's Looking Glass (ed. 2) 10 He has but to dash up to the side board, and turn off a four-fingered bumper of his beloved helicon.]
1820 Microscope 18 Apr. 67 About ‘three fingers’ of gin with the requisite quantity of water.
1856 Porter's Spirit of Times 4 Oct. 73/1 We each took a first mate's drink—i.e. three fingers.
1907 Daily Chron. 13 June 4/4 The man who sells his vote for three fingers of whisky or a glass of beer.
1987 A. Rios in Proc. Oxf. Symp. Food & Cookery 1986 109 Pour a finger of oil into a frying pan and fry the garlic, the crusts of bread and the almonds.
2013 C. Sullivan Lit. in Public Service ii. 22 The cellar and buttery staff in the royal household had a joint right to four fingers of wine at the bottom of every bottle opened.
3.
a. Each of the digits of the foot in quadrupeds, chiefly in those in which the digits are clearly separated, and esp. in the forelimb (cf. toe n. 2a). Also: each of the digits that support the wing in flying tetrapods (birds, bats, and pterosaurs).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > [noun] > parts of
atterc1000
fingera1398
spear1608
pecten1713
supraciliary1838
postocular1856
patagium1857
podotheca1864
pretemporal1866
keeled scale1870
postnasal1871
prenasal1886
supracoracoid1897
hedonic gland1901
guanophore1924
chorio-allantois1933
the world > animals > mammals > order Chiroptera or bat > [noun] > parts of
earlet1829
finger1883
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xciv. 1244 Þe lusarde is..clouefoted wiþ fyngres departed, as it were, in manere of an honde.
1566 I. A. tr. Pliny Summarie Antiq. x. sig. E.vii Among the flying beastes, some haue fingers and nayles, & other flatte and brode feete, as Geese, Duckes, [etc.].
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 282 They [sc. tortoises] haue foure Legges..euery foot hauing fiue fingers or diuisions.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §360 On each Foot he [sc. the Chameleon] hath five Fingers.
1704 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 24 1570 The Squirrel kind on the fore Feet have 4 long Fingers, on the hinder five, and one like a Thumb.
1790 Nat. Hist. in J. White Jrnl. Voy. New S. Wales 275 The feet, or hands, [of the kangaroo] are also small; the skin on the palm is different from that on the back of the hand and fingers.
1883 G. Allen in Knowledge 22 June 368/1 Between these fingers, and from them to the hind legs, stretches the membrane by means of which the bat flies.
1892 E. R. Lankester tr. E. Haeckel Hist. Creation (new ed.) II. xxv. 293 (heading) The five fingers (pentadactyly) of the..Amphibia and Amniota... Their origin from the Polydactyl Fish-fins.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1218 In spite of the spurs the spectral tarsier manages to insert his long-clawed fingers with good effect.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) vi. 161 The Pterosaurs (or Pterodactyls) had a membranous wing, for the support of which the fifth finger was enormously lengthened.
2007 L. M. Chiappe Glorified Dinosaurs i. 26/2 The bird hand has three fingers, whose identification with respect to the pentadactyl hand of primitive tetrapods is still controversial.
b. Zoology. In arachnids and some other arthropods, each of the two segments that form a chelicera or pincer-like claw, esp. the smaller part which articulates on the other. rare.
ΚΠ
?a1808 Universal Syst. Nat. Hist. XIII. 32 The chelæ, or claws, are an enlargement of the extremity of the fore feet, each of which is furnished with two claws, which act like a thumb and finger, as in the crab; and are called chelate.]
1819 G. Samouelle Entomologist's Compend. 120 Mandibles [of Phalangium] corneous, subcylindric, compressed, biarticulate, inflexed or geniculated at the second joint, the apex of which has a forceps with equal fingers.
2003 M. Allaby Dict. Zool. (new ed.) 104/2 In mites, especially parasitic species, the chelicerae become narrowed and lose the chelate finger, becoming a piercing structure.
4. The part of a glove designed to cover a finger.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for hands > [noun] > glove > parts of > finger
fingerling1440
stall1483
finger1565
glove-finger1864
hud1893
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Digitalia, thinges couering the fingars..fingers of gloues.
1581 G. North tr. H. Estienne Stage Popish Toyes 70 When Nicodemus tooke our sauiour Christe from the Crosse, he saued so muche of hys bloude as filled one of the fingers of his gloue.
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xix. 188 They will make mee gnaw the finger of my gloue all to pieces.
1663 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Names & Scantlings Inventions §89 White Silk knotted in the fingers of a Pair of white Gloves.
1715 C. Johnson Country Lasses i. 6 I'll bite the Fingers of my Cotton Glove, and be as very a she Cudden as ever hopp'd round a Maypole.
1778 Mil. Dict. Gantlet, or Gauntlet, a large kind of glove, made of iron, and the fingers covered with small plates; formerly worn by cavaliers.
1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester Finger-stall, a covering..made by cutting off the finger of an old glove.
1917 G. M. Knocker Let. 15 Apr. in Diary & Lett. World War I Fighter Pilot (2008) 5 A pair of fleece lined gauntlet gloves but these have no fingers and are most clumsy to grip the controls with.
1972 E. Staebler Cape Breton Harbour 112 Gloves without fingers so you won't git blisters.
2000 C. Tudge Variety of Life ii. vi. 213 You might push in the finger of a rubber glove.
†5. Music. Skill or sensitivity in using the fingers when playing a musical instrument; fingering technique; touch. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > [noun] > fingering
fingeringa1450
touch1597
finger1711
fingerwork1836
1711 A. Bedford Great Abuse Musick ii. xiii. 248 The great Motive for the Electing such Organists is the Fineness of their Finger.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. lxiii. 449 Miss L...has an admirable Finger at the Spinnet.
1762 J. Potter Observ. Present State of Music & Musicians 82 It is imagin'd this manner of playing, is pleasing, and without it, the audience will entertain but mean notions of the organist's abilities; he must shew his fine finger to raise his reputation.
1830 P. L. Gordon Personal Mem. II. xiii. 369 Having borrowed an amati from a friend, the professor exhibited a brilliant finger on this instrument.
1850 F. Trollope Petticoat Govt. 78 Her brilliant finger on the piano-forte.
1908 Standard 5 Oct. 4/4 Three pianists..divided the homage of English concert rooms; Mme. Arabella Goddard's brilliant finger (her staccato was, indeed marvellous) had caused her to be regarded as a kind of female Thalberg.
II. Something regarded as resembling a finger in shape, function, etc.
6. A finger-like projection.
a. In a living organism, esp. a plant: each of several projections, protuberances, or lobes forming part of a whole or extending from a centre; spec. (a) †a lobe of the liver (obsolete); (b) a banana (considered as part of a ‘hand’: cf. hand n. 12e).Cf. also lady's finger n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part defined by form or function > [noun] > parts of specific shape
finger?a1425
saucer1578
umbrella1658
neck1673
discus1687
cord1776
wing1776
starlet1787
ribbon1854
rat-tail1871
peltation1881
rod1884
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > banana > [noun]
finger?a1425
fig1582
banana1597
pisang1662
pisang fig1700
nana1929
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > tropical exotic fruit > banana
finger?a1425
muse1578
fig1582
banana1597
adam's figc1602
pisang1662
pisang fig1700
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 16v (MED) Þe lyuer of þe riȝt side chaufing hym [sc. the stomach] as aboue wt his lobez or his fyngers [L. lobis seu digitis].
1657 N. Culpeper & W. Rand tr. J. Riolan Sure Guide ii. xxiv. 57 In Man-kind, there is one single Liver, which is not divided into Lobes, or Fingers, as in bruit Beasts.
1702 J. Petiver in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 23 1264 Having its Spikes or Fingers shorter.
1787 R. W. Darwin Principia Botanica 36 In general the leaves are constant as to figure and situation; but vary in respect to number of fingers or lobes in digitated and winged leaves.
1824 D. Douglas Jrnl. 10 Aug. (1914) 82 The banana is sold according to the number of fingers on a bunch.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 662/2 Some of these [varieties of Turmeric] consist..of the somewhat cylindrical lateral tubers, which are distinguished in trade as ‘fingers’.
1895 Daily News 26 Aug. 5/2 This..is a shorter and stouter plant than the tropical banana, and often bears from 150 to 250 ‘fingers’ in a bunch.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xiii. 377 In commerce Turmeric occurs in three forms, known as fingers, bulbs and cut bulbs. Fingers are the longer and narrower rhizomes.
1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk v. 99 A single banana or plantain (a ‘finger’ of the hand) is often called a seed.
2005 B. Cobb et al. Ferns Northeastern & Central N. Amer. (ed. 2) 156 Many pairs of ivylike, palmate..pinnules, deeply cleft into 3-7 blunt-tipped, wide-spreading lobes or ‘fingers’.
b. Any long, narrow object, feature, etc., which projects, extends, or protrudes from a larger body. Frequently with of.Frequently with reference to landscape features, as finger of rock, finger of land, etc.
ΚΠ
1817 J. Sheppard Lett. Tour France, Italy, Switzerland & Germany xix. 267 A mountain..whose four needles or fingers of rock, are severally ringed with fir trees.
1865 M. A. Haynes Hist. 2nd Regiment New Hampsh. Volunteers xviii. 155 A long, narrow finger of land, with the Potomac upon one side and the Chesapeake upon the other.
1916 J. Masefield Gallipoli i. 5 Beyond this, pointing roughly west-southwesterly, is the final tongue or finger of the Peninsula.
1955 W. Wiser in Antioch Rev. 15 434 A thin finger of smoke curled out of the back chimney.
1984 Miami Herald 27 Mar. 2 a/4 A finger of lava cut off a secondary power line to a television relay station.
2008 Oxf. Wine Company Mag. Summer 12/2 A long finger of land that stretches upwards on the Left Bank of the river from the city of Bordeaux.
c. spec. Part of an airport terminal forming a long narrow arm projecting from the main body of the building, to which aeroplanes may be docked in order to allow passengers to embark directly from the terminal. Also attributive, as finger concourse, finger terminal, etc. Cf. finger pier n. (b) at Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > airport > pier
finger1945
pier1957
1945 Architec. Rec. Apr. 84/1 Long ‘fingers’..can eventually be extended to accommodate 28 plane stations.
1951 Progressive Archit. Jan. 49 The pair of two-level ‘finger’ concourses allows passage to plane-loading points almost wholly under cover.
1965 New Statesman 20 Aug. 261/3 Half-a-dozen well-detailed finger-plan airports.
2004 R. S. Sennott Encycl. 20th-cent. Architect. I. 34/1 The terminal at London's Gatwick Airport in 1958, a rectangular building with a single finger, was the first example of a fifth-generation airport.
2005 Design Issues 21 67 The proposal wedged nine Stratocruiser-sized gates into the tight, sixteen-acre site by adopting a narrow footprint similar to other ‘finger’ terminals.
7.
a. In various technical or mechanical contexts: any narrow, elongated feature or component, esp. one serving a function comparable to that of a finger, as touching, pushing, grasping, separating, etc.; esp. a small projecting rod, wire, or piece which is brought into contact with an object in order to initiate, direct, or arrest motion, or to separate or divide materials.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > mechanism > [noun] > part of > projecting part or catch
catch1398
finger1496
catch hook1695
dog1825
detent1832
winglet1835
catch lock1836
trip-catch1880
trip1906
1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 292 Item..for lokkis, fyngeris, and boltis to the bombartis.
1790 E. Darwin Bot. Garden (ed. 2) II. 66 Next moves the iron-hand with fingers fine, Combs the wide card.
1847 Dwight's Amer. Mag. 13 Feb. 104/1 The bed is then covered with a sheet of white paper, which has been brought down by the cylinder, after the attendant..has pushed it forward to let the grippers, or fingers, seize it.
1869 S. T. Davenport in Eng. Mech. 31 Dec. 377/2 Filling in the separate colours [in a former technique for coloured printing]..was effected by small inking-rubbers, known as thumbs and fingers.
1878 A. Barlow Hist. & Princ. Weaving 214 In Webster's loom a temporary race is formed by means of ‘fingers’, inserted and withdrawn at proper times, and two shuttles may be thrown separately or simultaneously.
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 38 A small gold finger projecting far enough to reach the edge of the smaller roller.
1954 R. H. Cochrane Farm Machinery & Tractors (ed. 2) 28 Another mechanism consists of an endless chain which carries slanting fingers.
1992 Mech. Products & Tools July 1631/2 Moulded, screw fixing clamp with a detachable swivel knuckle joint designed to fit the mounting rod and accept the RS mini vice, fingers, or bar mounting kit.
b. spec. Originally: each of the bars or teeth of a cradle (cradle n. 7) fitted to a scythe (now chiefly historical). In later use: each of a set of projections in a reaping or mowing machine which separate the stalks for cutting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > harvesting equipment > [noun] > reaping tools > reaping-machine > parts of
fingera1722
reel1845
finger-bar1847
sweep-rakea1884
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 183 If corn harles or lodges, a scythe cannot carry a cradle, because the fingers of it will be pulled to pieces by the harled corn in drawing the scythe back.
1860 Gardeners' Chron. 14 July 658/3 The fingers [of the reaping machine]..having sharp points, flat vertical sides.
1873 Daily News 13 Aug. 4/5 By the addition of what are called ‘fingers’, the ‘reaper’ will cut corn, however much it may be laid.
1878 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) IV. 18 The knife..consisted of a serrated blade, at first straight, but afterwards waved, and passing through pointed sheaths now called ‘fingers’.
1948 Chambers's Jrnl. 390/2 In front of the thresher, which is adjustable to suit crops varying from 1½ feet to 5 feet in height, variations of 9 inches either way in each case being negligible, are crop dividers or guide fingers and crop lifters.
2003 M. Shrubb Birds, Scythes & Combines xi. 291 The way in which mowing machines actually cut may also be of significance for some birds. Older machines used finger bars, not unlike the gardener's hedgecutter, with a reciprocating blade running in pointed fingers.
8.
†a. English regional. In plural. The foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. Cf. finger flower n. at Compounds 2b. Obsolete. [Compare digitalis n. and other names with similar semantic motivation discussed at that entry.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > foxglove and allied flowers > foxglove
foxglovec1000
London button1552
wine-pot herb1552
finger1562
finger flower1562
lady's glove1575
foxter1623
fox-finger1657
fox1684
bloody finger1789
witch bell1808
fairy fingers1811
fairy thimble1813
dead men's bells1818
witches' thimbles1820
fairy bells1821
fairy glove1841
flap-dock1846
cow-flop1847
pop-glove1847
lady's thimble1853
Scotch mercury1853
poppy1856
fairy petticoats1864
finger root1870
fairy weed1871
pop-dock1878
witches' bells1884
1562 W. Bullein Bk. Simples Index sig. q.iii, in Bulwarke of Defence Digitalis called fingers or Foxe gloues.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Fingers, Foxglove.
b. With modifying word (and often in plural) in local and regional names of various plants characterized by roughly cylindrical flowers, roots, seed pods, etc., as devil's fingers, dog's fingers, king's finger, lords' and ladies' fingers, etc. Now chiefly historical.Plants for which several such names are recorded in the Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898–1905) include the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, the cuckoo pint, Arum maculatum, and various kinds of orchid (cf. finger orchis n. at Compounds 2b). bloody finger(s), bloody man's finger, fairy('s) fingers, fox-finger, Mercury's finger: see the first element. See also dead man's fingers n. 1, lady's finger n. 1. Cf. plant names at Compounds 2b.
ΚΠ
1833 London Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 21 In Hampshire, the Lotus corniculatus [i.e. bird's-foot trefoil] is called dead-men's fingers, but in the vicinity of Bristol the plant has various names; fingers and toes, devil's fingers, devil's claws, and crow-toes.
1842 M. A. Burnett Plantæ Utiliores I. Pl. xxv Dog's fingers, as the plant [sc. foxglove] is called in Wales.
1875 H. James Transatlantic Sketches 33 They are overstrewn with lovely little flowers with names as delicate as their petals of gold and silver and azure,—bird's-eye and king's-finger and wandering sailor.
1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Lords' and Ladies' Fingers, Arum maculatum, L.—Warw.
1926 F. W. Hilgendorf Weeds N.Z. 25 Doab (Cynodon dactylon), often called Indian doab or Doobj, Bermuda grass, five finger, and devil's finger, is a twitch very common in the North Island.
9. A pointer or indicator on a clock or dial. Cf. hand n. 10.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of > hand(s)
pinOE
hand1563
teller1574
index1594
finger1603
palm1629
hour-hand1669
minute hand1720
index-hand1742
second-hand1760
moment-hand1766
little hand1829
big hand1849
set-hands1884
sweep hand1948
sweep second1948
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > graduated instruments > pointer on a scale, dial, or gauge
index1594
finger1603
needle1869
1603 W. Worship Christians Mourning Garment (ed. 3) sig. A8 The lawe written pointeth as iust to God as the finger to the dyall.
1624 D. Featley Romish Fisher Caught sig. O2* No man can perceiue the index in a Watch, or finger in a Diall to wagge or stirre.
1686 T. Nourse Disc. Nature & Faculties Man xix. 166 The Finger or Needle of a Watch which moves the breadth of a Barly Corn.
1731 Explan. Equation of Time 21 Suppose the Point of the Index, or Finger at Saint Paul's Clock touch'd with a Magnet.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 118 Fancy, like the finger of a clock, Runs the great circuit.
1844 New Mirror (N.Y.) 2 Mar. 338/1 Our two personages cast furtive glances at the finger of the clock.
1855 A. Marsh Heiress of Haughton II. iv One cannot discern the finger moving on the dial plate.
1901 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 7 May 1207/1 A dial upon which the values of different-sized cheese are shown; a shaft having a finger traversing said dial.
1977 Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Apr. 426/2 Before we accuse Julian of wishing to ‘put the clock back’ we have to be very sure indeed that in the notoriously slow-moving world of the Roman Empire..the finger of the dial had even moved appreciably.
1994 H. Werthner Qualitative Reasoning 9 The finger of a clock moves around 360 degrees (behavior) and indicates the time (function).
10. Zoology. Each of several slender, mobile, bony appendages (typically three on each side) in front of the pectoral fins of fishes of the family Triglidae (gurnards and sea robins), developed from fin rays, and used to probe the substrate for food.
ΚΠ
1673 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Words 102 (heading) Of the Gurnard kind, having as it were fingers before the fins on their Bellies.
1740 R. Brookes Art of Angling ii. xliv. 162 The Piper... Below the Gill-Fins there are three Excrescences, which some call Fingers.
1863 J. Couch Hist. Fishes Brit. Islands II. 17 These processes or fingers are supplied with peculiar nerves, and consequently are in possession of special functions.
1949 Photogr. Jrnl. A. Aug. 198/1 Yet another species, the streaked gurnard, relies on its fingers almost exclusively.
2014 G. Monbiot Feral ii. 21 Under the throat were long bony fingers, which it used to probe the sediments for food.
11. A narrow, elongated piece of anything, broadly resembling a finger in shape and often size; (also) each of two or more such pieces into which something has been divided or of which it is composed. Frequently with reference to food. Cf. Compounds 1b(a).chocolate finger, fish finger, iced finger, sponge finger: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > toast > [noun] > slice or piece of
toastc1430
round1828
finger1839
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > narrow piece
sliverc1374
lista1398
labelc1425
reeve1726
stripe1785
slip1825
finger1839
striplet1839
slither1919
1839 H. de la Pasture Real Pearls in False Setting I. iv. 110 Mons. de Beaureste partook of his coffee and fingers of toast.
1846 C. E. Francatelli Mod. Cook 397 Fingers, or Naples biscuits.
1872 Engineer 6 Dec. 388/2 The press cake has a backing of canvas provided, to which it adheres when cut into fingers and cubes.
1931 Portsmouth (Ohio) Times 24 May He lumbered down the aisle, stepped to the black board, picked up a finger of chalk, and waited.
c1942 M. T. King Mothercraft (new ed.) xiv. 218 Cut a slice of bread about ½ inch thick into fingers about 3 inches long, and place in oven till crisped.
1997 Weekend Financial Times 11 Jan. iii. p. xviii/7 Crisp little biscuits or fingers of pandoro.
2015 Sunday Times (Nexis) 24 May 20 By eating an extra 100 calories a day - that is two fingers of a Kit Kat, or a slice of toast - we can put on a stone in a year.
III. Senses relating to people.
12. Originally and chiefly Criminals' slang (chiefly North American).
a. A (uniformed) police officer; (also) a prison officer. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman
truncheon officer1708
runner1735
horny1753
nibbing-cull1775
nabbing-cull1780
police officer1784
police constable1787
policeman1788
scout1789
nabman1792
nabber1795
pig1811
Bow-street officer1812
nab1813
peeler1816
split1819
grunter1823
robin redbreast1824
bulky1828
raw (or unboiled) lobster1829
Johnny Darm1830
polis1833
crusher1835
constable1839
police1839
agent1841
johndarm1843
blue boy1844
bobby1844
bluebottle1845
copper1846
blue1848
polisman1850
blue coat1851
Johnny1851
PC1851
spot1851
Jack1854
truncheonist1854
fly1857
greycoat1857
cop1859
Cossack1859
slop1859
scuffer1860
nailerc1863
worm1864
Robert1870
reeler1879
minion of the law1882
ginger pop1887
rozzer1888
nark1890
bull1893
grasshopper1893
truncheon-bearer1896
John1898
finger1899
flatty1899
mug1903
John Dunn1904
John Hop1905
gendarme1906
Johnny Hop1908
pavement pounder1908
buttons1911
flat-foot1913
pounder1919
Hop1923
bogy1925
shamus1925
heat1928
fuzz1929
law1929
narker1932
roach1932
jonnop1938
grass1939
roller1940
Babylon1943
walloper1945
cozzer1950
Old Bill1958
cowboy1959
monaych1961
cozzpot1962
policeperson1965
woolly1965
Fed1966
wolly1970
plod1971
roz1971
Smokey Bear1974
bear1975
beast1978
woodentop1981
Five-O1983
dibble1990
Bow-street runner-
society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer
wrayerc1000
wrobberc1300
discoverera1400
denunciator1474
informer1503
denouncer1533
detector1541
delatora1572
sycophant1579
inquisitor1580
scout1585
finger man1596
emphanista1631
quadruplator1632
informant1645
eastee-man1681
whiddler1699
runner1724
stag1725
snitch1785
qui tam1788
squeak1795
split1819
clype1825
telegraph1825
snitcher1827
Jack Nasty1837
pigeon1847
booker1863
squealer1865
pig1874
rounder1884
sneak1886
mouse1890
finger1899
fizgig1902
screamer1902
squeaker1903
canary1912
shopper1924
narker1932
snurge1933
cheese eater1935
singer1935
tip-off1941
top-off1941
tout1959
rat fink1961
whistle-blower1970
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > slight madness > crankiness or eccentricity > person
fantastical1589
fantastic1598
earwig brain1599
extravagant1627
fanatic1644
energumen1660
original1675
toy-pate1702
gig1777
quiz1780
quoz?1780
rum touch1800
crotcheteer1815
pistol1828
eccentric1832
case1833
originalist1835
cure1856
crotchet-monger1874
curiosity1874
crank1881
crackpot1883
faddist1883
schwärmer1884
hard case1892
finger1899
mad hatter1905
nut1908
numéro1924
screwball1933
wack1938
fruitcake1942
odd bod1942
oddball1943
ghoster1953
raver1959
kook1960
flake1968
woo-woo1972
zonky1972
wacko1977
headbanger1981
1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps iv. 385 The word ‘finger’ which is synonymous with ‘bull’, has very nearly, but not quite, the same effect, because the finger is in uniform, whereas the elbow prowls about in citizen's clothes.
1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing xiii. 260 It was a clean get-away for mine but for a finger who loved me like a Tommy. His rod to my nut turned me into the Irish Club House.
1915 Boston Daily Globe 19 Dec. 37/2 A ‘finger’ is a policeman, and a ‘right finger’ is a policeman who will take money and let a thief go.
1927 Amer. Speech 2 385/2 A uniformed officer, now termed a harness-bull, was called a finger, from his itching desire to get his fingers on one.
1935 Amer. Speech 10 15/2 Finger, an officer of the law; especially a uniformed policeman.
1980 Amer. Speech 55 197 Susan Leas..has recorded..the following 68 terms for policeman..: bacon, bastard..finger, flatfoot [etc.].
b. An informer; esp. a person who gives information to the police about an offence or offender. Cf. finger v. 11b, finger man n. (c) at Compounds 2a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer > police informer
setter1630
nose1789
mouchard1802
rat1818
stool-pigeon1830
knark1851
police informer1851
nark1859
telegraph1864
copper1885
sarbut1897
Noah's Ark1898
stool1906
snout1910
finger1914
policeman1923
stoolie1924
shelf1926
grass1929
grasshopper1937
grasser1950
stukach1969
supergrass1975
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 33 Finger,..An informer; an investigator for officers.
1962 John o' London's 25 Jan. 82/3 A man who identifies a suspect at an identification parade..is called a finger.
1979 ‘Iceberg Slim’ Airtight Willie & Me 123 Now I know why you were so certain your bitch was innocent when I was so sure she was the finger.
c. Originally and chiefly U.S. A member of a criminal gang who indicates prospective targets, provides information, or otherwise makes preparations for a crime to be committed. Cf. finger v. 11a, finger man n. (b) at Compounds 2a. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1926 Flynn's 16 Jan. 638/2 If th' stunt was pulled right an' th' Finger does call you, you know th' getaway is in th' clear.
1932 Flynn's 28 May 36/2 The café owner had taken me for a professional finger, one of the scouts of the underworld.
1942 Moorhead (Minnesota) Daily News 22 Apr. 1/7 He acted as the finger for the band, and inducted Mrs. Gangruth to take the treatments.
1963 ‘R. Stark’ Man with Getaway Face vii. 36 I don't like this situation... The finger sitting in, doing a lot of talking.
13. slang (now rare).
a. Australian and New Zealand. With old. An irreverent or disparaging term for an elderly man; a ‘codger’. Cf. old adj. 16.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > old man > [noun]
old maneOE
bevara1275
beauperec1300
vieillard1475
Nestor?c1510
old gentleman1526
haga1529
velyarda1529
old fellow?1555
old sire1557
granfer1564
vecchioc1570
ageman1571
grave-porer1582
grandsire1595
huddle-duddle1599
elder1600
pantaloon1602
cuffc1616
crone1630
old boya1637
codger?1738
dry-beard1749
eld1796
patriarch1819
oubaas1824
old chap1840
pap1844
pop1844
tad1877
old baas1882
senex1898
finger1904
AK1911
alte kacker1911
poppa stoppa1944
madala1960
Ntate1975
1904 N.Z. Free Lance (Wellington) 27 Aug. 3/4 Is the old finger in, matey?
1915 C. J. Dennis Songs of Sentimental Bloke ix. 71 Young friend! Well, spare me days! Yeh'd think I wus 'is own white-'eaded boy—The queer ole finger, wiv 'is gentle ways.
1923 Auckland Star 21 Mar. 4/7 ‘That's what it is, ya silly old finger’, they shrilled at the elderly man.
1935 Kilmore (Victoria, Austral.) Free Press 7 Feb. Then the youthful gamblers chorused ‘Garn, you ole finger’.
b. British (chiefly London). A person; a fellow; a ‘bloke’.
ΚΠ
1930 ‘G. Ingram’ & D. Mackenzie Hell's Kitchen xii. 118 (Gloss.) Finger, a person.
1934 P. Allingham Cheapjack vi. 60 This 'ere finger called me a bastard—and he was right.
1948 M. Allingham More Work for Undertaker xxiii. 261 The only bloke I could 'ear of 'oo actually said 'e was goin' up Apron Street was a finger called Ed Geddy.
1978 F. Norman Dead Butler Caper xxvii. 134 If some finger 'as been duffin' yuh up—I don't know who it is and I don't give a monkies.
14. Originally and chiefly Criminals' slang. A pickpocket; = fingersmith n. (b) at Compounds 2a. Also in plural in same sense. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > pickpocket or cutpurse > [noun] > pickpocket
fig-boyc1555
foister1585
foist1591
pickpocket1591
bung1600
diver1608
pocket-picker1622
pocketeerc1626
bung-nipper1659
file1673
filer1674
shark1707
hoister1708
knuckle1781
knuckler1801
buzzgloak1819
cly-faker1819
fingersmith1819
knuck1819
fogle hunter1821
buzzman1832
nobbler1839
wire1851
gonoph1853
wirer1857
dip1859
moll-tooler1859
buzzer1862
hook1863
snotter1864
tool1865
pocket-cutter1885
dipper1889
pogue-hunter1896
pick1902
finger1925
whizz1925
whizzer1925
prat diggera1931
whizz-boy1931
whizz-man1932
reefer1935
1925 Flynn's 24 Jan. 119/1 Finger, a pickpocket.
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xiv. 156 They [sc. pickpockets] work in pairs; one is ‘the fingers’, the other obstructs and jostles.
1960 K. Hopkins Dead against Princ. xix. 129 He's a finger, works in Fulham mostly. Small profits, quick returns.
2006 B. Thorogood Behind Call of Duty v. 54 The king of the upright snooze was a character called Fingers (I've no idea why—he was not a thief).]

Phrases

P1. With allusion to the capacity of the fingers to grasp or hold.
†a.
(a) in (also within) a person's fingers: in a person's possession or power; under a person's control. Cf. hand n. 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > grow longer or extend > be tediously protracted
in a person's fingers1469
defer1546
drag1735
linger1836
the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [phrase] > out of a person's clutches
in a person's fingers1469
the mind > possession > retaining > retain or keep [verb (intransitive)] > keep what is due to or desired by another > be long withheld
in a person's fingers1469
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > to or into state of freedom [phrase]
to the (or one's) largea1425
in a person's fingers1469
1469 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 407 I wolde nat they com in hys fyngrys.
?1548 L. Shepherd Vpcheringe of Messe sig. A.iiv No good mes singers Will come wtin hir fyngers.
1588 P. Jones Certaine Serm. at Ciceter iii. sig. G3v A man should haue in his fingers & custodie, that, by the good vse wherof hee might doe singular good in Gods Church.
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah iii. 63 If Satan be sometimes the instrument of Gods iustice, let vs feare to come in his fingers.
1695 J. Sage Fund. Charter Presbytery ii. 172 They..were by no means willing to part with what they had got, so fortunately, as they thought, in their Fingers.
(b) out of a person's fingers: out of a person's power or control. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1549 E. Allen tr. L. Juda Paraphr. Reuelacion S. John xii. f.xix, in M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II They fall not from his kingdom nor escape out of his fingers. [No corresponding phrase in German original.]
1592 T. Kyd Trueth Murthering of Brewen 6 I meane to kepe me as long out of thy fingers as I can, and accurst be I if I..hazard my life in thy hands.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 139 Let vs be gone out of their fingers.
1662 J. Wenlock Humble Declar. 43 She wished with all her heart, that I were out of their fingers.
1700 C. Leslie Def. Snake in Grass ii. 164 A Quaker wou'd have call'd him (if he Durst) a Chemarim, Baal's Priest, Serpent, Dog, Devil, as they have call'd our Bishops and Magistrates, when they were out of their fingers.
1841 W. G. Simms Kinsman xxxiv. 141/2 If I could work poor Jake Clarkson out of their fingers, he'd make a third... But I am dub'ous he stands a bad chance in the grip of Watson Gray.
†b. to hang long betwixt one's (also the) fingers: (of a matter, issue, etc.) to remain outstanding or in need of attention for a long time. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
a1616 R. Fenton Treat. Church Rome (1617) 139 If we dispatch it quickly, and neither leaue it for our executors to do, nor let it hang long betwixt our fingers.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ v. xix. 24 I am one of them, who value not a curtesie that hangs long betwixt the fingers.
c. to let (a thing, person, etc.) slip through one's fingers: see slip v.1 10a.
P2. With reference to the capacity or condition of the fingers.
a. one's fingers are all thumbs and variants: one is clumsy, awkward, or lacking in manual dexterity. Cf. to be all fingers and thumbs at Phrases 4q.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > impatience > be impatient [verb (intransitive)]
to think longc1300
one's fingers are all thumbs1546
bate1599
to sit upon hot cockles1607
to be upon the nettle (also in a nettle)1723
to champ at (also on) the bit1832
to chafe at the bit1873
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > steal [verb (intransitive)] > be a thief
one's fingers are all thumbs1546
to try it on1811
work1819
scavenge1938
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > unskilfully or inadequately [phrase] > extremely clumsy
one's fingers are all thumbs1546
to have two left feet (also hands)1857
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (intransitive)] > practise bribery > accept bribes
one's fingers are all thumbs1546
to eat fee piea1634
mump1970
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. H Whan he should get ought, eche fynger is a thumbe.
1581 T. Stocker tr. J. Calvin Diuers Serm. f. 152 When God would haue vs march on, we are so slack, as that euerie finger is a thumbe.
1645 R. Harris True Relig. 23 When it comes to the opening of the purse, every finger is a thumb.
1825 J. G. Lockhart in W. Scott Familiar Lett. (1894) II. 297 Your fingers are all thumbs, I see.
1904 Outlook 9 Apr. 251/1 Goodness knows, Their every finger is a thumb.
2005 D. Court Mermaids Singing iii. 80 Bother the thing! My fingers are all thumbs.
†b. to have a fine finger: to be skilled at or dexterous in doing something. Obsolete.In later use chiefly in musical contexts; cf. sense 5.
ΚΠ
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 5th Serm. sig. Rviv Brybes wyl make you peruert iustice. Whi you wil say. We tuche none, no marye. But my Mistres your wyfe hath a fine finger she toucheth it for you.
1646 R. Vines Hearse Renowned Earle of Essex 29 He had a fine finger to find out, and skilfull to untie or cut the knot.
1808 Morning Chron. 8 Feb. Dick said, you'd a fine finger for a pocket.
1826 Blackwood's Mag. Jan. 23/1 The danger of being made a prey of—tickled, unsuspectingly, by some woman—they have a fine finger at such doings [sc. pickpocketing].
1875 M. E. Braddon Strange World III. vi. 108 She had a fine finger for the piano, and took a good deal of pride in her playing.
1900 F. Hume Bishop Pendle xi. 83 She had a fine finger for the piano (her own observation).
c. one's fingers itch (to): one is eager or impatient to do something, (in early use) esp. to strike or hit a person. Cf. itch v.1 2.
ΚΠ
?1560 T. Norton Orations of Arsanes sig. E.jv Philippe (whose vngracious fingars itche to be doing wyth vs already) will holde himselfe within the boundes of Grecia.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxviii. 1009 They had lesse store of pillage and bootie with them to set their..fingers on itching.
1652 J. Tatham Scots Figgaries iii. 21 My fingers itch to come at thy face.
1767 J. Wesley Let. 5 Mar. (1931) V. 43 He has convinced his impartial readers..that (as the vulgar say) his fingers itch to be at me, that he has a passionate desire to measure swords with me.
1796 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) II. 280 I thought it most proper not to take him (although my fingers itched for it).
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. vii. 119 It makes one's fingers itch to think of it.
1975 L. Goreau Just Mahalia, Baby lxxvii. 524 Strong hands, this girl, and fingers itching this very minute to get onto that piano.
2013 Express (Nexis) 1 Mar. 46 If you are saddled with chalky soil and your fingers itch to take on rhododendrons, camellias, pieris or other lime-haters, the solution is simple.
†d. to have fingers made of lime-twigs and variants: to be given to stealing; to be a thief. Obsolete.With allusion to the former practice of catching birds by smearing twigs with a sticky substance known as bird-lime: cf. lime-fingered adj., sticky-fingered adj. at sticky adj.2 Compounds.
ΚΠ
1590 H. Smith Serm. Benefite of Contentation sig. C4v The couetous man seemeth to drawe the world to him with cordes, his coffers are of lode-stones, his handes like nettes, his fingers like lime-twigges.]
1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax sig. E4 A certaine Gentleman that had his fingers made of lime twigges, stole a peece of plate.
1676 C. Molloy De Jure Maritimo i. xiv. 129 There will be some amongst them that have heads of knavery, and fingers of Lime-twigs, nor fearing to steal that from their Prince, which is applicable only for the good of their Countrey.
1680 E. Cellier Malice Defeated 45 Before he was Seven years of age, his Fingers were such Lime-twigs, that he could not enter into any House but something would stick to them.
1706 W. Sheridan Several Disc. vii. 241 The Servants Fingers will be Lime-twigs.
1842 Northern Star & Leeds Gen. Advertiser 12 Nov. 7/5 By any means they may get money—hollow, rotten, slimy things are they, whose fingers are lime-twigs—whose tongues are forked.
e. with a wet finger: see wet adj. 6b.
P3. With reference to involvement or interference in a matter, undertaking, etc.
a.
(a) to put one's finger in the fire and variants: to become involved in a risky enterprise or situation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > face danger [verb (intransitive)] > risk oneself > run or take risks
dicec1440
to put one's finger in the fire1546
hazardc1550
venture1560
to jeopard a joint1563
to venture a joint1570
to run (also take) a (also the) risk (also risks)1621
danger1672
risk1767
gamble1802
to ride a tiger1902
to stick (also put) one's neck out1926
to lead with one's chin1949
to tickle the dragon('s tail)1964
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ii. sig. Gv It were a foly for me..to put my fynger to far in the fyre. Betwene you.
1653 W. Jervis Brief Vindic. 3 Had I known they would have fallen so short of their Proof as they did, I should have been wiser then to have put my finger in such a fire.
1782 J. Seally Young Philosopher II. xlvi. 66 Thou hast now put thy finger into the fire, why wouldest thou turn hypocrite and conceal thy initiation!
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 165 You will needs put your fingers in the fire.
1903 Commonw. Austral. Parl. Deb. 16 3913 /1 The Commonwealth Government have put their fingers in the fire recently over this question of State interference.
1953 D. C. Somervell S. Baldwin 41 They would have made him put his fingers in the fire, just a little way but not too far, as Baldwin did.
2003 Economist 8 Mar. 16/1 Now the British government is putting its finger into the fire.
(b) to burn one's fingers and variants: to suffer unpleasant consequences as a result of doing something, esp. undertaking a risky venture; to become discouraged from attempting such an action again as a consequence of this; now often in to get (also have) one's fingers burnt.Also rarely: to burn (another's) fingers (cf. quot. 1865).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > do harm [verb (intransitive)] > to a person
to burn (another's) fingers1865
to bust (a person's) balls1948
1583 W. Farington Let. 29 Mar. in S. M. Ffarington Farington Papers (1856) 132 I intend not to burn my fingers in other mens fyres.]
1595 A. Hartwell in tr. G. T. Minadoi Hist. Warres Turkes & Persians Ep. Ded. sig. A2v They are such as concerne matter of estate, where withall I list not to meddle for feare of burning my fingers.
1613 F. Mason Of Consecration Bishops i. 6 The Golden Supremacie is the Chesnut, perils and dangers are the fire, the Pope loath to burne his owne fingers, vseth you but as the Spaniels foote to scrape for the Chesnut.
1672 R. Wild Let. Declar. Liberty Conscience 10 None..durst begin, for fear they should burn their Fingers.
1713 J. Addison in Guardian 15 July 1/1 I Do not care for Burning my Fingers in a Quarrel.
1782 E. Pendleton Let. 23 Dec. in Lett. & Papers (1967) II. 436 Medlars often get their fingers burnt.
1865 J. G. Holland Plain Talks iv. 126 Strove to overreach each other, and burn the fingers of unsuspicious outsiders.
1957 Economist 28 Sept. 1004/2 The allegation of a ‘leak’ about last Thursday's increase in Bank rate has brought forth understandable indignation from those City dealers whose fingers were burned.
2014 Derby Tel. (Nexis) 26 Apr. 24 Don't play games in love unless you want to get your fingers burned.
b.
(a) to have a finger in: to have some involvement in; to have a part or share in. Cf. to have a hand in at hand n. 3b.to have a finger in the pie, to have a finger in every pie: see pie n.2 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > have to do with or be involved in or with
to have to do with (also mid, of, on)lOE
meddle1413
intromit1522
fretc1540
make1564
to have a finger in1583
converse1592
cope with1594
trade1595
play1928
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > have to do with or be involved in or with > get involved in
impc1000
to have a finger in1583
plunge1697
mess1851
1583 J. Prime Fruitefull & Briefe Disc. ii. 124 M. Martin, and who euer else had finger in that your late gewgawe translation.
1593 G. Gifford Dialogue Witches sig. F They can tell where things be that are hid, hauing had a finger in the matter.
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 416 The High Priest had a finger both in the Trumpet and the Fast.
1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer v. i. 71 There is no Plot, publick or private, that can expect to prosper without one of 'em have a finger in't.
1716 C. Johnson Cobler of Preston i. 4 There has been hardly any Iniquity committed in this Country, but this drunken Knave has had a Finger in it.
1747 J. Cunningham Love in Mist 31 He knows every Body, and has a Finger in every Body's Business.
1861 W. S. Perry Hist. Ch. Eng. I. vi. 258 The King..had a finger..in all the disputes in Europe.
1900 E. P. Robbins tr. H. de Balzac Most Mysterious Case 112 We have a notion that Michu has a finger in this business.
1955 ‘P. Wentworth’ Listening Eye (1997) xvi. 112 If he was in the house and any dirty work was going on, I should expect him to have a finger in it.
2002 Washington Post 2 Feb. (Home ed.) a25/5 A man who had his finger in every good cause in the city.
(b) to dip one's fingers in (a matter) and variants: to have some (typically superficial or brief) involvement in or knowledge of (a matter); to interfere or meddle in (a matter); to ‘dabble’ in. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > acting in another's business or intervention > intervene between [verb (transitive)] > interfere in or meddle with
attame1430
intertrike1513
to dip one's fingers in (a matter)a1601
interfere1633
touch1647
to be (also go) at the ——1898
to screw with ——1973
to dick with ——1979
1572 G. Fenton tr. E. Pasquier Monophylo ii. f. 14v I laye him amongst the number of the happiest who..forbeareth..the practise of loue, and I will ymitate the other, who although he haue dipped his finger in that vnsauory broth [Fr. qui y aura mis vn bout de pié], yet, fearing to be altogither scalded, draweth backe.]
a1601 W. Lambarde Archion (1635) 94 Whatsoever other Commissioners..will dip their owne fingers in the Suits.
1613 W. B. tr. S. Michaelis Admirable Hist. Penitent Woman 213 God, thou hast made reseruation of three things to thy selfe, and wouldest not that sinners should intermeddle or dip their fingers in them, to wit, thy glorie, iudgement and vengeance.
1699 S. Chandler et al. Abridgement Disc. 4 in Impartial Acct. Portsmouth Disputation Those that have but dip'd their fingers in the Iewish Writings know.
1703 R. Wake Priest's Complaint 46 They are thus dipping their Fingers in things Sacred, and that do not at all appertain to them.
1790 P. Thicknesse Man-midwifery Analyzed (new ed.) Ded. p. vi There are Book-midwifes, as well as Men-midwifes, who touch books now and then, which they had better never have dipped their fingers into.
1899 H. B. Marriott Watson Princess Xenia xviii. 270 Being a foreigner, and having no concern to put a finger in the business, he should be shot.
1937 Bluefield (W. Va.) Daily Tel. 16 Apr. 6/3 Whether the White House dipped a finger into the business nobody seems to know.
1945 Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune 31 Aug. 7/6 This was the greatest number to file initial claims since the government put its finger into the unemployment pay problem back in 1938.
P4. Miscellaneous phrases.
a. to lift (also raise, move, stir) a finger: to make the smallest effort. Frequently in negative constructions, as not to lift a finger, etc. [Probably originally with biblical allusion (Matthew 23:4, paraphrased in quot. 1529; compare but with her fyngir thei wolen nat moue hem (Wycliffite Bible, Early Version), post-classical Latin digito autem suo nolunt ea movere (Vulgate), Hellenistic Greek αὐτοὶ δὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ αὐτῶν οὐ θέλουσιν κινῆσαι αὐτά (New Testament)). Compare Middle French, French ne pas mouvoir le doigt (a1389).]
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > act or do [verb (intransitive)] > take action or act towards a result
to make moyen (also moyens)1449
not to lift a finger1529
to take action?1551
solicitate1572
to make a step or stepsa1628
to take a step or stepsa1628
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > do nothing [verb (intransitive)]
not to lift a finger1529
to mark time1837
to lay back1920
the world > action or operation > endeavour > make an attempt or endeavour [verb (intransitive)] > make the least attempt
to lift (also raise, move, stir) a finger1529
1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. f. xxiiii/1 The Scrybys and pharesyes..dyd lay greate fardellys and faste bounde them on other mennys bakkis, to the beryng wherof they wold not moue a fynger them self.
1584 E. Paget tr. J. Calvin Harmonie vpon Three Euangelists 146 No excuse canne serue our slouth, that..being tenne times commaunded by him to doe our duetie, doe not yet stirre a finger [L. ne digitum quidem mouemus].
1619 T. Medeley Misericors, Μικροκοσμος 158 They will neuer put to an hand to helpe, they will not stirre a finger, to doe any good to their reliefe.
1747 B. Franklin Plain Truth 17 Let what will happen, we shall never lift a Finger to prevent it.
1833 A. W. Fonblanque Eng. under Seven Admin. (1837) II. 321 We don't believe that he would have moved a finger to procure the return of the only man for the chair.
1854 H. Miller Schools & Schoolmasters (1858) 338 I..would not stir a finger in assertion of..alleged rights.
1863 W. E. Gladstone Let. 12 Nov. in P. Guedalla Palmerston Papers (1928) 269 I believe he has not himself lifted a finger in the matter.
1955 D. Garnett Flower of Forest ii. 14 Could anyone honestly say that we should have allowed Paris to be occupied and France defeated without lifting a finger?
1990 R. Pilcher September xxiii. 271 Pandora's not what you call madly domesticated and I don't suppose she'll ever raise a finger to do anything to help.
2012 Heat 14 Apr. 78/2 (heading) Want to lose 10lb without lifting a finger? We tell you how with our super-simple guide.
†b. to put one's finger in a hole and variants: to follow instructions without questioning or understanding; to do something without considering the consequences. Obsolete.With proverbial allusion to putting one's finger in a hole as the action of a foolish or gullible person: cf. quot. 1611.
ΚΠ
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hivv To make me put my fynger in a hole.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. xii. 82 Made Saule stand at the doore like a foole (as it were with his finger in a hole) to heare the cousening answers.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I4 I will not put my finger in a hole I warrant yee.
1600 N. Breton Pasquils Fooles-cap (rev. ed.) sig. Dv Hee that houlds his finger in a hole, To please the humour of a fond desire.
1611 J. Davies Scourge of Folly 160 A Foole oft puts his finger in a hole.]
c.
(a) with one's finger in one's mouth: (a) in a state of helpless, foolish, or aimless inactivity (now rare (chiefly North American)); †(b) having accomplished nothing (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > unsuccessful [phrase] > with nothing accomplished
with one's finger in one's mouth1547
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > disinclined to act or listless [phrase] > helplessly inactive
with one's finger in one's mouth1547
1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies sig. T.jv If I be euill reuiled, shal I stand still like a goose, or a foole, with my finger in my mouth? Shal I be suche an idiot and diserde to suffre euery man to speake vpon me, what thei list?
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes To Rdr. sig. B2v Am I in this case to arme my selfe against his intent of iniurie, or sitte still with my finger in my mouth, in hope to bee one of simplicities martyrs.
1649 O. Cromwell Let. 14 Nov. in Writings & Speeches (1939) (modernized text) II. 166 To stand with our fingers in our mouths.
1680 M. Stevenson Wits Paraphras'd 140 Your Worship writes for leave to come, To kiss the back-side of my Bum. With Finger in your mouth, I warrant You'd have another sleeveless Errand.
1695 G. Halley Serm. St. Peter 17 Nov. 15 We must not lie with our fingers in our mouths, no, we must exercise all our powers and abilities.
1727 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman II. 133 The poorer and little Dealers..stand still, with their Fingers in their Mouths, as we call it,..while they see all the Trade run in the great Channel of their neighbouring Alderman's Shop.
1788 J. O'Keeffe Young Quaker (new ed.) ii. 16 Since I am come up to town for a sarvice, I won't go back again with my finger in my mouth.
1893 Denton (Maryland) Jrnl. 9 Dec. 1/3 I can see you now, returning ‘tattered and torn,’ with your finger in your mouth.
1895 Hardware 25 June 23/1 Don't be too pert with him, and don't stand with your finger in your mouth.
1929 Montana Standard 29 May 4/5 You don't want to be standing with your fingers in your mouth when your husband comes home to dinner, do you?
1956 Blue Island (Illinois) Sun Standard 18 Oct. When you do go to a meeting, you sit with your finger in your mouth and don't have anything to say until you get outside.
(b) coarse slang (originally U.S.) with one's finger up one's ass (also sometimes arse): in a state of aimless, foolish, or helpless inactivity; in an unproductive, ineffectual, or idle manner.
ΚΠ
1951 J. Jones From Here to Eternity xii. 157 ‘O'Bannon wants me right back there.’ ‘Then move. Dont stand there with your finger up your ass.’
1989 M. Davis & Q. Troupe Miles xi. 240 I didn't..walk around with my finger up my ass begging for no handout and thinking I was inferior to whites.
1994 L. C. Dail tr. P. I. Taibo Four Hands 78 He's the one with his finger up his ass while the other idiots snap their cameras.
2003 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 10 Sept. 16 The chef will only be standing about the kitchen with his finger up his arse.
d. to lay (also put) a finger on (also upon) (a person or thing) and variants: to touch or handle (a person or thing), however slightly; esp. to touch so as to cause harm or injury, however minor. Frequently in negative constructions. Also figurative. Cf. touch v. 17. [After classical Latin digito attingere, digito contingere, lit. ‘to touch with the finger’.]
ΚΠ
1557 tr. Erasmus Mery Dialogue sig. Aiiiv I gat me a thre foted stole in hand, & he had but ones layd his littell finger on me [L. si contigisset me digito], he shulde not haue founde me lame.
1568 J. Fen tr. J. Osório Learned Treat. Haddon i. f. 43v If Monkes liued according to the rule of S. Basile, no man woulde once laie his finger on them [L. digito..attigisset].
1582 J. Field in O. Pigg Comfortable Treat. First Epist. Peter To Rdr. sig. A.iii If we haue layd a finger vpon you, you haue layd vpon vs an intollerable clog.
1653 Cloria & Narcissus 95 Orestes..seized upon his naked Sword..vowing to make that weapon the instrument of his just revenge, if he laid the least finger upon his deare Phalarius.
1677 J. Phillips tr. J.-B. Tavernier Persian Trav. v. xiii. 233 in tr. J.-B. Tavernier Six Voy. (1678) There is no pardon for them that lay so much as a finger upon one of these Shappars.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 167 The Parliament began to lay their Fingers on the great ones.
1761 Authentic Mem. Portuguese Inquisition xviii. 256 No civil officer would dare to lay a finger on him.
1789 H. Mustafa tr. Ghulam Husain Khan Sëir Mutaqharin II. xii. 432 His own salary was small, and not exceeding what had been appointed; and he did not chuse to lay a finger upon any thing belonging to the government.
1847 J. K. Paulding & W. I. Paulding Madmen All in Amer. Comedies v. ii. 227 The critics had better dissect a resurrectionized corpse than lay a finger on my book!
1865 R. S. Hawker Prose Wks. (1893) 41 He wished he'd..never laid a finger on him to save his life.
1904 Proc. Oklahoma Bar Assoc. 1903–4 App. 140 Nebraska's politicians dare not lay a finger on the interests of her lands and schools.
1978 M. McLaverty Coll. Short Stories 123 ‘Did you take it, Mother?’‘I didn't lay a finger on it.’
2014 R. A. Fugate From Chicago Bus Driver to The God Man 18 Of course, I never laid a finger on her. She was a virgin.
e. Proverb. fingers were made before forks and variants: used to excuse eating with one’s hands, especially when at the table.In quots. 1569 and 1653 showing similar proverbial use of hand.
ΚΠ
1569 Prises drawen in Lottery from XVI to XXVI February As God made handes before knives, so God sende a good lot for the Cutlers wives.
1653 J. Davies tr. C. Sorel Extravagant Shepherd v. 138 Carmelin was help'd by his Master with the wing of a cold Turkey, which he fell presently on with his fingers, knowing that hands were made before knives.]
1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. ii. 61 Here, Miss, they say, Fingers were made before Forks, and Hands before Knives.
1876 A. B. R. Myers Life with Hamran Arabs xix. 339 Our late habits of life made it easy for us..to practically accept the doctrine that fingers were made before knives and forks by diving into the several plates of mutton, beef, and poultry.
1946 F. Clune Song India x. 129 God made fingers before forks, so they dipped the digits of their right hands into the dishes.
1970 Chicago Tribune 8 Feb. vi. 14 Fingers were made before forks, so only a knife was set before us on the table.
2002 Lincs. Echo (Nexis) 17 Sept. 30 I once got told off for picking up some food with my hands. ‘Fingers were made before forks,’ I cheeked back.
f.
(a) to put (also lay) one's (also the) finger on and variants: to indicate or identify with precision; to specify; to single out. Now frequently in negative constructions, as I can't (quite) put my finger on it, etc. [After Middle French, French mettre le doigt sur (1569 in the passage translated in quot. 1574).]
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > pointing out > point out [verb (transitive)]
teacha900
showa1225
brevea1377
ensign1477
point1477
note1521
demonstrate1534
appointa1547
to put (also lay) one's (also the) finger on1574
remark1592
outpoint1595
finger1619
clewa1625
notice1627
denote1632
indicate1651
to index outa1796
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job xvi. 311/1 Although he know not precisely why he is afflicted, nor be able to lay his finger vpon it [Fr. mettre le doigt dessus].
1600 W. Perkins Salue for Sicke Man in Golden Chaine 793 Wee haue proceeded thus farre, and haue as it were laid our finger vpon the right and proper cause of our sicknes.
1688 R. L'Estrange Brief Hist. Times II. i. 6 Sr. William Jones was as good at Hitting a Blot in an Evidence, and laying his Finger upon the Pinch of the Question, as any Man Living.
1796 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 XLIII. 11 If he was to put his finger on the most disgraceful of the dark catalogue of defects in the conduct of Ministers during the present war, he could not find any more conspicuous than those.
1836 J. Keble Serm. (1848) viii. Postscr. 376 To select for himself a certain number of divine truths out of the great body of the Scriptures, on which he may lay his finger and say; This, and this alone, is the Gospel.
1846 Morning Post 27 Mar. 2/5 In all the wars of the last two hundred years..it was impossible to put the finger on one of them which they could suppose might have been prevented.
1889 C. Smith Repentance Paul Wentworth III. 236 Any definite complaint on which a physician could have put his finger.
1894 A. Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes 120 You lay your finger upon the one point which we [etc.].
1913 N.Y. Times 31 Aug. (Mag.) 12/1 It is difficult to put the finger on any one costume that presents something startlingly novel.
1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk i. 7 He [sc. Sloane] lays his finger on the two most prominent features of these trees—the fruits..and the thorns.
1988 G. Patterson Burning your Own i. vii. 83 There was something about the dinette that struck him as peculiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
2011 Z. Strachan Ever fallen in Love 151 I just wondered if you could put your finger on the moments you made the choices that mattered.
(b) Originally and chiefly U.S. (originally Criminals' slang) to put the finger on (a person) and variants.
(i) To identify (a person); esp. to identify or indicate as being guilty of or responsible for a crime, transgression, etc.; (also) to identify (an offender) to the police; to inform on or betray (a person). Also in extended use. Cf. finger v. 11b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)]
wrayc725
meldeOE
bimeldena1300
forgabc1394
to blow up?a1400
outsay?a1400
detectc1449
denounce1485
ascry1523
inform1526
promote1550
peach1570
blow1575
impeach1617
wheedle1710
split1795
snitch1801
cheep1831
squeal1846
to put away1858
spot1864
report1869
squawk1872
nose1875
finger1877
ruck1884
to turn over1890
to gag on1891
shop1895
pool1907
run1909
peep1911
pot1911
copper1923
finger1929
rat1932
to blow the whistle on1934
grass1936
rat1969
to put in1975
turn1977
1877 Congress. Rec. 30 Nov. 776/2 They had no motive to put their finger on any one except the person whom they believed..was one of the guilty parties... Their highest motive was to point out the persons who were really guilty, with no temptation to put their finger on any one who was not.
1926 J. Black You can't Win vii. 84 If I'm grabbed with this junk I'll rot in jail before I put the finger on you.
1930 Detective Fiction Weekly 22 Mar. 742/2 ‘Who're you, turkey?’ ‘Louis Fieri knows me. Where is he; he'll put the finger on me.’
1958 Washington Post & Times Herald 18 Dec. b10/1 Medical scientists here have put the finger on a Malayan jungle mosquito as a potent carrier of the foreign but dread Japanese encephalitis virus.
2002 G. P. Pelecanos Cleaning Up (TV shooting script) 12 in Wire (O.E.D. Archive) The boy put the finger on Omar's bitch down at the carryout.
(ii) To identify and apprehend (a guilty party); to catch. Now rare. Cf. finger v. 5.
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1883 T. N. Doutney His Life-struggle, Fall & Reformation xiii. 150 If they [sc. the police] want a rogue, they know just when and where to put the finger on him.
1930 Detective Fiction Weekly 22 Mar. 744/2 Pop Graimes will bust the town wide open and put the finger on Gann—break him wide open, send him for a long ride.
1937 F. C. Painton Way of Cop in Detective Fiction Weekly 6 Nov. 43/1 The kids..yelled, ‘Hi-yuh, Officer Bourke.’ Among themselves they whispered, ‘He's going to make a pinch. He's putting the finger on Boots Williams’.
1937 ‘J. Curtis’ You're in Racket, Too v. 61 I'll be round here like a lamp-lighter. Dive up here and put the finger on him with his pants down.
(iii) To identify (a person) as a prospective target for a crime, assassination, etc. Cf. finger v. 11a. Now rare.
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1924 G. C. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 414 A dip's stall puts his finger on a prospective victim.
1930 in Amer. Speech (1951) 26 155/2 Put a finger on, mark for killing.
1941 N.Y. Times 13 May 25/7 She was convicted of having ‘put the finger on’ Mrs. James V. Forrestal..the night the latter was robbed of jewelry worth $75,000.
1953 P. Adler House is not Home (2006) v. 174 Many suspected that I knew who had put the finger on Vivian, and it was believed that I was less afraid of being called in on the vice inquiry than of being questioned about the killing.
†g. to bring up (also rear) (an animal) on the finger: to hand-feed (an animal) as opposed to it suckling from its mother; to hand-rear. Cf. hand n. Phrases 1b(a)(ii). Obsolete.
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the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > rear animals [verb (transitive)] > hand-rear
to bring up (also rear) (an animal) on the finger1607
hob1793
mud1814
hand-rear1846
poddy1896
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 109 Those that neuer sucke their dams, but..are..brought vp vpon the finger.
1615 G. Markham Eng. Hus-wife in Countrey Contentments ii. iv. 108 The Housewife..must reare her Calues vpon the finger with floten milke, and not suffer them to run with the dammes.
1761 J. Mordant Compl. Steward I. 33 As to rearing of calves, some use the method of rearing upon the finger (as it is termed) with scum'd milk luke-warm.
†h. to have most fingers: to do most work. Cf. sense 1c. Obsolete. rare.
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the mind > possession > poverty > be poor [verb (intransitive)] > be or become extremely poor
not to have a shirtc1405
to come to buckle and bare thong1546
to arrive at one's fingers' ends1579
to have most fingers1677
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > need [verb (intransitive)] > be in greatest need
to have most fingers1677
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 171 It is we poor Men that have most Fingers.
i. to wrap (also wind, twist, turn, etc.) (a person) round one's finger: to have the ability to make (a person) do whatever one wants; to control or influence (a person). In later use often in to have (a person) wrapped around one's finger and variants. Cf. to wrap (also wind, twist, turn, etc.) (a person) round one's little finger at little finger n. Phrases 1.
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society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > subject [verb (transitive)] > make obedient > to one's will
to bring any one to, or have him at, one's bent1575
to wrap (also wind, twist, turn, etc.) (a person) round one's finger1713
1713 Answer to Examiner's Cavils against Barrier Treaty 28 He would wind Torey round his Finger.
1759 Campaign II. x. 73 Egad I can turn mother Slim round my finger.
1822 A. MacLaren Juvenile Friendship ii. i. 13 Glen: I can twist and turn her round my finger as l please.
1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic III. v. iii. 227 Margaret..had already turned that functionary round her finger.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. ix. 169 I am sure one could turn him round one's finger.
1936 I. Gershwin He hasn't Thing except Me in Compl. Lyrics (1993) 244/2 Yet he twists me 'round his finger—Funny that it's a rat I adore.
1983 G. M. Sumner in Lyrics (2007) 88 I'll be wrapped around your finger.
1997 Y. M. Murray Locas 184 They knew just how to get their man wrapped tight around their finger.
2008 Guardian (Nexis) 22 Oct. 13 Almost anybody can twist me round their finger.
j.
(a) to cross one's fingers: to hook one finger over another (typically the middle finger over the first finger), esp. to do this as a sign supposed to bring or continue good luck; (hence figurative) to hope for success, good fortune, etc. Also: (originally North American) to make this sign in a children's game to call a ‘truce’ or gain impunity from being ‘tagged’ (cf. pax n.1 5); (hence) to make this gesture (supposedly) to obtain impunity when lying, making an insincere promise, etc. (also figurative).Frequently in phrases with crossed as past participle, as to have one's fingers crossed, to keep one's fingers crossed, with fingers crossed, etc.
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > [verb (intransitive)]
hightOE
hope971
tristc1200
dreama1393
set1607
to have one's fingers crossed1895
1723 A. de la Mottraye Trav. I. xii. 256 The Patriarch of Constantinople..having bless'd the People, bowing and crossing his Fingers, so as to form the Characters IC XP.
1773 D. Henry Hist. Acct. Voy. Eng. Navigators IV. 18 These they concluded were what the Portuguese sailor had imagined to be crosses, from the Indian having crossed his fingers when he was describing the town.
1889 Lawrence (Kansas) Evening Trib. 18 July If you can ‘cross the hump’ of a hunchback with fingers crossed you will have good luck.
1895 N. Y. Times 13 Sept. ‘Tag, your [sic] it,’ said Tommy. ‘No I ain't,’ said Mamie, ‘'Cause I had my fingers crossed before you came around’.
1905 Daily Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) 14 Nov. 3/4 You promised at the altar, dear, to honor and obey;..‘I know I did,’ the wife replied, ‘but I will not be bossed—And at the altar, anyway, I had my fingers crossed.’
1915 Times 21 Oct. 8/1 He always has his fingers crossed. He hopes that some day he may get a shot at something more warlike than a merchant steamer.
1929 Hamilton (Ohio) Daily News 12 June The premier had signed the treaties with his fingers crossed.
1945 Penguin New Writing 23 16 We'll..duck when we hear a mortar, and keep our fingers crossed.
1994 Times (Nexis) 17 May When the promises were given there was a rush to cross fingers with hands behind backs.
2003 C. Lewis Dict. Playground Slang 167 Players cross fingers and yell ‘pax’ to make them safe from being tagged.
2010 Times (Nexis) 9 June 6 They went into Helmand with their eyes shut and fingers crossed.
(b) fingers crossed (that, for, etc.): used elliptically to convey that one hopes for a specified outcome, state of affairs, situation, etc.
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1947 K. Ferrier Let. 4 May (2003) i. 39 The memorising of Italian was a struggle at first..but I have been going to an Italian, Mr Gibilaro, who has helped me terrifically, and now I feel I'm getting the upper hand. (Fingers crossed!)
1983 C. Thomas Firefox Down (1984) ix. 213 It's looking good on the operations board—fingers crossed, sir.
1999 Healthy Eating Aug. (Summer Recipe Suppl.) 12/3 Fingers crossed for some long, hot evenings.
2008 Independent 10 Sept. 28/1 Scientists at..CERN, will switch on the Large Hadron Collider and we, fingers crossed, will gain a breakthrough insight into how our world was formed.
2011 Weekly Times (Austral.) (Nexis) 3 Aug. 99 Fingers crossed that summer in Japan results in the usual seasonal spike in demand for beef in October and November.
k. to raise (also lift, †hold) a finger against (also to) (a person or thing): to touch so as to cause harm or injury, however minor; to hurt or inflict suffering on. Chiefly in negative constructions. Also figurative. Cf. to lay (also put) a finger on (also upon) (a person or thing) at Phrases 4d, to raise (also lift) a hand against (or to) (a person or thing) at hand n. Phrases 2n.
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1682 J. Metford Gen. Disc. Simony 36 David was not excus'd for Uriah's Murder, though slain by the Children of Ammon... Nor St. Paul of devout Stephens Martyrdom, though he lifted not a finger against him.
1690 J. Dryden Amphitryon iii. 33 You shall bring me to no more handy-blows:..You never durst have offer'd to hold up a finger against me, till you went a Trooping.
1769 A. M. Toplady Church of Eng. vindicated from Charge of Arminianism 31 The man who could..drub his wife soundly, but would suffer nobody else to lift a finger against her.
1786 G. M. A. Baretti Tolondron vi. 159 I came to be so much feared by them all, that they dared not to lift a finger against me, as long as I pleased to stay at school.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. iv. 89 I will break thy young pate.., if thou darest to lift a finger to me.
1892 J. J. Lalor tr. H. von Holst Constit. & Polit. Hist. U.S. 269 Maryland, although it unquestionably belonged to the south.., would not raise a finger against the Union until all constitutional means had been exhausted.
1919 Morning Post 22 Jan. 4/3 If you dare to raise a finger against the free and independent nation of Poland we will blow your Rhine cities to blazes.
1973 W. Sansom Marmalade Bird x. 137 Raise a finger against a poor dumb beast? They'd never be doin' such a thing hereabouts.
1992 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 8 Apr. b8 Parents who would not otherwise lift a finger against a child may, in times of great stress, come close to abusing their children.
2011 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 11 July 20 No cow, no cause is worth a cuddly little badger's life... How could anyone raise a finger against this defenceless creature?
l. a click (also snap) of the (or one's) fingers: an act of clicking one's fingers; also figurative as the type of a command or signal to get something accomplished with little effort or in a peremptory manner. Cf. to click one's fingers at click v.1 4b.
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1785 C. L. Lewes Lect. on Heads by G. A. Stevens ii. 31 The card-playing conjuring Jew; he could make matadores with a snap of his fingers, command the four aces with a whistle.
1826 London Mag. Oct. 251 The sentence consisted of a pooh! a humph! a snort, a snap of his fingers, and a twirl of his staff semicircularly along the floor.
1938 F. F. Brotherton et al. Amateur Stage ii. 31 By approaching the stage, a producer can..liven someone up with a click of his fingers and a nod.
1966 C. Cowley Kwa Zulu iv. xvi. 57 There was no doubt. There was no delay. Things moved; just like a click of the fingers—like that—like that.
1996 M. Stewart Carolina Mist 315 Belle sighed heavily and, with a snap of her fingers, called Meri P. to her and left the room.
2015 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 26 Dec. (Sport section) 48 You don't think I could launch a fan boycott? You don't think, with a click of my fingers, I could empty out every stadium at every match?
m. to have more —— in one's finger than and variants: to have significantly more of a specified quality (compared to someone else); = to have more —— in one's little finger than at little finger n. 2.
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1824 Times 28 July Plaintiff answered this by saying, ‘I have more sense in this finger, than you have in your whole body’.
1860 S. Brooks Gordian Knot 174 You propose to show the world to this man, who has more brains in his finger than..I have in my whole body.
1935 C. Odets Awake & Sing! in Three Plays i. 30 He's got more brains in his finger than you got—I don't know where.
1968 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 2 Dec. 22/1 A human dynamo, with more potential in one finger than most players have in their whole body.
1984 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 10 Nov. 1/1 Cedric had more talent in one finger than most people have in their entire body.
2002 B. Smith Hamlet's Dresser (2003) 232 He can be selfish and insensitive, but he has more talent in his finger than I'll ever have in my whole body.
n. to suck (something) out of one's (own) finger and variants: to produce or discover by own's own efforts or ingenuity; esp. to fabricate or invent (something); = to suck (something) out of (or at) one's (own) fingers' ends at finger end n. Phrases 3.
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1538 L. Ridley Expos. Epist. Iude sig. F.viii What worshyp or veneracyon of images haue they sucked oute of their fyngers for money.
1572 E. Cradock Shippe of Assured Safetie ii. xii. 227 Neither had that chosen vessell the Apostle, sucked that holesome lesson out of his own fingers, but rather long before lerned it of our sauior Christ.
1626 R. Bolton Some Gen. Direct. for Comfortable Walking with God (ed. 2) 132 Forget it out of a suspicious selfe-guiltinesse in their owne profane fancies, and suck it, as they say, out of their own fingers.
1832 J. B. Inglis tr. R. de Bury Philobiblon x. 69 Aristotle.., who sucked those wonderful volumes out of his own fingers.
1886 Westm. Rev. Oct. 458 Religious founders..have only taken advantage of current ideas and not sucked them out of their fingers.
1901 Freedom Jan. 3/1 Their public..swallows anything the most ignorant journalist sucks out of his fingers.
1979 Guardian 30 July 13/8 Farmers cannot suck new technology out of their fingers.
2000 C. Rosenfarb Bociany vii. 143 The Sexton had obviously not sucked his stories entirely out of his finger.
2011 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 16 Apr. (International section) a4/5 She appealed to journalists not to ‘suck news out of your finger, but analyze the process on the basis of facts and data which were presented in the trial’.
o. to have one's fingers in the till and variants: to steal from one's employer; = to have one's hand in the till at hand n. Phrases 3l.In quot. 1837 as part of an extended metaphor.
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1837 Weekly Post 5 Mar. 6/4 My hours ain't my own—my money ain't my own... I'm a partnership concern, and so many has got their fingers in the till that I must bust up.
1893 F. Warden Passage through Bohemia 92 You've been putting your fingers in the till to go horse-racing!
1938 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 6 Mar. A banker who had dipped his fingers in the till.
1958 Jet 20 Mar. 42 The dismissal of that socialite East Coast government worker, who was caught with her fingers in the till.
1990 G. Will Suddenly iii. xv. 178 He suspected that his bartenders were dipping their fingers in the till.
2009 N. Neuhaus Ice Queen 189 The company was broke because everybody had their fingers in the till and had no clue about bookkeeping.
p. Irish English. to put (something) on the long finger: to postpone or delay (an event, task, obligation, etc.). [After Irish cuir (rud) ar an méar fhada to postpone (something) indefinitely, lit. ‘to put (a thing) on the long finger (i.e. the middle finger)’ (early 20th cent. or earlier).]
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1842 Dublin Univ. Mag. Nov. 571 When the thing is put on the long finger, God knows but maybe it would never come to pass.
1899 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 6 July 5/8 He protested against this doctrine that everything was to be put on the long finger until such great measures as those dealing with Home Rule or Compulsory Purchase had been fought out in Parliament.
1931 Irish Times 16 July 5/2 He could not..remember the locality where he got the bicycle, and he had not the manliness to go to the Civic Guards, and ‘kept putting it on the long finger’.
1979 B. Bradshaw Irish Constit. Revol. 16th Cent. iii. 65 The subjugation of the whole island was not abandoned as an ultimate goal, but it was once more put on the long finger.
2013 Irish Independent (National ed.) (Nexis) 13 July 35 If you're taking the children to France this summer but have put booking on the long finger, Pavillon de la Reine..is a haven for families.
q. colloquial (chiefly British). to be all fingers and thumbs: to be lacking in manual dexterity, clumsy, awkward in one’s actions. Cf. thumb n. 5c, one's fingers are all thumbs at Phrases 2a.
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1847 J. F. Cooper in Bentley's Mag. Jan. 491 She became what is called ‘all fingers and thumbs’, and in loosening the third half-hitch, she cast off the two others.
1890 Northern Echo 27 Jan. 4/4 They seemed all fingers and thumbs, and the ball would glance off and away the moment they touched it.
1955 Times 28 Feb. 3/2 This English hero loves to show himself as a monument of inefficiency, all fingers and thumbs.
2004 Essentials Dec. 108/1 If you're all fingers and thumbs when it comes to wrapping the presents, don't panic!
r. to have (also keep, lay, etc.) one's finger(s) on the pulse: to monitor or be aware of developments, trends, etc., esp. within a particular sphere. Frequently with of.
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1847 North Wales Chron. 18 May The Chancellor of the Exchequer would do well to keep his finger on the pulse of the times.
1859 A. D. Mayo Symbols of Capital iv. 99 A merchant in a counting-room on the banks of the Hudson, sits with his fingers on the pulse of the world's commerce.
1897 Times 5 July 14/4 These gentlemen, who make it their business to keep a finger on the pulse of trade unionism, believe..that this demand for eight hours is but the first move of a campaign.
1923 G. H. Nicholls Bayete! 55 The Secretary for Native Affairs wrote the other day to say he wanted his officials to keep their fingers on the pulse of the natives.
1996 Independent 8 Mar. 6/1 Miucca Prada, the designer who has taken a luxury label to cult status, needed only look around the audience yesterday to know that she has her finger on the pulse.
2005 Flare (Electronic ed.) May 104 As a runway and magazine-editorial veteran, Linda Cantello has her finger on the pulse of the latest beauty looks.
s. to wag one's finger (at) and variants: to signal reproof, warning, admonishment, etc., by wagging one's finger to and fro in the air. Also figurative. Cf. finger-wagging n. and adj. at Compounds 2a, finger-wag n. at Compounds 2a.
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1852 Dublin Univ. Mag. Sept. 347/2 ‘I'll mark you, my damsel,’ wagging her finger at one whose mirth is the loudest.
1890 Amer. Ann. Deaf Oct. 244 All I had to do was to wag my finger,..and she was reminded of the error.
1939 N.Y. Times 7 Dec. 17/1 We have no idea why the Portuguese immigration officer refused us permission to land. He would not say, but simply wagged his finger and shook his head.
1989 Guardian 7 Dec. 24/4 Film-makers unashamedly wagged their fingers and left audiences in no doubt that they should follow the Surgeon General's advice and ‘just say no’.
2002 Focus May 25/1 They're all at it, wagging their fingers and telling parents not to be so silly about scares over the combined vaccination for their children.
2014 T. McCulloch Stillman 177 ‘Don't you be playing with this, right?’ he wags a finger, ‘you'll break it.’
t. slang.
(a) to give (a person) the finger and variants.
†(i) U.S. To get the better of (a person); to deceive, to cheat; to take advantage of. Obsolete. Cf. finger v. 3c.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > express contempt of
to puff at1611
to point the finger (of scorn, derision, etc.)a1616
to give (a person) the finger1874
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > express contempt of > by gesture
finger-point1563
to bite the thumb at1573
fig1600
tweak1604
to make horns at1607
rump1737
to snap one's fingers at1806
to give (a person) the finger1874
scuff1897
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > derisive gesture > [noun]
middle finger1562
fig1579
fico1596
stork's bill1616
snook1791
finger-snap1821
monkey motion1845
to give (a person) the finger1874
finger-click1897
two fingers1971
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (transitive)] > send away or dismiss > unceremoniously
to send packingc1450
trussa1500
to go (send, etc.) away with a flea in one's ear1577
to set packing1577
pack1589
ship1594
to send away with a fly in one's ear1606
to give a packing penny to1609
to pack off1693
to cut (also slip) the painter1699
to send about one's business1728
trundle1794
to send to the right about (also rightabouts)1816
bundle1823
to give the bucket to1863
shake1872
to give (a person) the finger1874
to give (a person) the pushc1886
to give (someone or something) the chuck1888
to give (someone) the gate1918
to get the (big) bird1924
to tie a can to (or on)1926
to give (a person) (his or her) running shoes1938
to give (someone) the Lonsdale1958
1874 in Bismarck (Dakota Territory) Daily Tribune (1894) 10 Feb. 3 I had a pointer you had been giving him the finger for stagger juice, but his nibs yonder won't have it.
1892 Shelbyville (Indiana) Daily Democrat 2 Feb. 1/3 What a gilly a copper is when a smooth talking crook makes up his mind to give him the finger.
1894 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch 22 July 26/5 Me friend came into the place, smoked a couple of pills and tried to give him the finger for the dope.
(ii) North American. To reject, dismiss, or get rid of (a person); to give a person the ‘brush off’. Now rare.Perhaps originally with allusion to a pointing gesture made with the finger to direct a person to leave. In early use frequently in sporting contexts.
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1889 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Jrnl. 3 Sept. 1/2 I was not going to have other folks benefit by my acts and then give me the finger.
1898 Washington Post 7 Feb. 8/6 Denny Lyons' damaged digit, which gave him the ‘finger’, so far as the big League is concerned, has mended.
1911 Globe (Toronto) 26 June 12/4 Kelley, fearful of the results if he let him stay in, gave him the finger and sent Tesreau in to pitch.
1939 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 16/1 Hart assembled the first Maroon team in 1925, but his director gave him the finger.
1949 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 28 Aug. Tito says Stalin gave him the finger on the Austrian territorial deal so the big four will think Stalin is on the up-and-up.
(iii) Originally U.S. To make an obscene gesture at (a person) with the back of the hand outwards, the fist closed and the middle finger raised; to express contempt, animosity, defiance, etc., towards (a person) using this gesture. Also figurative. Also occasionally with thing as object.Also occasionally: to stick a finger up at and variants (cf. to stick (also put, flick, etc.) two fingers up (at) at Phrases 4y).The gesture itself is of great antiquity, being referred to in classical Latin as digitus impudīcus (see impudicous adj.).
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1957 Star News (Pasadena, Calif.) 19 Nov. 20/2 He was going home, off duty, in his car late the other night, and a car full of young punks drove up beside him. They gave him the finger, and then held up a knife.
1975 C. W. Smith Country Music 229 Coolly, she shot them the finger.
1992 Financial Post (Canada) (Nexis) 22 Jan. 1/10 Not one Tory MP..raised even a squeak of protest at their government giving the finger to the good burghers of Vancouver.
1994 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Aug. t9 The Brit pop coalition..which has spent this year sticking a finger up at last year's imported grunge bands.
2013 C. Tsiolkas Barracuda (2014) 222 You little wanker, you give my mate the finger again and I'll wallop you.
(b) Originally and chiefly British and Irish English to give (a person or (occasionally) thing) the fingers: to make an insulting gesture at (a person or thing) with the back of the hand outwards and the index and middle fingers extended in a V-shape. Cf. V-sign n. 2b, two fingers n. at two adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2; cf. also to stick (also put, flick, etc.) two fingers up (at) at Phrases 4y.
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1982 Irish Times 26 May 7/2 They ask for trouble, coming up through the Bogside every bloody night... It's just bravado, like giving the fingers to the kids.
1987 R. Doyle Commitments 32 Imelda blew him a kiss and gave him the fingers.
2004 S. Maconie Cider with Roadies x. 105 Walking into Wigan town centre that night, the entire top deck of a 610 bus had turned to gawp and give me the fingers.
u. to put one's finger in the dyke and variants: to take action to deal with a small problem or issue quickly in order to prevent it from becoming more serious; to attempt (often futilely) to stop a problem from escalating. In allusion to the tale of the Dutch boy (popularized in M. M. Doge’s Hans Brinker (1865)) who stops up a leaking dyke with his finger until help arrives.Frequently in extended metaphor.
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1897 North-eastern Daily Gaz. (Middlesbrough) 19 Mar. 4/5 The entrance of those two outsiders within its walls would be like the leak, no bigger at first than one's finger in the dyke that keeps out the sea.]
1934 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 5 Oct. 6 FDR put his finger in the dike at just the right moment.
1956 A. Valentine Trial Balance vi. 122 Angus felt as though he were..trying to keep his finger in the dike of excellence against beating waves of mediocrity.
1972 Times 4 May 1/5 We're..trying to get the local government to form an emergency committee to keep essential services going... I've got my fingers in the dike, but I've got more holes than fingers.
2000 B. Bluestone & B. Harrison Growing Prosperity (2001) v. 153 That a purge of stock market values could lead to a worldwide recession, with only the Fed around to put its finger in the dike, is a pretty unsettling thought.
2014 Australian (Nexis) 4 Mar. 11 The Saturday Paper is there to be brandished in support of media diversity, not as a finger in the dike, holding back the tide of online media.
v. Chiefly British and Australian colloquial (originally Military slang) to pull one's finger out and variants: to stir oneself to action; to stop hesitating or wasting time and begin to act; to hurry up, get a move on. Frequently in imperative.Sometimes considered as relating to with one's finger in one's mouth at Phrases 4c(a) or with one's finger up one's ass (also sometimes arse) at Phrases 4c(b).
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the world > movement > rate of motion > move at specific rate [verb (intransitive)] > increase speed
to go betc1386
to mend one's pace1592
quicken1617
echea1644
accelerate1661
swiften1839
to step on the gas1916
to pull one's finger out1919
1919 Aussie: Austral. Soldiers' Mag. 12 Mar. 2/1 Tell the bloke who issues the prizes to pull his finger out.
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target i. 16 For Christ's sake pull your finger out, Bill.
1982 J. Sullivan Only Fools & Horses (1999) I. 2nd Ser. Episode 7. 119 Come on Rodders, get your finger out, we've got a long drive home.
2014 Yorks. Post 7 Nov. 12/6 The great and good of Yorkshire should get their finger out and tell the Government that nothing less will do.
w. chiefly North American. to put (also hold) a finger to (also in) the wind and variants: (frequently of a politician) to take the appropriate measures to assess a situation, especially before taking action.Wetting a finger and holding up to the wind is a traditional method of testing wind direction.
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1932 Steubenville (Ohio) Herald-Star 8 July 6/2 If the individual manages his affairs astutely,..holding one finger up in the wind to keep himself informed about public opinion, he turns his title into money.
1949 Life 24 Oct. 102/2 A good machine politician..must constantly wet a finger to the wind.
1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 10 July (Final ed.) a1 The local politicians are holding fingers to the wind to see if the gasoline shortage is real and deciding whether they want to pay for more public transit.
1993 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 20 Mar. b1 Many establishment figures on Campbell's team ‘put their fingers in the wind and figured out who could win it for them’.
2002 D. Ebershoff Pasadena (2003) i. 9 Blackwood senses things turning his way, and that was what he had learned over the years: to keep a wet finger in the wind.
2009 Australian (Nexis) 6 May 20 Arocca suggested he was investigating an idea by ‘putting a finger to the wind’.
x. to let one's fingers do the walking: to locate a required service or product by leafing through the Yellow Pages; (now also more generally) to shop or seek information from a magazine, website, etc. Originally a slogan for the yellow pages published by the Bell System, a group of companies that provided telephone services in North America until 1984.The slogan is trademarked in the United Kingdom.
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1962 Daily Plainsman (Huron, S. Dakota) 5 Jan. 8 (advt.) Let your fingers do the walking. Shop the Yellow Pages way!
1973 Times 22 Dec. 12 (advt.) Let your fingers do the walking for Christmas presents!
1992 Buying Cameras July 54/2 To find out what's available either take a trip down to your local camera dealer or let your fingers do the walking and turn to the classified section at the back of the magazine.
1999 M. J. Maffini Speak Ill of Dead v. 56 I let my fingers do the walking and, sure enough, in the yellow pages under Promotional Services, I found ‘Events by Wendtz’.
2002 Courier Mail (Queensland, Austral.) (Nexis) 22 June 77 People do their own research on the web, they know what they want and they let their fingers do the walking to see who's got the stock.
2008 J.E. Wideman Fanon 29 Let your fingers do the walking. Click. Click. Click. A world delivered twenty-four seven to your door.
y. to stick (also put, flick, etc.) two fingers up (at): to make the V-sign (V-sign n. 2b) as a gesture of contempt, animosity, or defiance. Cf. Phrases 4t(a)(iii). Frequently figurative.
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1963 E. Walpole in Rifle Brigade Chron. 64 It would have been pleasant to put two fingers up in a rude sign, but risky.
1964 F. M. Henry Air Gunner 71 It had been nearly a month since I last stuck two fingers up at the enemy ground defences.
1980 Financial Times 7 Nov. 1/6 The Government is clearly putting two fingers up to the public sector.
1989 M. Clark Great Divide i. 23 You know boys going up to a female teacher and sticking two fingers up at her.
1998 Touch July 96/1 Leeds proudly sticks two fingers up at the style gurus.
2012 A. R. Forte Spirits of Lesser God 10 What really made you completely lose your cool is when the motorbike rider stuck two fingers up at you, gave you the Old Agincourt salute.
z. as easy as kiss my finger: see kiss v. 7. the finger next one's thumb; to be finger and thumb: see thumb n. 5i. to have green fingers: see green fingers n. at green adj. and n.1 Compounds 1d(a). to look through one's fingers: see to look through —— 1b at look v. Phrasal verbs 2. to point the finger (of scorn, etc.): see point v.1 10c. to put (or set) one's finger in one's eye: see eye n.1 Phrases 2q(b). to stick to a person's fingers: see stick v.1 Phrases 2. to work one's fingers to the bone: see bone n.1 Phrases 1a(b).

Compounds

C1.
a.
(a) General attributive, as finger bone, finger injury, †finger lith (lith n.1), finger splint, etc.
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OE List of Relics, Exeter in M. Förster Zur Geschichte des Reliquienkultus in Altengland (1943) 79 Her beoð reliquię of manegum halgum fæmnum... Erost of sancta Maria Magdalene fingerliðe.
1684 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. 227 Phalanx is the Order and rank observed in the Finger-Bones [L. ossium digitorum].
1711 J. P. tr. Lucian in Wks. Lucian III. 203 Their Finger-knuckles, and their Wrists invade.
1786 J. Aitken Princ. Anat. & Physiol. I. 122 These tendons are tied down in the hollows of the finger bones.
1830 W. Clarke Three Courses & Dessert ii. 214 He wears red sleeves to his waistcoat, with ragged edges that reach to his finger knuckles.
1890 Yorks. Herald 1 Feb. (Suppl.) 4/7 The finger pads, the soft end of the fingers, are used.
1915 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 20 Feb. 328/2 A properly devised finger splint is then applied.
1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 4 Apr. 758/2 Forearm crepitus was detected within six hours of a minor finger injury.
2003 L. Leuck One Witch Nine skeletons on a stone gave the witch a finger bone.
2013 J. White Indoor Climbing Man. 53/1 Using a small crimp is one of the main causes of finger injury.
(b) attributive with the sense ‘performed by or done with the finger or fingers’, as finger game, finger gesture, finger movement, finger sign, etc.
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1688 J. Phillips tr. Du Vignau Turkish Secretary 24 The Eyes, Motions of the Face, the Finger signs [Fr. les signes des doigts] and gestures of the two Lovers, said more than the most Eloquent tongue could have done.
1711 E. Ward Life Don Quixote iv. xvi. 307 Signing as many Christian Types Upon his Breast, with Finger-wipes.
1828 Morning Post 4 July A miniature harp, for the practice of finger-movements.
1857 Harper's Mag. Dec. 23 They twitch and push each other, with many shrugs and finger gestures.
1871 E. B. Tylor Primitive Culture I. 68 The ancient Egyptians..used to play at some kind of finger-game.
1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art xi. 242 Italians..have a long tradition of controlled finger-gesture, going back to the ancient game of micare digitis.
1953 J. S. Huxley Evol. in Action iv. 110 She [sc. Helen Keller]..realized that this particular combination of finger-signs ‘meant the wonderful cool something’ that she was feeling.
1980 Lancet 5 Apr. 746/2 He or she will still be able to make a small finger movement in response to any nociceptive stimulus.
2008 E. Tucker Children's Folklore ii. 32 Once children are old enough to go to school, they learn different finger games from friends.
2013 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 Mar. b9/3 The problem of data leakage is as old as someone taking a carbon copy home on the weekend. What is different today is how people can take data with a finger swipe.
b. Similative.
(a) With the sense ‘resembling a finger in shape’, as finger biscuit, finger muffin, etc.See also finger chip n., finger prayer book n., finger roll n. at Compounds 2a.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > biscuit > [noun] > other biscuits
dorcake14..
cracknelc1440
hard breada1500
crackling1598
Naples biscuit1650
gingerbread man1686
chocolate biscuit1702
biscotin1723
sponge biscuit1736
maple biscuita1753
butter biscuit1758
nut1775
Oliver biscuit1786
funeral biscuit1790
rock biscuit?1790
ratafia1801
finger biscuit1812
Savoy drop1816
lady's finger1818
snap1819
Abernethy1830
pretzel1831
wine-biscuit1834
gingersnap1838
captain's biscuit1843
lebkuchen1847
simnel1854
sugar cookie1854
peppernut1862
McClellan pie1863
Savoy ring1866
Brown George1867
beaten biscuit1876
digestive1876
Osborne1876
Bath Oliver1878
marie1878
boer biscuit1882
charcoal biscuit1885
biscotti1886
fairing1888
snickerdoodle1889
pfeffernuss1891
zwieback1894
Nice1895
Garibaldi biscuit1896
Oswegoc1900
squashed fly1900
amaretto1905
boerebeskuit1905
Romary1905
petit beurre1906
Oswego biscuit1907
soetkoekie1910
Oreo1912
custard cream1916
Anzac1923
sweet biscuit1929
langue de chat1931
Bourbon biscuit1932
Afghan1934
flapjack1935
Florentine1936
chocolate chip cookie1938
choc chip cookie1940
Toll House cookie1940
tuile1943
pizzelle1949
black and white1967
Romany Cream1970
papri1978
1812 B. Hofland Son of Genius iv. 83 Ludovico had heard his mother wish for some finger biscuits.
1873 J. G. G. Howard Fifty Years Maryland Kitchen 230 (heading) Finger Muffins.
1948 Wise County (Texas) Messenger 26 Feb. 8/4 The hostess..served refreshments of finger muffins and hot chocolate.
2007 Independent 24 Jan. 3/4 They are only finger biscuits, but are put in an enormous bag then encased in a redundant cardboard box.
(b) With participles forming adjectives, as finger-shaped, finger-sized, etc.
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1763 J. Wheeler Botanist's & Gardener's New Dict. 366/1 Potentilla, with finger-shaped leaves.
1835 J. Kincaid Random Shots from Rifleman ix. 116 The Frenchman's [fighting irons] were found to consist of a brace of pocket-pistols, with finger-sized barrels.
1857 J. G. Wood Common Objects Sea Shore vi. 116 Alcyonium digitatum, or the Finger-shaped Alcyonium.
1901 E. H. Fenwick Operative & Inoperative Tumours Urin. Bladder iv. 81 Everything that is necessary can be learnt by a finger-sized incision.
1984 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Sept. (Late City Final ed.) iv. 22/2 What was finger-sized on Monday afternoon will, by Wednesday morning, have turned into a foot-long green giant.
2007 A. Broomfield Food & Cooking in Victorian Eng. 163 Market Drayton..became known for its oblong, finger-shaped gingerbread.
2010 Financial Times 30 Apr. 14/ It looks like most other USB data modems—a slim finger-sized device with a USB connector that slides out from one end.
c. Objective, as finger-washing; finger-crushing, finger-numbing, finger-squeezing, etc., adjs.
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1770 C. Jenner Placid Man II. 92 For one cold, bleak, finger-squeezing night.
1847 C. Toulmin Partners for Life viii. 139 He had not ordinarily a finger-crushing grasp.
1906 Outing Apr. 3/1 Anything more finger-numbing and distressing than to undo heavy leather hobbles stiff with frost.
1960 H. Hayward Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Collecting 243/2 Rose-water ewer and dish or basin, used for finger-washing at table.
1969 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News 25 Sept. 2 b/1 It is most important to keep the little children away from these finger-crushing machines.
1995 Spin Mar. 101/1 The band's guitarist took a finger-breaking fall on the tour bus.
2003 S. Korey Mixed Signals vii. 31 A couple of pumps of a finger-squeezing handshake was more his style.
C2.
a.
finger ache n. an ache in the finger or fingers, formerly esp. as the type of a slight or negligible pain.
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1613 S. Rowlands Crew Kind Gossips (new ed.) sig. Cv She..tels me of her t'other husbands praise, With whom she liued all her happy dayes, That he would weepe, euen at her finger ake, And to content her any paines would take.
1797 S. J. Pratt Family Secrets III. x. 84 What are your lives, or the lives of ten thousand thousand such villains, to the finger-ache of such a noble gentleman as Sir Armine Fitzorton.
1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 86 And thee..Who never knewest finger-ache, nor pang Of wrench'd or broken limb.
1960 Dixon (Illinois) Evening Tel. 15 Feb. 4/1 People run to the doctor for colds and the finger ache.
2012 S. Meier et al. in Rheumatology (2013) v. 114/2 Sensations of ‘pins and needles’, numbness, and finger ache.
finger alphabet n. an alphabet in which particular positions of the hands represent different letters, used esp. as a means of communication with and between deaf people; = manual alphabet n. at manual adj. and n. Compounds; cf. fingerspelling n.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle III. xci. 267 [She] asked, by the help of the finger-alphabet.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind ii. 17 To spell out sentences with the finger-alphabet.
2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Sept. 37/4 No one with Laura's afflictions had ever learned to speak, either by using her voice or by means of the finger alphabet.
finger-bar n. the bar which carries a set of fingers (sense 7) forming part of a mechanism, esp. of a reaping or mowing machine.
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the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > harvesting equipment > [noun] > reaping tools > reaping-machine > parts of
fingera1722
reel1845
finger-bar1847
sweep-rakea1884
1847 U.S. Patent 5,188 1/1 The nature of the first part of my invention consists in operating the sliding frame that carries the inking-rollers over the form of types by a motion independent of that which operates the frame that carries the frisket and finger-bars.
1847 U.S. Patent 5,335 2/1 At the other end of the finger-bar there is a separator, T, or long finger, which projects beyond the points of the fingers P to separate the grain that is to be cut.
1870 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1867–8 7 312 The greatest objections to a joint in the finger-bar of a mower.
2010 Cornishman (Nexis) 7 Oct. 34 The continuing decline of the remaining wildlife can be reversed by returning to the clean-cutting finger-bar type of hedge trimmer.
finger-beam n. now rare = finger-bar n.
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1851 Sci. Amer. 8 Feb. 164/2 M is the finger beam.
1864 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. Jan. 136 An efficient leverage to regulate the height of cut and raise the finger-beam in passing over furrows..has been added.
1982 Kilkenny People 11 June 18/5 For Sale. Front drive finger beam of old type Ferguson mowing blade.
finger bowl n. a small bowl containing water for rinsing the fingers during or after a meal; cf. finger glass n. (a).
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > finger-bowl
water glass1766
finger glass1789
gemellion1889
finger bowl1895
1895 London Story Paper 1 June 7/3 That is a finger-bowl; it is to wash your hands in.
1979 Gourmet Sept. 58/1 Finger bowls arrived unrequested a moment before we realized we needed them.
2003 A. Perry Christmas Journey (2004) 12 There was nothing left but mounds of fresh grapes from the hothouse, and silver finger bowls to remove any faint traces of stickiness.
finger bread n. †(a) (perhaps) a type of gingerbread in the form of finger-sized pieces (obsolete rare); (b) U.S. bread that has been cut or shaped into narrow pieces, eaten with the fingers and typically toasted and served with a dip.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > piece of bread > [noun] > strip of bread
finger bread1630
soldier1966
1630 Minutes Norwich Court Mayoralty 1630–1 (1942) 18 Oct. 92 No Manchett, mixt bread nor Spicebread or Fingerbread shalbe..made in this city.
1872 E. Meteyard Doctor's Little Daughter i. 9 Alice had drunk up her nice tea, dipped her last piece of finger-bread into the savoury egg.
1949 L. P. De Gouy Soup Bk. v. 128 Serve a side dish of toasted finger bread, about 1½ inches long.
2007 York (Pa.) Disp. (Nexis) 31 Jan. Other creative ideas include finger bread with spinach dip or a corn bread with chili for the big game.
finger breadth n. (also finger's-breadth) the width of a finger used as a measure. Cf. sense 2a. [Compare Middle Dutch vingerbreet (Dutch vingerbreed; also vingerbreedte (19th cent.)), Old Icelandic fingrar breidd.]
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > breadth of finger
fingereOE
fingermealc1175
finger breadtha1535
digit1625
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) i. sig. A.ii Neyther one fynger breadth of space, nor one minute of tyme from you.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. ii. vi. f. 181v Foure barley kernels couched close together side by side..are saide to make a finger breadth.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age ii. i. x. 186 Spain, was indeed within her fingers breadth of destruction.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Fingers-breadth, a Measure of two Barley Corn's Length, or 4 laid side to side.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. 205 It does not desire a single finger-breadth more than what is necessary.
2014 Eastbourne Herald (Nexis) 14 May If you're feeling nauseous on your journey, try pressing your index and middle fingers between the two tendons on the inside of your wrist, about three finger breadths below the base of your palm.
finger brush n. a brush used for or with the fingers; spec. †(a) Bookbinding a small brush which may be drawn across the fingers in order to apply a fine sprinkling of pigment to the edge of the pages of a book (obsolete); (b) a small brush (esp. a toothbrush) designed to fit onto the tip of a finger.
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society > communication > printing > miscellaneous printers' equipment > [noun] > small brush for scattering colours on material
finger brush1853
1853 Times 14 Jan. 3/2 6 Combs 3 Tooth brushes 1 Finger brush 1 Nail brush.
1885 W. J. E. Crane Bookbinding x. 87 The ‘finger-brush’..is..about the size of a shaving-brush, of stiff hairs cut square at the ends. The brush, being dipped in the colour, is drawn across the fingers, so as to jerk the colour off in spots.
1970 Cumberland (Maryland) Times 22 Feb. Did you know that your little nylon net scrubbers make excellent substitutes for finger brushes?
2012 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 3 Aug. 56 Use a toothbrush with a small head, either a baby's brush or one designed specifically for dogs. Alternatively, you can use a finger brush.
finger buffet n. now chiefly British a buffet consisting of food intended to be eaten with the fingers rather than with cutlery; cf. finger food n.
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1952 Camden (Arkansas) News 22 Sept. 4/1 (advt.) Open house–finger buffet–dancing.
1981 Times 31 Mar. 16 ‘The Italians in England’, tickets £6.50 including finger buffet.
2004 C. Hamilton Sublime Wedding ii. 26 The most casual styles of reception are a finger buffet (where most guests remain standing), a barbeque or afternoon tea party.
finger chip n. Indian English a long, rectangular piece of potato that has been deep-fried; a chip.
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1951 Agric. & Animal Husb., Utter Pradesh Aug. 44/1 The cooking quality is close to floury and very good indeed for finger chips.
1995 S. Dé Snapshots iv. 48 She picked up a soggy finger-chip and dipped it into watery sauce.
2012 Times of India (Nexis) 13 June My son used to save his pocket money to buy cola and finger chips at his school canteen.
finger-click n. a click of the fingers; = finger-snap n.
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society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > derisive gesture > [noun]
middle finger1562
fig1579
fico1596
stork's bill1616
snook1791
finger-snap1821
monkey motion1845
to give (a person) the finger1874
finger-click1897
two fingers1971
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. xii. 286 If the late Richard Wagner..had been present he could have scored the performance for a full orchestra; and with all its weird grunts and roars, and pistol-like finger clicks.., it would have been a masterpiece.
1905 Mainly about People 11 Nov. 473/2 Suddenly, forgetting her words, the actress moved out of the moonshine to draw the prompter's attention with her customary finger-clicks.
1973 P. Du Feu Let's hear it for Long-legged Women xii. 225 The ward sister got my meaning as fast as a finger click.
2016 Journal (Newcastle) (Nexis) 20 Apr. 34 Kris began with a series of handclaps and finger-clicks which he layered and looped continuously to create a percussive backing track.
finger-clicking n. and adj. (a) n. the action or an act of clicking one's fingers, esp. as a peremptory command or signal, or in time to a musical beat (cf. finger-click n., a click of the fingers at Phrases 4l); (b) adj. characterized by or causing finger-clicking; (of a person) that clicks his or her fingers.
ΚΠ
1933 L. M. Spagnolo Bari Gram. 207 The various hand-gestures and finger-clickings that invariably accompany narrative.
1958 K. Amis I like it Here ii. 28 ‘He can probably get us a villa just by clicking his fingers..’. Quite apart from the matter of the Lisbon pal and his finger-clicking potentialities, [etc.].
1970 P. Chaplin Lonely Diet iv. 38 A small finger-clicking got him his bill.
1984 Musical Times 125 701/2 The performers often accompanied themselves with finger-clicking, hand-clapping and foot-stomping.
1999 Guardian 27 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 3/1 Ask anybody who ever worked at the Groucho Club who the really arrogant, finger-clicking, money-waving, drug-demanding clients were.
2016 Daily Mail (Nexis) 13 May (headline) Ms Bailey Rae is back with a funky, finger-clicking delight.
finger-cold adj. now rare (English regional (southern) in later use) (of weather) cold enough to cause the fingers to become numb.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > [adjective] > very intensely cold
ice-coldeOE
frostyOE
frosty cold?a1430
frore1483
chill-cold1567
frory?1567
frostbiting1593
numb-cold1597
chilling-cold1616
frigidious1630
frigid1639
finger-cold1752
Siberian1789
freezy1827
ice-cool1853
Arctic1876
1752 W. Douglass Summary State Brit. Settlements N.-Amer. II. xi. 210 Travelling in Connecticut from Pensylvania, 1716 June 26, Finger cold, Roads froze, Ice thick as a Crown-Piece.
1862 H. D. Thoreau in Atlantic Monthly Nov. 525/1 It is finger-cold.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. ‘'Twas downright finger-cold first thing this marning.’
1957 H. Hall Parish's Dict. Sussex Dial. (new ed.) 40/2 It's wot I calls a finger-cold morning.
finger-comb v. now chiefly U.S. transitive to comb (hair) in an informal style by repeatedly running one's fingers through it; (also) to work (a hairstyling product) through the hair with the fingers.
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1820 F. MacDonogh Hermit in Country III. lxxiv. 183 Straight is he finger-combing his hair until every one laughs at him.
1901 Cornhill Mag. Feb. 185 Mr. Whiston stopped in the act of finger-combing his beard.
1959 Independent Record (Helena, Montana) 8 Nov. 12/3 They like knowing that no matter how active they are their hair can be brushed, shaken or finger-combed into place.
2013 W (Electronic ed.) Sept. 269 I finger-comb this gel near my roots before blow-drying.
finger-combed adj. now chiefly U.S. (of hair) combed with the fingers; (hence) having a tousled appearance.
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1751 J. Hill Hist. Woman of Quality ii. iv. 48 His rude and finger-combed Hair had more Charms in it for her Eye than her utmost Ornaments could add to her Face in his.
1954 Charleroi (Pa.) Mail 6 Oct. 8 He ran his fingers through his already finger-combed hair.
2015 Washington Post (Electronic ed.) 16 Jan. t29 Virtually devoid of makeup, her hair pulled back in a finger-combed ponytail, Cotillard portrays Sandra through superb physical expressiveness.
finger counting adj. and n. (a) adj. that counts or calculates on or using the fingers; characterized by this; (b) n. the action or practice of counting or calculating in this way; a method of calculation using the fingers.Sophisticated methods of counting and calculating using finger-gestures are known to have been used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and many other cultures.In early use chiefly with punning allusion to the dactyl as a metrical unit in prosody; cf. dactyl n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > enumeration, reckoning, or calculation > [noun] > counting on fingers
finger counting1804
indigitation1826
1804 J. Thelwall Let. to F. Jeffray, Esq. 9 Hints to finger-counting Critics and modern Editors of ancient English Poets.
1822 Kalaidoscope 14 May 360/3 His ear is defective, which is a fault that cannot be remedied by finger counting.
1909 Classical Philol. 4 25 The Romans were..able to perfom complicated mathematical problems by means of the abacus and by a system of finger-counting.
1951 Cumberland (Maryland) News 28 Nov. 7/3 Modern electronic calculators..have taken machine mathematics out of the finger-counting stage.
2014 Frontiers in Psychol. 13 Feb. 149/1 Finger counting could be more effective for subtraction than for multiplication.
finger cymbal n. a small cymbal of a type usually played in pairs, one being attached to the index or middle finger, and the other to the thumb, so that the two can be struck together to make a sound; usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > [noun] > cymbal
cymbalc825
chimea1300
chime-bellc1300
basinsa1350
target1696
zill1754
cymbalon1824
finger cymbal1845
crash cymbal1927
choke-cymbal1934
sock cymbal1936
sizzle cymbal1944
top cymbal1948
ride1956
splash cymbal1961
1845 J. Kitto Cycl. Biblical Lit. II. 379/1 The Hebrews had both band-cymbals and finger-cymbals.
1984 G. Jennings Journeyer (1988) Khanbalik ii. 509 Some Samoyed musicians performed pieces of similar cacophony on an assortment of instruments—hand drums and finger cymbals.
2007 Condé Nast Traveller (U.K. ed.) May 117/2 Experts will run workshops on dancing with a veil and finger cymbals, and there will be mesmerising belly-dancing displays throughout the festival.
† finger-director n. Medicine Obsolete rare a tapered metal cylinder, open at each end, which fits over the index finger and can be used to guide the finger or an instrument in certain surgical operations.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > instruments used in lithotomy or lithotripsy
stone-drawer1598
itinerary1689
itinerarium1706
litholabon1731
lithotome1739
lithotriptor1825
lithotritor1828
shell-breaker1830
lithotrite1839
litholabe1846
cystotome1847
lithoclast1847
finger-director1860
lithotripter1982
1860 A. Buchanan in Med. Times & Gaz. 7 Apr. 341/1 The mode in which I perform the incision upward [sc. in lithotomy] is by means of an instrument, which I name a finger-director, which I have for many years past used in cutting for anal fistula.
1882 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon at Finger F [inger] -director, a metallic cylinder tapering towards the extremity, and open in front; used in the rectangular operation of lithotomy.
finger-dry v. chiefly Hairdressing (transitive) to dry (hair) by lifting, separating, and styling the strands using the fingers, rather than a brush or comb; also intransitive.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > beautify the hair [verb (intransitive)] > dry in a style
finger-dry1976
scrunch-dry1985
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > beautify (the hair) [verb (transitive)] > dry in a style
blow-dry1966
finger-dry1976
scrunch-dry1985
1976 Chicago Tribune 27 June v. 3/3 The style does not even have to be blown dry, although you may if you wish. Simply comb into place, then finger dry.
1983 P. Spires Boots Bk. Hair Care vi. 34 To finger dry, keep lifting the hair from the roots; the heat from your hands and the atmosphere dries the hair.
2012 A. Read & C. Church in Hairdressing ix. 177 (heading) Finger-dry hair into shape.
finger-dried adj. chiefly Hairdressing (of hair or a hairstyle) dried by lifting, separating, and styling the hair using the fingers, rather than a brush or comb.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [adjective] > dried in a style
blow-dried1976
finger-dried1981
1981 Los Angeles Times 7 Aug. (Fashion section) 1/4 Jose Eber of Maurice-Jose, Beverly Hills, prefers a messier, finger-dried version of the cut.
1982 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 23 Sept. B-10/4 (advt.) The new finger dried waves are just the thing for gals & guys on the go!
2004 Express (Nexis) 28 Apr. 55 To use his trademark cheese-wire wedge or finger-dried scrunch to perk up her Fifties bouffant barnet.
finger-drying n. chiefly Hairdressing the action, practice, or technique of drying the hair by lifting, separating, and styling the strands using the fingers, rather than a brush or comb.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > [noun] > drying
blow-drying1977
finger-drying1978
scrunch-drying1986
1978 Richardson (Texas) Daily News 16 Mar. ii. 2/4 Shying away from blow drying, finger drying and lamps.
1986 Woman's Realm 10 May 29/3 Howard layered Jocelyn's hair, and finger-drying brought out its natural movement.
2015 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 12 July After finger-drying, apply a few more pumps on to dry hair.
finger exercise n. (a) a short musical composition (typically for piano) intended to increase the strength and dexterity of the player’s fingers (cf. five-finger exercise n. at five-finger n. Compounds); (b) an exercise to improve general strength, movement, or dexterity in one or more fingers.
ΚΠ
1817 Repository of Arts Jan. 46/1 The rules given for the finger-exercises are highly to the purpose, especially Mr. M's method of letting..the learner press down the keys with all the fingers.
1894 A. L. Arnim Compl. Course Wrist & Finger Gymnastics (ed. 3) 60 [These two movements] should be performed in alternation with the Duplicate finger exercises.
1928 Amer. Mercury Oct. 195/1 As a finger exercise for acquiring nimbleness, she plucks needles from fir branches.
1970 E. Putnik Art Flute Playing ix. 45 Finger exercises must be practiced with a light, relaxed technique.
2005 T. Oliphant Praying Gil Hodges 2006 ii. 13 I was expected to turn off the radio, sit down at our piano.., and do finger exercises until my mother had dressed.
2011 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Tribune (Nexis) 21 Sept. 3 c Treatment for mild cases [of stenosing tenosynovitis] might begin with rest of the affected digit for about a month; however..mild finger exercises may help maintain mobility.
finger-fed adj. Scottish (now rare) (of a person) pampered, cosseted; cared for in an overindulgent manner.
ΚΠ
1499 Contempl. Synners (de Worde) sig. Gi Thynke on thy fleshe which now is fynger fedde.
a1650 D. Calderwood Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1849) VIII. 631 The ministers..were well fingerfedd in other men's houses, howbeit they had sufficient to maintaine them at home.
a1708 T. Ward England's Reformation (1716) iv. 362 She's fat, she's fair, she's finger-fed, Her Paunches down do hing.
1897 ‘L. Keith’ My Bonnie Lady v A young lady like you, finger-fed and gently reared.
1933 N. B. Morrison Gowk Storm 195 She was what Nannie would call ‘finger-fed’—quite unfitted for the wear and tear of daily life.
finger fillip n. now rare a flick of the finger; a gesture of this sort; cf. fillip n. 1a.
ΚΠ
1869 O. Logan Apropos Women & Theatres xi. 156 A rival artist who sits in front and sneers with his lips, his eyes,—sneers with shrugging shoulder and finger-fillip.
1952 Life 28 July 108 (caption) A finger fillip sends Mrs Alice Dale's ball spinning toward the ‘jack’.
finger food n. food suitable for eating with the fingers or served in such a way that it can conveniently be eaten without cutlery; a food of this type.
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the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > food eaten with fingers
finger food1893
short-eat1962
1893 Horse & Hound 17 June 368/1 For the first, some sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, cake, fruit, all finger food.
1949 A. L. Hill Compl. Bk. Table Setting xix. 248 Asparagus used to be considered a finger food, but today, happily, the tips are cut off with the fork and eaten with it.
2014 Herald Sun (Australia) (Nexis) 30 Sept. 35 Wait until your baby is managing some finger foods before you offer her these rissoles as finger food.
finger-fuck v. coarse slang transitive and intransitive to penetrate (a vagina or anus) with a finger or fingers as a sexual act; (also) to penetrate the vagina of (a woman) or the anus of (a man or woman) with a finger or fingers as a sexual act.The word referred to in quot. ?1800 is possibly frig.
ΚΠ
c1682 Scandall Satyr'd (Harl. MS 6913) f. 106 Shee lett Mullgrave finger fuck her Cunt.
?1800 in R. Burns Merry Muses Caledonia 29 She m——s like reek thro' a' the week, But finger-f——s on Sunday.]
1965 C. Bukowski Let. in Screams from Balcony (1998) 135 Who knows about the boss finger-fucking the secretary in the stock room?
1988 L. Gamman & M. Marshment Female Gaze vi. 95 [She]..finger fucks him anally to bring him to a climax.
1998 W. Lamb I know this Much is True 1999 108 Began finger-fucking herself and came right there.
2009 B. Kery Daring Time xiii. 163 He held her immobile and finger-fucked her ass.
finger glass n. (a) a small glass containing water, used to rinse the fingers and sometimes the mouth at the end of a meal; cf. finger bowl n.; †(b) (in plural) a musical instrument formed of an arrangement of glasses of different sizes each of which produces a different note when the tip of a moistened finger is rubbed around the rim; cf. harmonica n. 1a, glass harmonica n. at glass n.1 Additions (obsolete).
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the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > finger-bowl
water glass1766
finger glass1789
gemellion1889
finger bowl1895
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > other musical instruments > [noun] > musical glasses
musical glasses1761
glass1762
harmonica1762
finger glass1789
harmonicon1825
glassichord1835
1789 J. Christie Catal. Houshold Furnit. Duchess of Kingston 29 4 cut sweetmeat glasses, 17 ditto jelly glasses and 40 cut finger glasses.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park III. xv. 296 She was meditating much upon silver forks, napkins, and finger glasses . View more context for this quotation
1868 G. M. Hopkins Jrnls. & Papers (1959) 167 Madle. Vogt [played] the finger-glasses (Mattauphône), and certainly that instrument is chromatically more perfect than the violin.
2000 S. von Drachenfels Art of Table vii. 102 From the finger glass, a sip or two of water was taken, swished around in the mouth, and spat into the saucer... The water that remained in the glass was used to rinse the fingers.
finger grip n. †(a) Mining an instrument having a long shaft with two short arms projecting sideways at the far end, used for holding or retrieving rods or tools in a bore-hole (obsolete); (b) a grip or hold by or for the finger; a fingerhold; (also) a notch, groove, indentation, etc., by which a finger or fingers can hold on to something.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > for grasping pipes or rods
pipe tongs1795
finger grip1820
gas pliers1860
filing-block1874
pipe grab1875
spider1920
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > for recovering rods or tools
bitch1634
finger grip1820
box-bill1881
1820 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) XIV. 328/2 Finger grip.
1855 W. White Londoner's Walk to Land's End xiii. 273 Now you have an awkward slope; now but a narrow foothold; now to spring and get a good finger-grip.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 848/1 Finger-grip, a tool for recovering rods or tools dropped into a bored shaft.
1875 Engineer 27 Aug. 145/2 The finger-grip underneath the stock serves to regulate the position of the thumb on the trigger.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Finger Grip, a tool used in boring for gripping the upper ends of the rods.
1920 Cornhill Mag. June 753 I reached up and back with both arms, got hold of a finger-grip, and gained another inch.
1972 W. Butler Bone House xv. 67 It was not difficult to slide a few boards tightly together to get a finger-grip on the plank at the far side of the grave.
2014 Home Mag. (Perth, Austral.) (Nexis) 24 May 18 Cupboards... For a sleek, integrated look, opt for recessed finger grips instead of handles.
finger guard n. a shield or guard to protect the finger or fingers; sometimes spec. the part of the hilt of a sword or dagger that protects the hand (cf. guard n. 16b).
ΚΠ
1810 D. Hopkins Vocab. Persian, Arabic, & Eng. 76/1 A finger-guard. A thimble.
1860 J. Hewitt Anc. Armour Suppl. 561 But this finger-guard does not yet join the pommel.
1900 Courier & Argus (Dundee) 25 Apr. 7/3 You must protect the finger from the escaping powder fumes between the barrel and cylinder by wearing a thick leather finger guard.
1981 Clearfield (Pa.) Progress 6 Nov. 19/1 A regular rubber fingerguard, used for office work.
2006 D. Redford Sword Bearer i. 4 The handle was gold plated with blue turquoise stones inlaid along the finger guard.
finger hole n. (a) one of a series of holes in a wind-instrument which may be covered with the fingers or left open in order to produce different notes; (b) an opening (typically round) in an object through or into which a person can insert his or her finger or fingers.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > [noun] > parts generally > finger-hole
stopc1500
ventage1604
finger hole1785
1785 European Mag. & London Rev. June 438 The first next sound that can be obtained on a trumpet, French-horn, and particularly on a German flute, with all the finger-holes stopped, is the VIIIth above the lowest.
1788 Cabinet-makers London Bk. Prices 31 Particulars of a furniture drawer... Each finger hole in ditto.
1841 Boston Courier 11 Feb. 2/6 It appeared that fire had been introduced into the barn through a finger-hole, used for raising the latch of the stable door from the inside.
1893 R. Wallascher Primitive Music iii. 94 The Karagwe tribes have a pipe with six finger holes.
1976 D. Munrow Instruments Middle Ages & Renaissance i. 14/1 The essential features of the recorder are its beak-shaped mouthpiece and the number of its finger-holes.
1991 N.Y. Times 24 Nov. v. 19/3 The entire summer school took a breather and played skittles—a kind of bowling with no finger holes cut into the smallish ball.
2014 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 15 Mar. 1 e Each has three drones (pipes that play a continuous note) and a chanter (the pipe with finger holes on which the melody is played) that are powered by air squeezed out of a bag.
finger impression n. an impression or mark left by a finger; = fingerprint n. 1.
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society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > fingerprint
finger marka1661
fingerprint1737
finger impression1856
thumbprint1900
print1914
latent fingerprint1919
lift1951
1856 T. F. Hardwich Man. Photogr. Chem. (ed. 3) i. viii. 149 There are some substances which facilitate the yellow degeneration of Positives toned by Sulphur..and hence the frequency of yellow finger impressions upon old sulphuretted prints.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 5/1 Witness told him that his finger-impression had been found on a pane of glass on the roof of the building.
2011 Israel Explor. Jrnl. 61 177 A most important feature of the jars in Khirbet Qeiyafa is a finger impression on their handles.
finger joint n. (a) one of the joints of a finger; (b) a joint composed of tenons cut in finger-like or rectangular shapes which are then interlocked and fastened.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > parts of
lithc1000
finger endc1300
fingertip1534
finger joint1657
pulp1686
finger point1823
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > wooden structures or wooden parts of > means of fitting together > types of joint
indenting1382
scarf1497
swallowtail1548
dovetail1565
mortise-piece1577
tenon and mortise1610
culver-tail1616
mortise and tenon1631
finger joint1657
breaking joint1663
meeting1663
mitre1665
scarfing1671
heading joint1773
dovetail-joint1776
butting joint1803
bevel-joint1823
lap-joint1823
lapped mitre1825
mitre dovetail1847
bridle joint1860
mortise1875
sypher-joint1875
keyed mitre1876
tongue-and-groove1882
saddle joint1948
1657 N. Culpeper & W. Rowland tr. J. Johnstone Idea Pract. Physick vi. 18/1 To the former [sc. luxations] belong, the Luxation or Disjoynting of the Jaw-bone, the Clavicula, the Spine and Ribs, the shoulder, the Arms, the Hands and finger joynts [L. digitorum].
1751 R. Paltock Life Peter Wilkins I. xxiv. 234 He told me in playing with this, meaning the Diamond Ring, about his fingers, it slipped over his middle Finger Joint, and he could not get it off again.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby iv. 32 Cracked his finger-joints as if he were snapping all the bones in his hands.
1879 Rep. Paris Universal Exhib. 1878 384 French casements opening outwards, with neatly fitted finger joints.
1922 E. W. C. Parsons N. Amer. Indian Life v. 30 He seized his knife and chopped off another finger joint on his left hand.
1987 Pop. Sci. Feb. 98 Finger joints are stronger than most router-cut dovetails, and they make elegant, professional-looking wooden box corners and hinges.
2000 R. A. Bettigole in M. J. Ryall et al. Bridge Managem. 4 lxxiii. 612 A third crew will use a single crane to set panels incorporating the new modular joint system, which is replacing the existing finger joints.
2015 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 16 Apr. 19 Science has shown that cracking one's finger joints is not normally harmful.
finger lake n. any long narrow lake in a glaciated valley.In quot. 1883, used to denote a group of lakes in New York State now called the Finger Lakes (as a proper name).
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the world > the earth > water > lake > [noun] > long and narrow
finger lake1883
ribbon lake1903
1883 T. C. Chamberlin in 3rd Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1881–2 348 The moraine across New York is held to mark the limit (1) of a small glacial lobe accompanying the Genesee Valley, (2) of a much broader but less elongate one, covering the territory of the divergent finger lakes.
1904 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 15 453 Its northern half is occupied by a lake which presents within a space which can be embraced in one view the characters of a finger lake in an exaggerated degree.
1931 C. C. Carter Landforms & Life xix. 122 Ten or more..radial streams and valleys may be counted and named from the map; most of them expand into finger lakes.
2015 B. Fogle Barefoot at Lake 121 Lake Chemong is a finger lake, ten miles long, created by glaciers at the end of the last ice age.
finger language n. a system of communication by means of signs made with the fingers; = dactylology n.; cf. finger alphabet n., finger speech n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
1669 W. Holder Elem. Speech App. 153 You may draw two Portaitures, one of the inside, the other of the backside of the Hand, and describe the Letters upon the places respectively,..and make him perfect in this Finger-language.
1726 D. Defoe Mere Nature Delineated iii. 69 Nothing could be more natural than for the Child to conclude, that this Finger Language was the true, and the only Way to understand one another, and converse together.
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. iii. 93 She often soliloquizes in the finger language.
1998 D. Herrmann Helen Keller (1999) viii. 115 At the Cambridge School, unlike Perkins, few of the staff and students knew the manual finger language, and Annie was almost her sole bridge to the world.
finger-length n. and adj. (a) n. the length of a finger used as a measure (cf. sense 2b); (b) adj. of the length of a finger.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > length of finger
finger-length1526
1526 Grete Herball ccxxv. sig. N.iv/1 The floure growe not passynge a fynger length in heyght.
a1653 H. Binning Common Princ. Christian Relig. (1659) 197 It was no toil, no difficult thing to his Majesty to stretch out these Heavens in such an infinite compasse, for as large as the circumference of them is, yet it is as easie to him to compasse them, as it is to us to span a finger-length, or two.
1750 G. Neale tr. Mem. Royal Acad. Surg. Paris I. xi. 253 The case is not the same with those who want two or three finger-lengths of the extremity of the rectum.
1842 Madison (Indiana) Courier 20 Aug. 2/4 It is so great a matter in their opinion to write a finger-length article for a newspaper.
1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 329 The baby is about three finger-lengths long.
1901 I. D. Morris Pacific Coast Vac. i. 6 The healing power of this root..was so great that the Chippewas on Lake Superior would give a beaver skin for a finger length piece.
1942 A. Torres-Rioseco Epic Lat. Amer. Lit. i. 35 So intense was her interest that she used to cut four or six finger-lengths off her hair.
2000 D. Nettle & S. Romaine Vanishing Voices iii. 75 The mullett, for instance, is usually referred to as 'ama'ama when it is finger-length and most delicious.
finger-licking n., adv., and adj. (also finger-lickin') (a) n.the action or an act of licking the fingers, esp. to remove remnants of food after eating; (b) adv. so as to cause a person to lick his or her fingers; esp. in finger-licking good; (c) adj. (of food) tasty or appetizing so as to cause a person to lick his or her fingers; also figurative.In later use, frequently in the form finger-lickin' with allusion to the slogan ‘It’s finger-lickin’ good’ used by Kentucky Fried Chicken: see quot. 1958.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > savouriness > [adjective]
likingeOE
goodOE
lickerousc1275
deliciousa1325
daintya1382
dainteousc1386
daintiful1393
delicatea1398
merrya1398
savourlyc1400
liciousc1420
savourousa1425
daintethc1430
lustyc1430
feelsomea1450
nuttya1450
seasonablea1475
delicativec1475
unctuous1495
well-tasteda1500
daintive1526
savoury1533
exquisite1561
spicy1562
well-relished?1575
finger-licking1584
toothsome1584
taste-pleasinga1586
daint1590
relishsome1593
lickerish1595
tastesome1598
friand1599
tooth-tempting1603
relishing1605
well-relishing1608
neat1609
hungry1611
palate-pleasing1611
tasteful1611
palatea1617
tastya1617
palatable1619
toothful1622
sipid1623
unsoured1626
famelic1631
tasteablea1641
piquant1645
sapid1646
saporousa1670
slape1671
palativea1682
flavorous1697
nice1709
well-flavoured1717
gusty1721
flavoury1727
fine-palated1735
unrepulsive1787
degustatory1824
zesty1826
peckish1845
mouth-watering1847
flavoursome1853
unreasty1853
unrancida1855
relishy1864
toothy1864
flavoured1867
tasty-looking1867
hungrifying1886
velvety1888
snappy1892
zippy1911
savoursome1922
delish1953
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]
faireOE
bremea1000
goodlyOE
goodfulc1275
noblec1300
pricec1300
specialc1325
gentlec1330
fine?c1335
singulara1340
thrivena1350
thriven and throa1350
gaya1375
properc1380
before-passinga1382
daintiful1393
principala1398
gradelya1400
burlyc1400
daintyc1400
thrivingc1400
voundec1400
virtuousc1425
hathelc1440
curiousc1475
singlerc1500
beautiful1502
rare?a1534
gallant1539
eximious1547
jolly1548
egregious?c1550
jellyc1560
goodlike1562
brawc1565
of worth1576
brave?1577
surprising1580
finger-licking1584
admirablea1586
excellinga1586
ambrosial1598
sublimated1603
excellent1604
valiant1604
fabulous1609
pure1609
starryc1610
topgallant1613
lovely1614
soaringa1616
twanging1616
preclarent1623
primea1637
prestantious1638
splendid1644
sterling1647
licking1648
spankinga1666
rattling1690
tearing1693
famous1695
capital1713
yrare1737
pure and —1742
daisy1757
immense1762
elegant1764
super-extra1774
trimming1778
grand1781
gallows1789
budgeree1793
crack1793
dandy1794
first rate1799
smick-smack1802
severe1805
neat1806
swell1810
stamming1814
divine1818
great1818
slap-up1823
slapping1825
high-grade1826
supernacular1828
heavenly1831
jam-up1832
slick1833
rip-roaring1834
boss1836
lummy1838
flash1840
slap1840
tall1840
high-graded1841
awful1843
way up1843
exalting1844
hot1845
ripsnorting1846
clipping1848
stupendous1848
stunning1849
raving1850
shrewd1851
jammy1853
slashing1854
rip-staving1856
ripping1858
screaming1859
up to dick1863
nifty1865
premier cru1866
slap-bang1866
clinking1868
marvellous1868
rorty1868
terrific1871
spiffing1872
all wool and a yard wide1882
gorgeous1883
nailing1883
stellar1883
gaudy1884
fizzing1885
réussi1885
ding-dong1887
jim-dandy1888
extra-special1889
yum-yum1890
out of sight1891
outasight1893
smooth1893
corking1895
large1895
super1895
hot dog1896
to die for1898
yummy1899
deevy1900
peachy1900
hi1901
v.g.1901
v.h.c.1901
divvy1903
doozy1903
game ball1905
goodo1905
bosker1906
crackerjack1910
smashinga1911
jake1914
keen1914
posh1914
bobby-dazzling1915
juicy1916
pie on1916
jakeloo1919
snodger1919
whizz-bang1920
wicked1920
four-star1921
wow1921
Rolls-Royce1922
whizz-bang1922
wizard1922
barry1923
nummy1923
ripe1923
shrieking1926
crazy1927
righteous1930
marvy1932
cool1933
plenty1933
brahmaa1935
smoking1934
solid1935
mellow1936
groovy1937
tough1937
bottler1938
fantastic1938
readyc1938
ridge1938
super-duper1938
extraordinaire1940
rumpty1940
sharp1940
dodger1941
grouse1941
perfecto1941
pipperoo1945
real gone1946
bosting1947
supersonic1947
whizzo1948
neato1951
peachy-keen1951
ridgey-dite1953
ridgy-didge1953
top1953
whizzing1953
badass1955
wild1955
belting1956
magic1956
bitching1957
swinging1958
ridiculous1959
a treat1959
fab1961
bad-assed1962
uptight1962
diggish1963
cracker1964
marv1964
radical1964
bakgat1965
unreal1965
pearly1966
together1968
safe1970
bad1971
brilliant1971
fabby1971
schmick1972
butt-kicking1973
ripper1973
Tiffany1973
bodacious1976
rad1976
kif1978
awesome1979
death1979
killer1979
fly1980
shiok1980
stonking1980
brill1981
dope1981
to die1982
mint1982
epic1983
kicking1983
fabbo1984
mega1985
ill1986
posho1989
pukka1991
lovely jubbly1992
awesomesauce2001
nang2002
bess2006
amazeballs2009
boasty2009
daebak2009
beaut2013
the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > delicious or tasty
likingeOE
deliciousa1325
liciousc1420
ambrosial?1578
finger-licking1584
toothsome1584
well1598
tastya1617
toothful1622
fine-palated1735
toothy1864
scrum1877
scrumptious1894
nummy1923
delish1953
shiok1978
bess2006
1584 T. Stocker tr. P. Viret Cauteles, Canon & Ceremonies Popish Masse 18 The last finger licking [Fr. lechedoigt] which the Priest maketh, after he hath eaten his God.
1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 139 There is no patting..on his part, or cringing and finger-licking on that of colly.
1958 Amer. Restaurant Mag. June 64 (in picture) Featuring..Kentucky Fried Chicken..‘It's finger lickin' good.’
1975 W. Abish Alphabet. Afr. 109 Just as consulate is being encircled, Bob and Boyd are enjoying a finger-licking meal.
1978 Forbes 23 Jan. 51/2 Massey went on to take over Kentucky Fried Chicken..and..sell out to Heublein at a finger-licking $45 million profit.
1988 Toronto Star 23 Mar. b1 Finger-lickin'-good finger food like smoked salmon, satayed chicken and beef.
2007 Esquire Nov. 96/1 The ‘oohs’, ‘aahs’ and endless finger-licking.
finger-light adj. (with reference to the steering of a vehicle) susceptible to pressure by the fingers alone; easy to control.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [adjective] > types of steering
self-centring1909
finger-light1925
recirculating ballc1943
soggy1957
1925 Bakersfield Californian 16 May 6/4 Another feature which struck me about this car was the finger-light steering.
1958 Times 22 Oct. 5 Finger-light power assisted steering ensures perfect control.
2013 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 Apr. (Sports section) 11/4 Finger-light steering, although quick to respond, relayed little feel through the thin-rim wheel.
† finger-loping adj. Obsolete rare characterized by wagging or waving the fingers.
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society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [noun] > finger gesture
finger-loping1644
digitation1726
1644 J. Bulwer Chironomia 110 in Chirologia Cresollius condemnes this Finger-loping gesture as very uncomely.
finger man n. †(a) (perhaps) a recipient or object of something (obsolete); (b) (originally and chiefly U.S.) a member of a criminal gang who provides preparatory information for a crime; = sense 12c; (c) an informer; = sense 12b.Sense (a) apparently represents an isolated use.
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society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] > informer
wrayerc1000
wrobberc1300
discoverera1400
denunciator1474
informer1503
denouncer1533
detector1541
delatora1572
sycophant1579
inquisitor1580
scout1585
finger man1596
emphanista1631
quadruplator1632
informant1645
eastee-man1681
whiddler1699
runner1724
stag1725
snitch1785
qui tam1788
squeak1795
split1819
clype1825
telegraph1825
snitcher1827
Jack Nasty1837
pigeon1847
booker1863
squealer1865
pig1874
rounder1884
sneak1886
mouse1890
finger1899
fizgig1902
screamer1902
squeaker1903
canary1912
shopper1924
narker1932
snurge1933
cheese eater1935
singer1935
tip-off1941
top-off1941
tout1959
rat fink1961
whistle-blower1970
1596 A. Copley Fig for Fortune 26 I was The Rag of Fortune: Badge of base deblesse, The Spunge of care, a broken Hower-glasse: The Finger-man of shame.
1928 Englewood (Chicago) Times 16 Mar. 1/5 Before the bombing..the ‘joint’ is ‘cased’ by a ‘finger man’.
1936 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 23 Nov. One of the trusted ‘inner circle’ men was ‘selling them out’ to the outside gang. But which one among them was the ‘finger man’ the racketeers did not know.
1950 Chester (Pa.) Times 2 May 1/7 Dutifully pursuing his profession of paid informer and unscrupulous finger-man.
1968 ‘E. McGirr’ Lead-lined Coffin ii. 80 He was right to concentrate on Fall. There could have been the fingerman watching him.
1999 Daily Mail (Nexis) 28 Jan. 25 While he never pulled the trigger, he acted as a ‘finger man’ who picked victims, studied their movements and then provided detailed action plans for the hitmen.
finger mark v. (a) transitive to mark with a (dirty, greasy, etc.) finger; to leave a finger mark on; (b) intransitive to become marked in this way.
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the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > with finger or thumb
thumb1644
finger mark1868
1868 Arthur’s Home Mag. Jan. 36/1 She has..no children to finger-mark the paint.
1887 Eng. Mech. 15 Apr. 144/2 Some varnishes will finger mark readily at this stage.
1908 G. H. Woollatt Lab. Arts 53 The outer surfaces of the box, should be well cleaned with emery-paper, and care should be taken not to finger-mark these.
1970 Logansport (Indiana) Pharos Tribune 14 Aug. 10/4 Be careful not to hold the fabric tightly as it will finger-mark.
2005 M. Cheesbrough District Lab. Pract. in Trop. Countries (ed. 2) i. 155/1 Take care not to finger mark the glass bulb.
finger mark n. a mark made by a finger; esp. a mark left upon a surface where a dirty or greasy finger has touched it; (formerly also) spec. = fingerprint n. 1b; also figurative.
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society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > personal identification > [noun] > fingerprint taken for purpose of
finger marka1661
fingerprint1880
thumb-mark1889
dactylogram1913
dabs1926
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > fingerprint
finger marka1661
fingerprint1737
finger impression1856
thumbprint1900
print1914
latent fingerprint1919
lift1951
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > dirty mark > made by finger or thumb
finger marka1661
thumb-mark1845
paw print1894
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Herts. 30 Who whither soever he went, left the Finger-marks of his Charity behind him.
1766 R. Brookes Art of Angling (new ed.) 164 On the Sides there are five or six Impressions of such a Form as though they had been made with Fingers; the Finger Marks are crossways of the Fish.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge ii. 244 Dirty finger-marks upon his face.
1880 W. J. Herschel in Nature 25 Nov. 76/2 I have been taking sign-manuals by means of finger-marks for now more than twenty years.
1947 Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-eye Gaz. 11 Feb. 7/2 Police found a fingermark..on the compartment, and said it would be compared with partial prints found on a letter.
1968 L. A. Mannheim tr. H.-M. Brandt Photogr. Lens xv. 166 Lens hoods not only have to shield the lens against stray light, but also protect it against accidental finger marks and rain or snow.
2015 Times (Nexis) 13 June She came up to me and slapped me so hard I had her finger marks on my face for three days.
finger-marked adj. marked by fingers; having or showing marks left by fingers.
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1828 C. White Herbert Milton II. iv. 192 The plate was massive, but badly cleaned..the glass costly, but dull and finger-marked.
1915 Bull. Photogr. 20 Jan. 69 (advt.) How about your sample photographs; are they finger-marked, torn, or poorly arranged?
2014 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Aug. (G2 section) 16 The only lighting appears to be the daylight flooding through the fingermarked windows.
† fingermeal n. [ < finger n. + meal n.2] Obsolete a unit of length approximately equal to the breadth of a finger; = sense 2a.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > breadth of finger
fingereOE
fingermealc1175
finger breadtha1535
digit1625
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > inch > three quarters of an inch
fingereOE
fingermealc1175
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 22 Ða wæron heo togadere iwæxene & hæfden ane ælne iwæxen on lenge & oðre on græte & weron ufeweard on ðreo toweaxen swylce ðreo fingermel ælc on his cun.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxv. 25 A..coroun with foure fynger-mele heyȝt [a1425 L.V. foure fyngris hiȝ; L. altam].
?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 31 (MED) iiii fyngirmell from þe toppe of þe vessell.
finger mirror n. now rare a mirror designed to be worn on the finger, either as an ornament or for a practical purpose.
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the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > other dental equipment
explorer1844
plate1845
rose head1847
plugging forceps1861
plugger1862
rubber dam1865
finger mirror1867
nerve instrument1867
hoe1875
saliva extractor1877
thimble1877
finger-tray1878
scaler1881
matrix1883
saliva ejectora1884
sickle scaler1930
1867 C. W. King Precious Stones (ed. 2) 135 This remark of his has suggested to me..that the gold rings with broad highly polished oval faces..so frequently met with in Campanian tombs, were intended for finger-mirrors.
1876 Catal. Dental Materials Samuel S. White 227 (heading) Finger Mirrors. Invention of Dr. E. R. Mullett.
1929 Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, Ohio) 5 May (headline) Finger mirror for extracting cinders [from the eye].
1952 Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) 20 Nov. 4/2 A set of dice, finger mirrors and other gambling devices.
finger neb n. Scottish (now somewhat rare) a fingertip.
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1767 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. at Neb He would work till the Blood came out at his Finger Nebs rather than take a Bribe.
1866 D. Wingate Annie Weir & Other Poems 45 The hale day lang I've pingled owre That heap o' tautit tow, And thought my burning finger-nebs Wad sotten't in a low.
1920 J. C. Welsh Underworld 101 He comes oot to speak to us ay dressed in a black dress-suit, wi' white cuffs doon to his finger nebs.
1995 Independent (Nexis) 17 Sept. (Review section) 32 A scene about skittering with yer finger nebs doon a richly filled toilet to dig oot a suppository containing a wee bit opium.
finger nut n. a nut designed to be turned by the fingers, typically winged or having ridges to give purchase (cf. finger screw n. (a)).
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1777 J. Ramsden Descr. Engine for dividing Math. Instruments 7 The screw S is prevented from unturning by tightening the finger-nut (w).
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 322 Screws..which are prevented from unturning by tightening the finger-nuts.
2004 R. Miller et al. Audel Questions & Answers Plumbers' Exam. (ed. 4) vii. 110 (table) 8-inch (203 mm) centerset trim plate kit for EBF-85 or EBF-187 faucet (faucet only); includes two finger nuts.
finger paint n. paint of a type and consistency suitable for use in finger-painting; also as a count noun; cf. finger painting n.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > paints
oil colour1498
oila1536
oil paint1759
cake colour1784
colour cake1794
moist colour1842
powder colour1862
tube-colour1881
tempera1883
powder paint1911
poster colour1925
finger paint1935
poster paint1939
1935 Clearing House 10 24/2 It is a ‘natural’ quality of modeling clay, and of finger paint.
1966 ‘E. V. Cunningham’ Helen (1967) xii. 176 I dreamed that I was a little boy using finger paints.
2014 T. Mirvis Visible City 199 The two-year-olds were awash in finger paints.
fingerpaint v. intransitive and transitive to paint using the fingers rather than a brush or other implement; also in extended use; cf. finger painting n.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to medium or technique > paint according to medium or technique [verb (intransitive)] > finger-paint
fingerpaint1938
1938 Life 4 Apr. 2/3 You illustrate a Southard School boy fingerpainting, which ‘gives him an opportunity to express his phantasies and feelings’.
1949 Ludington (Mich.) Daily News 9 Apr. 5/5 Pupils in the primary room are fingerpainting their conception of spring.
1951 C. Hayes Ape in House (1952) xxiv. 210 She learned..to fingerpaint on the rugs with butter and orange juice.
1998 Kiplinger's Personal Finance Mag. Oct. 114/2 The bride's little brother thought white was drab and fingerpainted his sister's dress.
2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Oct. 35/1 He discovered one of those newfangled iPhone applications..which allows the user digitally to smear, or draw, or fingerpaint.
finger painting n. (a) (as a mass noun) the action of painting using the fingers rather than a brush or other implement; this technique of painting, now esp. as used by young children; (b) (as a count noun) a painting produced using this technique.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to medium or technique > [noun] > finger-painting
finger painting1885
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to medium or technique > [noun] > finger-painting > work
finger painting1885
1885 Standard 13 Oct. 8/4 (advt.) One hundred ladies wanted for free tuition in finger painting.
1890 C. G. Leland & J. J. Holzapffel Man. Wood Carving xviii. 113 This was the finger painting of the old Venetian artists.
1905 T'oung Pao 6 402 His finger-paintings were so cleverly done that they could scarcely be distinguished from work done with the brush.
1959 J. Verney Friday's Tunnel iii. 34 Splodgy finger paintings in paste and powder colour.
2014 Guelph (Ont., Canada) Mercury (Nexis) 3 July b1 Children of all ages love to do art. Whether it is finger painting..or an intricate paint-by-numbers.
† finger-parted adj. [after scientific Latin digitato-partitus (Linnaeus 1753, or earlier)] Botany Obsolete divided into lobes resembling the fingers of a hand, as in a palmate leaf.
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the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [adjective] > compound or lobed
cut1565
winged1668
pinnate1687
conjugated1690
trifoliated1698
auriculated1712
auriculate1714
pennate1723
pinnated1725
pennated1727
bigeminate1753
lyrated1753
pedated1753
pinnatifid1753
supradecomposite1753
supradecompound1753
ternated1753
trifoliate1753
lyrate1760
pedate1760
quinate1760
ternate1760
tripinnate1760
palmed1767
bilobated1770
lyre-shaped1778
pennatifid1778
finger-parted1783
superdecompound1783
bipinnate1785
biternate1785
conjugate1785
lobed1787
tergeminate1793
wing-cleft1796
yoked?1803
binate1807
septenate1807
trijugous1813
auricled1821
pinniform1821
multijugous1828
pinnulate1828
trifoliolate1828
bipinnatifid1830
multifoliolate1831
multijugate1831
quinquefoliolate1832
bifoliolate1835
pinnatisected1837
palmatifid1839
tripinnatifid1839
foliate1840
palmatipartite1840
pinnatilobate1840
pinnatipartite1840
pinnatisect1840
bipinnated1842
biconjugate1847
imparipinnate1847
paripinnate1851
pinnatulate1855
polytomous1856
multifoliate1857
pennati-partite1857
pennati-sected1857
ternato-pinnate1857
tripinnatisect1857
patentoternate1859
septemfoliate1859
bipinnatipartite1861
bipinnatisected1861
bipalmate1864
pinnatilobed1866
septenous1866
cut-leaved1870
lobing1870
ternatisect1870
tripinnated1876
trijugate1880
jugate1887
pinnulated1890
trisect1899
tridigitate1900
trigeminous1900
1783 tr. C. Linnaeus Syst. Veg. (1785) I. 60 Flowers [of Veronica verna] solitary, leaves finger-parted, peduncles shorter than the calyx.
1829 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants 17 Lower leaves [of Veronica triphyllos] entire: middle finger-parted.
finger passage n. Music a passage in a piece of music (esp. one for a keyboard instrument) the playing of which requires particular skill and dexterity of fingering; esp. such a passage written specifically to be used in practising and developing fingering technique; cf. sense 5.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > music on specific instrument > [noun] > keyboard music > on piano
pianoforte concerto1837
pianoforte sonata1838
finger passage1847
piano concerto1851
piano part1854
piano sonata1859
chop-sticks1893
novelette1893
five-finger exercise1903
piano rag1922
1847 Athenæum 2 Jan. 23/2 These Suites do not contain such finger-passages as Moscheles in his earlier works.
1907 Musical Times 1 Sept. 571/2 Yours are the first exercises to improve my touch and tone, and to render my finger passages smooth and connected.
2014 M. G. Henriques (Well) Informed Piano 99 A high position of the wrist and forearm..may facilitate other quick passages such as less articulated finger passages.
finger-piece n. (a) a part of a mechanism resembling or serving the function of a finger; (b) a part of a mechanism designed to be gripped or operated by a finger.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > breech > other parts of breech
base1626
bridge pin1686
breech-pin1727
finger-piece1767
tang1805
hut1848
breech-lever1862
breech-screw1862
plunger1866
shoe1866
breech-block1881
breech-plug1881
console1882
crossbar1884
obturator1891
tray1909
1767 tr. D. Cranz Hist. Greenland I. iii. iii. 177 The young folks turn round a board upon an axle, with a finger-piece upon it like a one-and-thirty board, and whomsoever the finger points to when it stands still, wins the deposited prize.
1811 Med. & Physical Jrnl. Aug. 167 Should the operator in any case prefer the bolster, he can withdraw the lower claw by drawing back the finger piece.
1913 R. D. Pettet Mech. Fitting Glasses 44 It spoils the appearance of the mounting, narrows the base of the bridge and disrupts the proper working of the springs and finger-pieces.
2011 J. B. Wood Gun Digest Bk. Revolvers 536/1 (caption) The trigger is taken out forward, and there is a small coil spring behind the finger-piece.
finger pier n. (a) a short, narrow pier projecting into the sea and used as a docking place for vessels; (b) a long, covered walkway projecting from an airport terminal at which aeroplanes are docked, used as a boarding place for passengers.
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1916 Estimates submitted by Secretary (U.S.) Navy: Hearings Naval Affairs Comm. House of Representatives (64th Congr., 1st Sess.) II. No. 17. 1565 Our estimates require a certain number of finger piers lying at an angle of 45°.
1951 Amer. Aviation Daily 21 Dec. 313 Plans call for construction of three 600 foot finger piers to be attached to an expanded building.
1991 B. Cherry Pevsner's London 3 330 The control tower has canted-out windows, as has the cafeteria of the Queen's building, although here the panoramic views are blocked by later finger piers.
2005 K. Ascher The Works: Anat. of City ii. v. 68 Soon, the network of shipping activity—and the intricate web of finger piers it required—spread to Manhattan's West Side.
finger pillory n. historical a kind of pillory in which an offender is secured by the fingers, typically consisting of a piece of wood containing holes into which the fingers are inserted with the first joint bent to a right angle, another piece of wood being placed on top to prevent them being removed; cf. finger stocks n.
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society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > thumb-screw
pilliwinks1397
screw1663
thumbikins1684
finger stocks1686
finger pillory1801
thumb-lock1801
thumbscrew1816
1801 Gentleman's Mag. June 526/2 I first took under consideration an object at the West end of the church, called ‘a finger pillory’; a remarkable contrivance to detain irreligious persons.
1965 Times 7 Jan. 12/7 The church at Ashby-de-la-Zouch retains the place's unique finger-pillory.
2003 A. Wilkes Invasion, Plague & Murder Brit. 1066–1485 ix. 79/1 Naughty children might be taken to a finger pillory which trapped just the fingertips.
fingerplate n. a plate (typically metal or ceramic) fixed to a door adjacent to the handle or doorknob, or at the point where the door is pushed to open it, to protect the surface from becoming worn or dirty where it is most frequently touched.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of door > [noun] > door fittings > plate to prevent damage
fingerplate1806
hand plate1813
kicking plate1940
1806 M. E. K. Rundell New Syst. Domest. Cookery 274 The very best things to clean the brass locks and finger-plates of doors.
1948 M. Bonham Casino ii. 13 She turned the white china handle under the white china fingerplate with painted roses, and went inside.
2005 Y. Bell Edwardian Home 35 (caption) A fingerplate designed and made by the Birmingham Guild of Handicrafts. It is of copper and has blue enamel decorations.
finger-pop v. originally U.S. intransitive to click one's fingers in time to a musical beat; now somewhat dated.Chiefly associated with rock 'n' roll music.
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1961 N.Y. Amsterdam News 14 Jan. 13/1 Most of the Baby Grand's current show..was filmed to show those folks on the Via Roma how we finger-pop around here.
1979 Cue 14 Sept. 97/1 Holding a microphone and a cigarette in one hand, he finger-popped with the other and stared at the floor as he sang ‘All Shook Up’.
2014 Metro (Ireland) (Nexis) 28 Nov. 25 This rocker from 1957 will have your dad hip-swivelling and finger-popping as he carves the festive turkey.
finger-popping n. and adj. originally U.S. (a) n. the action of clicking one's fingers in time to a musical beat; (b) adj. (of music) characterized by a strong or appealing musical beat, to which one might click one's fingers; (also, of a person) clicking his or her fingers in time to music.
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1953 Philadelphia Tribune 1 Sept. 12/5 Joe complains of a busted finger caused by ‘finger poppin’.
1955 Pittsburgh Courier 8 Jan. 27/2 Her finger-popping style scored big at the Hurricane.
1970 S. Gregory Hey, White Girl v. 87 They sang it a second time, with fast finger-popping.
1980 A. Young Ask Me Now xiv. 81 Rubbing up against the backs of his legs was a finger-popping young woman who looked Filipino.
1993 J. Otis Upside your Head vii. 113 Finger-popping was the order of the day and everyone understood ‘it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing’.
2012 Scotsman (Nexis) 24 June Alcohol is his best friend on All Rounds On Me, a finger-popping rock'n'roll jive on which he captures the fleeting invincibility conferred by a night on the liquor.
finger prayer book n. now rare a miniature prayer book, having a long, narrow shape, designed to be kept in a pocket, suspended from a belt, or otherwise carried on the person.
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1889 Daily News 21 Nov. 3/1 The ‘Chatelaine’ Finger Prayer Book..is held in a neat metal removable frame with a ring, by which it can be suspended.
1893 Bk. Common Prayer (half-title) The finger prayer book.]
1911 Nature 2 Feb. 432/2 The problem of the best utilisation of available space must have been as constantly present to the editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica as to the printer of a finger-prayer-book.
1981 Country Life 30 Apr. 1190/3 You published a photograph and a letter from me, in which I wrote about a finger prayer-book in my possession.
finger prick n. the action of pricking a finger (accidentally or deliberately); an instance of this; spec. = finger stick n. (b).
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1841 W. G. Simms Kinsmen (U.K. ed.) xv. 62/1 A finger-prick only—no greater pain—will suffice.
1892 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 Oct. 739/1 Professor Roy was the first to introduce a working method for obtaining the specific gravity of such small quantities of blood as can be obtained from a finger-prick.
1945 Folk-lore 56 340 Briar Rose's finger prick and Brunhild's thorn serve the same purpose.
2004 Glamour Apr. 116/1 (caption) Ask your doctor about first-trimester screening, which consists of a finger-prick blood test and an ultrasound called nuchal translucency.
finger puff n. Hairdressing (now chiefly historical) a roll or curl of hair formed by winding the hair loosely around a finger and fastening it in place; cf. puff n. 4c.
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1868 Indianapolis (Indiana) Daily Jrnl 5 Dec. 6/6 The natural hair is formed into finger puffs at the side, with the curls floating between.
1911 W. A. Woodbury Beauty Cult. xiii. 193 The resulting..tail of hair if long and full enough is divided into two or three or more strands and each is made into a puff by rolling loosely over the index fingers, making finger puffs.
2009 D. D. Volo in Greenwood Encycl. Daily Life in Amer. II. 276 The front and side hair was made into finger puffs on the top of the head.
finger puppet n. a small puppet designed to fit on a finger.
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1922 Atlantla Constit. 2 Jan. 7/4 A clever boy or girl can amuse a party of friends for an entire evening with finger puppets.
1974 Times 5 Dec. 17/4 Cotton finger puppets feature characters from Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Alice or nursery rhymes.
2005 L. Parkinson-Hardman 101 Handy Hints Happy Hysterectomy 75 Finger puppets to amuse your most significant other are easy to make.
finger-reading n. reading using a finger, or fingers; spec. a method of reading employed primarily by the blind or visually impaired, in which the fingers are used to read embossed text written in Braille or a similar writing system.
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1831 J. T. de Trueba y Cosío Incognito (N.Y. ed.) II. iv. 20 It is therefore to be hoped that the system of finger-reading will, ultimately, be brought to such perfection, as to render the eyes perfectly useless in the operation.
1914 Bull Amer. Libr. Assoc. 8 114/1 There are three principal systems of embossed dot characters for finger reading now extensively used. These are European Braille, the New York point and the American Braille.
1997 J. W. Smith in J. W. Smith & L. Weiss Hugs for Mom ii. 28 Finger reading is following the words with your finger so you won't lose your place or jump to the wrong line.
2004 E. R. Gizewski et al. in Neuro-Visionen Symp. 119 The brain learns to differentiate between ‘finger-touching’ and ‘finger-reading’.
finger ring n. a ring worn on the finger; = ring n.1 1a. [Compare Dutch vingerring (1526 as vingerrinc ), Middle Low German vingerrinc , German Fingerring (early 16th cent. or earlier), probably partly alterations (after the respective cognates of ring n.1) of Middle Dutch vingerijn , Middle Low German vingeren , vingerīn , Old High German fingirīn ( < the Germanic base of finger n. + a suffix expressing belonging), and also of Germanic parallels cited at fingerling n.
With quot. 1535 compare German †Fingerreif, lit. ‘finger circlet’ (1524 in the corresponding passage of Luther's translation).]
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > ring > [noun] > for specific positions
finger ring1535
thumb-ring1598
toe-ring1896
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Esther viii. A The kynge put of his fynger rynge..& gaue it vnto Mardocheus.
1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. v. 225 The chief Ornaments of Men and Women, viz. Crowns, Mitres, Frontal Jewels, Ear-rings,..Chains, Bracelets, Finger-Rings and Signets.
1796 J. Strutt Compl. View Dress & Habits People of Eng. I. Introd. p. lvii The usage of finger-rings is exceedingly ancient.
1879 G. F. Maclear Celts ii. 13 Costly finger-rings.
2010 Searcher Feb. 66/2 Other finds this month included an Anglo-Saxon finger ring.
finger roll n. (a) a small, soft, oblong bread roll with rounded ends; (b) Basketball a type of underhanded lay-up shot in which a player, with arm extended toward the basket, rolls the ball off the inside of his or her outstretched fingers to flip it up and into the basket; also more fully finger roll shot.
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1862 C. E. Francatelli Royal Eng. & Foreign Confectioner x. 93 Brioche paste may be made up in different shapes, such as twists, finger rolls, half moons.
1920 M. E. Williams & K. R. Fisher Elem. Theory & Pract. Cookery (New ed.) iv. 126 For finger rolls, roll pieces of dough half the size of an egg into cylinders five inches long.
1960 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News 13 Jan. 11/1 Wilt (The Stilt) Chamberlain is developing a new ‘finger roll’ shot today which seems as sure as taxes to smash all pro basketball scoring records.
1973 Times 27 Dec. 5 Grilled or fried sausages are always welcome as a filling in hot finger rolls.
1987 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 20 Apr. (City ed.) 6 c He lofted a soft finger-roll in the lane..with 2:58 remaining in the Philadelphia 76ers' 108–102 victory.
1995 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 17 Sept. 16 The commercials focus on two products—sausage rolls and Big Softees (large finger rolls with a choice of fillings).
2013 R. W. Cohen Pro Basketball's All-time All-stars xvii. 220 Gervin released his finger roll on an arch that made it virtually impossible to block.
finger sandwich n. a sandwich cut into small rectangular or triangular pieces, typically with the crusts removed, traditionally served as part of an afternoon tea.
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1893 World 23 July 20/7 Finger sandwiches are always prepared this way; even the savory chicken or anchovy paste is applied before cutting the slice.
1919 N.Y. Tribune 27 Apr. viii. 2 Silvery sardines..formed a little mound at one side, followed by delicate finger sandwiches.
1993 E. Roosevelt Murder East Room (1995) 196 She drank tea and ate two or three finger sandwiches.
2003 Illustr. London News Summer No. 52/2 It is hard to refuse anything, from the delicate finger sandwiches..to the warm melt-in-the-mouth scones.
finger screw n. (a) a screw designed to be turned with the fingers, typically having a winged or ridged head to give purchase (cf. thumbscrew n. 1); (b) an instrument of torture in which one or more fingers is crushed between two plates or boards which are forced together by tightening a screw or screws (cf. thumbscrew n. 2) (now chiefly historical).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > screw > for turning with finger and thumb
finger screw1768
thumbscrew1795
butterfly screw1861
1768 J. Bird Method constructing Mural Quadrants 13 Below the dart upon the center-plate is a small circle, which represents a finger screw, the head of which is behind the plate.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 320 Unturning the finger-screw.
1865 H. W. Baxley What I saw on West Coast S. & N. Amer. vii. 134 When the room of torture was burst open, and there were seen..finger-screws for crushing nails and bones.
1996 T. D. Morris Southern Slavery & Law x. 241 An ‘engine of torture,’ which turned out to be a finger screw, had been used by public authorities to extort confessions.
2009 T. Schneller Meat i. 12 Tighten finger screw (mixer is not illustrated).
† finger-shade n. Obsolete the action of concealing the mouth with the fingers.Apparently an isolated use.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > sign
finger-shade1711
1711 J. Puckle Club 28 Brethren in iniquity [gamesters] using Finger-shade, Mouth-spirt, or Shoulder-dash.
finger shield a device for protecting the finger or fingers when carrying out a particular task, using a machine, etc.; esp. a small metal sheath worn on the tip of the finger when sewing; a thimble.figurative in quot. 1796.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > equipment for > thimble
thimble14..
fingerling1580
finger shield1796
1796 S. T. Coleridge Poems Var. Subj. 131 Just such a one, mon cher ami (The finger shield of industry) Th' inventive Gods, I deem, to Pallas gave.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 207/1 Finger Shield. A silver appliance made to fit the first finger of the left hand..It is employed to protect the finger from the needle.
1938 Pop. Mech. Jan. 130/2 (heading) Pocketknife has finger shield for carving and whittling.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 6 June 2 d/1 Laureen Ferguson..has invented a unique finger shield to protect the nails of guitar players.
2007 K. Shoup Not Your Mama's Stitching ii. 41 The accident prone should consider investing in a thimble and/or a finger shield to avoid pricks while doing needlecrafts.
fingersmith n. slang (now chiefly archaic or historical) (a) a midwife; (b) a thief; spec. a pickpocket.
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > one skilled in obstetrics or midwifery > [noun]
midwifec1300
childwifea1387
midwomana1400
Lucinac1405
matron?a1425
grace-wifec1600
Mother Midnight1602
headswoman1615
handwoman1637
sage woman1672
howdie1725
accoucheur1727
granny1738
obstetrix1773
accoucheuse1795
dukun1817
fingersmith1819
wise woman1821
obstetrician1826
obstetrist1873
tocologist1902
birth attendant1910
S.C.M.1935
monitrice1969
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > pickpocket or cutpurse > [noun] > pickpocket
fig-boyc1555
foister1585
foist1591
pickpocket1591
bung1600
diver1608
pocket-picker1622
pocketeerc1626
bung-nipper1659
file1673
filer1674
shark1707
hoister1708
knuckle1781
knuckler1801
buzzgloak1819
cly-faker1819
fingersmith1819
knuck1819
fogle hunter1821
buzzman1832
nobbler1839
wire1851
gonoph1853
wirer1857
dip1859
moll-tooler1859
buzzer1862
hook1863
snotter1864
tool1865
pocket-cutter1885
dipper1889
pogue-hunter1896
pick1902
finger1925
whizz1925
whizzer1925
prat diggera1931
whizz-boy1931
whizz-man1932
reefer1935
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 173 Finger-smith, a midwife.
1823 P. Egan Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (rev. ed.) Finger-smiths, Thieves. Midwives.
1829 Lancet 28 Feb. 585/2 If such a person should, by chance, be a handy finger-smith, and be competent to the duties of the vocation.
1877 Standard 20 Dec. 5/5 A gong [which sounds when the shop door is opened] is no protection whatever against a ‘finger smith’ who knows the plan.
1924 Indian Rev. Nov. 668/1 The life of a pickpocket, or 'finger smith' as his confreres call him, is in some respects more exciting than that of a burglar.
1967 F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. 178/1 Finger-smith,..a thief.
1988 H. Lawrence in J. McKenna Obstetr. & Gynaecol. iii. 43 A woman in labour was visited by a midwife known lewdly as a ‘fingersmith’.
2002 S. Waters Fingersmith i. 7 By then, Flora was quite the fingersmith: the Surrey was nothing to her, she was working the West End theatres and halls.
finger-snap n. a click of the fingers; a quick, sharp noise, produced by striking the ball of the thumb against one of the fingers (typically the middle finger), used esp. as a mark of appreciation, to attract attention, or to beat time to music; (also) an act of clicking or snapping the fingers in this way; cf. snap v. 12b.In quot. 1884: as the type of something brief, trifling, or insignificant.
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society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > derisive gesture > [noun]
middle finger1562
fig1579
fico1596
stork's bill1616
snook1791
finger-snap1821
monkey motion1845
to give (a person) the finger1874
finger-click1897
two fingers1971
1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 9 71 Coats of finest nap, For which I ne'er receiv'd a finger-snap.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 8 Nov. 2/2 I do not value Government Reports..at a finger-snap.
1968 Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram 11 Jan. b4/1 Clinking glasses drowned out the hypnotist's finger-snap.
1993 Atlantic Oct. 108/2 Their reduction of jazz to walking bass lines, finger-snaps, and bohemian posturing.
2012 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 19 Feb. (Arts & Leisure section) 4/2 ‘But we should give him credit for trying’, she added, and led the class in a chorus of finger snaps.
finger-snapping n. and adj. (a) n. the action of clicking the fingers (cf. finger-snap n.) (b) adj. that clicks or snaps the fingers; characterized by this; esp. (of music) having or characterized by a strong or rhythmical beat, to which one might click or snap one's fingers.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > [noun] > finger-snapping
finger-snapping1823
1823 New Monthly Mag. 8 565 More finger-snapping and tomfooling from Blueball.
1857 Graham's Illustr. Mag. Nov. 419/1 He had a great talkativeness, plenty of the artifice of low cunning, and a brisk, lively, finger-snapping manner.
1863 Punch 7 Nov. 191/1 The ladies looked on, and smiled, to encourage the frantic, finger-snapping, dancing dervishes.
1868 T. K. Chambers in J. R. Reynolds Syst. Med. II. 98 The tarantellas I have seen..are very complicated figures, accompanied by an amount of arm-waving, finger-snapping,..and crossing one another's footsteps.
1882 Society 14 Oct. 12/1 The cousin's song..with a finger-snapping accompaniment, goes very well.
1931 Beatrice (Nebraska) Daily Sun 26 July 4/5 The Parisian waiter resents finger snapping.
1963 Billboard 18 May 51/3 I spent two finger-snapping hours with Ella Fitzgerald.
1997 Esquire Oct. 36 Musical wanderlust required that we endure finger-snapping fifties doo wop.
2010 J. G. Lyon Schooling Mr. Brennan xxxv. 236 At a signal from one of the girls in the front row, ten minutes of foot stamping, finger snapping and hand clapping commenced.
finger speech n. a system of communication by means of signs made with the fingers; = finger language n.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
1826 R. Southey Lett. to C. Butler 79 (note) It is quite certain that Bede never dreamt of introducing finger-speech as a monastic practice.
1958 Anderson (Indiana) Sunday 21 Dec. 36/9 Vehemently stressing the need for finger speech and signs.
2005 I. Johnson William Alwyn xx. 247 Christine listens through an open door to Mandy's governess failing in her instruction of finger speech.
fingerspell v. transitive to spell (a word or words) using one's fingers to represent individual letters as a type of sign language; (also intransitive) to communicate with fingerspelling.
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1885 Public Opinion 31 July 137/2 Whether the communication be articulated or finger-spelled, the perception of meaning is purely a matter of the understanding, and depends upon the capabilities and education of the deaf recipient.
1914 J. W. Jones & W. Patterson Course Instr. for School & Shops (Ohio State School for Deaf) (new ed.) 100 Have pupils in oral class speak, and in manual class finger-spell their salutations.
1987 Times 15 Dec. 31 Those who are both deaf and blind can only receive information by placing their hands on those of a translator who knows how to finger-spell and sign words.
2001 M. Daniels Dancing Words 126 Children can fingerspell much sooner than they acquire the manual dexterity to write words with pencil on paper.
fingerspelled adj. (also fingerspelt) (of a word or words) spelt out using a sign language in which the signer uses his or her fingers to represent the individual letters.
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1882 Proc. 10th Convent. Amer. Instructors of Deaf & Dumb 72 Written and finger-spelled words are in the desired order.
1908 Blue Bk. State Illinois: 1907 439 English words in the finger-spelled form take the place of gestures.
1947 Educ. Mag. Oct. 404 Emphasis, however, is continually placed on the spoken or finger-spelt word, this being a closer approximation to normality.
2009 I. Duke Learn Sign Lang. in Hurry v. 87 You will quickly learn the months of the year and their fingerspelled abbreviations.
fingerspelling n. (the use of) a type of sign language in which the signer uses his or her fingers to represent individual letters in order to spell words (cf. finger alphabet n.).
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1834 Q. Jrnl. Educ. 7 201 Writing, which is most nearly allied to the above process of finger-spelling, is used in all institutions without exception.
1894 Pop. Sci. Monthly Jan. 363 The teacher, in many cases a sign-taught mute, conducted the recitations in signs, finger-spelling, and writing.
1954 I. R. Ewing & A. W. G. Ewing Speech & Deaf Child i. 9 Such pupils have been known..to seek social life solely amongst others handicapped like themselves, who will communicate by a sign language, supplemented perhaps by finger-spelling.
1989 Appl. Linguistics 10 302 To avoid repeated fingerspelling in rapid communication there is a natural pressure to invent signs.
2005 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 21 Mar. 3 The site now features..a guide to hearing aids, including advice on how and where to get one and what's available on the NHS; and an animated tool for practising fingerspelling.
finger spin n. (a) Cricket spin imparted to a ball with the fingers when bowling; (also) bowling of this type; frequently contrasted with wrist-spin; (b) (in table tennis) spin imparted to the ball with the fingers when serving.Also attributive, as finger spin bowler, finger spin serve, etc.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > table tennis or ping-pong > [noun] > method of play
finger spin1905
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > motion of ball > specific
curl1833
screw1840
devil1845
rise1845
work1846
break1851
spin1851
hang1866
bump1867
fire1888
leg-spin1888
air break1900
turn1900
underspin1901
off-spin1904
finger spin1905
swing1906
back-spin1916
outswing1921
inswing1927
away swing1936
wrist-spin1960
1905 Evening News 24 June 4/5 The hot weather is undoubtedly in his favour, rendering his fingers more flexible, which is most important to a bowler who relies so much on finger spin.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 8 May 2/1 Finger-spin bowlers like Schwarz, Faulkner, and Vogler.
1930 Manch. Guardian 17 Mar. 4/7 Whitfield's finger-spin serve and forehand smash earned him the right to meet S. Proffitt in the semi-final.
1938 Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 623/1 It is now no longer legal [in Table Tennis] to use the finger-spin in serving.
1999 Times (Nexis) 7 Sept. Hidden serves, finger spin, speed gluing—the list of subtle trickery, pivotal in the repertoire of almost every top player, is almost endless.
2015 V. Williams Weird Sports & Wacky Games 80 This is achieved through techniques including finger spin, in which the ball rotates on its axis as it moves toward the batter.
finger-spinner n. Cricket a bowler who bowls with finger spin (finger spin n. (a)).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > types of delivery or ball
full toss1826
long hop1830
twister1832
bail ball1833
bailer1833
grubber1837
slow ball1838
wide1838
ground ball1839
shooter1843
slower ball1846
twiddler1847
creeper1848
lob1851
sneak1851
sneaker1851
slow1854
bumper1855
teaser1856
daisy-cutter1857
popper1857
yorker1861
sharpshooter1863
headball1866
screwball1866
underhand1866
skimmerc1868
grub1870
ramrod1870
raymonder1870
round-armer1871
grass cutter1876
short pitch1877
leg break1878
lob ball1880
off-break1883
donkey-drop1888
tice1888
fast break1889
leg-breaker1892
kicker1894
spinner1895
wrong 'un1897
googly1903
fizzer1904
dolly1906
short ball1911
wrong 'un1911
bosie1912
bouncer1913
flyer1913
percher1913
finger-spinner1920
inswinger1920
outswinger1920
swinger1920
off-spinner1924
away swinger1925
Chinaman1929
overspinner1930
tweaker1938
riser1944
leg-cutter1949
seamer1952
leggy1954
off-cutter1955
squatter1955
flipper1959
lifter1959
cutter1960
beamer1961
loosener1962
doosra1999
1920 Telegraph (Brisbane) 6 Dec. 6/3 He is a finger-spinner.
1958 Listener 16 Oct. 604/2 The wrist-spinner..is inevitably less accurate than the finger-spinner.
2013 Cricketer Sept. 22/2 Suffice to say, as a finger-spinner, he would have anticipated more than 10 scalps in six Tests these days.
finger steel n. now historical a small sharpening steel (steel n.1 8b) held between the fingers by a currier to sharpen the blades used in scraping hides.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > shaping tools or equipment > [noun] > sharpening > steel
steel1541
finger steel1878
1878 Ann. Rep. Chief of Ordnance to Secretary of War (U.S. Army Ordnance Dept.) 85 This instrument has almost the same form and dimensions as the buffing-slicker.., but instead of a re-entrant angle along the edge, it has a very narrow rectangular one, whose angles are kept sharp by the finger-steel.
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 334/2 Finger-steel, a steel instrument like a skewer or awl, used for restoring the edge of the currier's knife while in use.
1964 E. Sloane Museum Early Amer. Tools (2002) 94 This delicate edge needed constant turning with a ‘turning steel’ and with a ‘finger steel’, which was kept handy between two fingers.
finger stick n. †(a) U.S. a long, thin breadstick (grissino) or bread roll (cf. finger roll n. (a)) (obsolete); (b) Medicine the action of pricking a finger with a lancet or other device in order to obtain a small sample of blood; an instance of this; frequently attributive.
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1898 Evening Democrat (Fort Madison, Iowa) 8 June 1/5 Olives. Salted Almonds. Finger sticks.
1946 Amer. Jrnl. Surg. 72 301/2 Some [blood donors] fainted even before their donation or following the finger stick to obtain a drop of blood for hemoglobin determination.
1992 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing Oct. 101/1 Bell's first job at Kendall was to hold a flashlight while another RN did finger-stick blood glucose checks.
2010 New Yorker 2 Aug. 49/3 They wanted to do lab tests, blood-pressure measurements, finger sticks.
finger stocks n. now historical (a) a kind of pillory in which the offender is secured by the fingers; = finger pillory n.; (b) a device formerly used as a school punishment for fidgetting, nail-biting, etc., consisting of two small wooden plates with fingerholes into which the fingers are inserted with the hands behind the wearer's back, the plates then being tied together.
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society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > thumb-screw
pilliwinks1397
screw1663
thumbikins1684
finger stocks1686
finger pillory1801
thumb-lock1801
thumbscrew1816
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. ix. 390 Finger-Stocks; into which the Lord of misrule, used formerly to put the fingers of all such persons as committed misdemeanours.
1782 R. Greene Particular & Descriptive Catal. Lichfield Mus. 33 The ancient Finger Stocks from Beaudesert,..a punishment formerly inflicted by the Lord of Misrule, on such Servants as committed Misdemeanours.
1844 W. Goodman Social Hist. Great Brit. II. 148 There is also a pair of finger stocks, with a poor box attached, placed at the west-end of the north aisle.
1898 Boston Daily Globe 14 Oct. 8/6 These finger-stocks were also used as a mode of punishment, the children having to stand with their hands fixed in them for an hour or more at a time.
1967 Illustr. London News 22 July 28/1 The Judge's finger-stocks are there too, which he is said to have used to confine prisoners to the dock.
2004 P. Brown Eve v. 141 Humiliating contraptions such as dunce hats, placards and finger stocks, which immobilised the child's hands behind their back.
finger-talk n. communication by means of gestures made with the fingers; spec. = finger language n.
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the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Dactylogie Finger-talk, speech made with the fingers.
1711 J. Preston Mem. Present Condition France 34 When they design'd to speak to any one as they pass'd by, [they] did it with so much Action and Finger-talk, as if they were conversing with the Deaf, and were to make them understand by Signs.
1843 J. T. J. Hewlett College Life III. xxix. 88 Having had the difficulties..explained to him in dumb-show and finger-talk.
1976 C. D. Mills Hobble Chains & Greenhide 173 He waved to me in ‘finger-talk’ that he was set.
2010 L. Tanner Museum of Thieves 2 Her hands flicking together and twitching apart in the small, secret movements of fingertalk.
finger talking adj. and n. (a) adj. that communicates using gestures made with the fingers; (b) n. the action of communicating using gestures made with the fingers; = finger language n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > [noun] > sign language
hand language1625
arthrology1641
chirology1656
dactylology1656
finger-talk1656
finger language1669
hand alphabet1680
semiology1694
finger alphabet1751
finger talking1823
sign language1824
finger speech1826
indigitation1826
manual alphabet1876
dactylography1884
signing1891
American Sign Language1900
sign1930
British Sign Language1961
ASL1965
Ameslan1972
Yerkish1973
1823 G. Thompson Sentimental Gleaner 207 No mute finger-talking harlequin have we here.
1833 Penny Mag. 28 Dec. 499/1 Dactylology (a name derived from the Greek, meaning finger-talking).
1923 Rapid City (Manitoba) Reporter 29 Nov. A novelty will be a speed contest in finger talking.
2001 J. Kirkpatrick What once we loved ii. 23 How would she explain to Sister Esther that the man was a finger-talking quack!
2010 R. Záluský et al. in Proc. Artific. Neural Networks - ICANN 2010 114 Finger talking is just one facility for deaf kids of..preschool age.
finger tap n. an instance of tapping a finger against a surface; cf. finger-tapping n. and adj.
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1859 Musical World 16 July 451/2 Mr. Chorley administers two or three smart finger-taps on the cheek of..Zelter.
1909 F. R. Rix Man. School Music in Elem. Grades (1912) i. 137 The children may beat the time carefully in preliminary rhythmic practice, giving one finger tap or circling loop for every one-beat note or rest.
1973 H. Cox Seduction of Spirit (1974) x. 261 The thought habits of a lifetime can sometimes be sent reeling by one disconcerting sentence, like a finger tap on a card castle.
2012 Independent (Nexis) 20 Oct. (Business section) 48 A new console-style navigation system designed to exploit our growing fondness for finger taps, rather than mouse-clicks.
finger-tapping n. and adj. (a) n. the action or an act of tapping one's finger against a surface, esp. in time to a musical beat, or as a sign of anxiety, agitation, etc. (cf. finger tap n.); (b) adj. characterized by or causing finger-tapping; (of a person) that taps his or her fingers.
ΚΠ
1843 R. J. Culverwell Domest. Hand Bk. Invalids 21 The delicate finger-tapping, aided by a well-practised ear, will, with great precision develop the condition of the structures within.
1890 Amer. Teacher Sept. 16/1 The chorus of this verse repeats the finger tapping of the first.
1907 Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Leader 6 Mar. Nervousness that displays itself in constantly tapping the fingers is..exhibited to some extent by typewriter girls... The girl afflicted with this finger-tapping trouble, [etc.].
1947 Daily Capital News (Jefferson City, Missouri) 5 June 1/5 The pale, finger-tapping defendant watched the proceedings with tense interest.
1967 N.Y. Times 20 Mar. 46/4 (advt.) No more finger-tapping delays.
1983 N. Goodman in R. Copeland & M. Cohen What is Dance? i. 72 The same is true of such activities in response to music as foot- and finger tappings, head-bobbings, and various other minor motions.
2011 D. Booher Creating Personal Presence i. iv. 48 Some gestures show signs of inward stress... They relieve tension building up on the inside: smoking rituals, gum-chewing, nail-biting, finger-tapping, [etc.].
finger-tight adv. and adj. (a) adv. as tightly as can be achieved using the fingers; (b) adj. that is (only) as tight as can be achieved using the fingers; cf. hand-tight adj. at hand n. Compounds 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > [adverb] > specific
finger-tight1779
1779 A. M. Bailey W. Bailey's Advancem. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce II. ii. 34 The Bobbins, put finger-tight on the spindles, for the yarn to be wound on.
1834 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 26 379 The socket slitted and springy so as to move ‘finger tight’ on T.
1921 Pop. Mech. May 775/1 In some flanges the bolts were only finger-tight.
1940 ‘N. Shute’ Old Captivity v. 148 Bolts were put on finger-tight... Finally..the bolts were tightened down and locked.
1983 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 30 Nov. 15/3 Continue by screwing each plug in by hand until it is finger tight.
2008 R. Grainger & P. Shoemark in Mazda MX-5 Miata 1.8 iv. 4:27/3 Install the plugs finger-tight.
† finger-tray n. Dentistry Obsolete a small tray for use by a dentist, which may be attached to a finger and used to hold dental amalgam, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > other dental equipment
explorer1844
plate1845
rose head1847
plugging forceps1861
plugger1862
rubber dam1865
finger mirror1867
nerve instrument1867
hoe1875
saliva extractor1877
thimble1877
finger-tray1878
scaler1881
matrix1883
saliva ejectora1884
sickle scaler1930
1878 Dental & Oral Sci. Mag. Feb. 220 (advt.) This is very convenient for the operator, and saves the expense of the finger-tray now used for that purpose.
1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 334/2 Finger-tray, a small pan, attached by a clasp to the finger, used by dentists for carrying amalgam or plastic filling.
1909 U.S. Patent 902, 109 in Dental Rev. Jan. 113 Dental finger-tray.
finger-wag n. an instance of wagging one's finger, typically as a gesture of warning or reprimand; (also figurative) a warning or reprimand.In quot. 1901 apparently: an order.
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1901 Harper's Weekly 28 Sept. 990/1 There are yet men who obey the finger-wag of Hector Faa!
1904 Critic (N.Y.) July 86/1 It is a crime..that these absurd sentences should be shrieked..when by the new wordless system the whole interview would be disposed of by five fan-wags on one side and six finger-wags on the other.
1963 H. Williamson Power of Dead xii. 273 ‘If you, my little maid, can't be good’—with a finger wag at Felicity—‘be careful!’
2002 Financial Times 7 Sept. (FT Weekend section) p. iv One [chapter] on cricket, which ends with a finger-wag to any Indian boy who might find his attention wandering during a cricket match.
finger-wagging n. and adj. (a) n. the action of wagging one's finger, typically as a gesture of warning or reprimand; (hence) admonishment; reproof; (b) adj. characterized by finger-wagging; admonitory, reproving.
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1904 Manch. Guardian 13 June 4/3 Mrs. Bell suggests fan-wagging for the women and finger-wagging for the men.
1907 Anaconda (Montana) Standard 25 Aug. (Editorial section) 3/4 The clever comedienne of ‘The Orchid’, has set the country going with her laughable finger-wagging in the song, ‘No Wedding Bells for Me.’
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Aug. 607/3 The inconsequent finger-wagging information, the all too ‘noble’ priggishness.
1948 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 5 Oct. 14/1 Today's arguments featured much finger-wagging, charges and counter-charges.
1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai vi. 107 We were the object of finger-wagging lectures.
2008 K. Etherington Trauma, Drug Misuse & Transforming Identities viii. 134 I went to the doctor's and he was very finger-wagging about it, you know.
2015 Herald Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 22 Aug. 63 With little more than a finger wagging, Maggie Kirkpatrick was found guilty of sexually abusing a child and sent on her way.
finger watch n. a very small timepiece in the form of a ring, designed to be worn on the finger.In early use frequently figurative and in figurative contexts, especially as the type of something unreliable.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > particular types of watch
German watch1611
larum watch1619
clock-watch1625
minute watch1660
pendulum watch1664
watch1666
alarm watch1669
finger watch1679
string-watch1686
scout1688
balance-watch1690
hour-watch1697
warming-pan1699
minute pendulum watch1705
jewel watch1711
suit1718
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pendulum spring1728
second-watch1755
Geneva watch1756
cylinder-watch1765
watch-paper1777
ring watch1788
verge watch1792
watch lamp1823
hack1827
bull's-eye1833
vertical watch1838
quarter-repeater1840
turnip1840
hunting-watch1843
minute repeater1843
hunter1851
job watch1851
Geneva1852
watch-lining1856
touch watch1860
musical watch1864
lever1865
neep1866
verge1871
independent seconds watch1875
stem-winder1875
demi-hunter1884
fob-watch1884
three-quarter plate1884
wrist-watch1897
turnip-watch1898
sedan-chair watch1904
Rolex1922
Tank watch1923
strap watch1926
chatelaine watch1936
sedan clock1950
quartz watch1969
pulsar1970
1679 T. Shadwell True Widow i. 6 The Ladies are indeed your finger Watches, that go just as you set them.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 393 He [sc. an Hypocrite] is the Devil's Finger-Watch, that never goes true, but too fast, or too slow, as he sets him.
1707 S. Wesley Reply to Mr. Palmer’s Vindic. Dissenters iii. 45 Turn about those Finger-Watches to whatever Point they please.
1827 H. Smith Reuben Apsley I. x. 331 A finger watch, a japan patch box, or a darling little china monster.
1908 Englewood (Chicago) Times 1 May The duke of Wellington wore a finger watch... Thus he could, when time pressed, ascertain the hour without offense to any.
2005 Independent on Sunday 24 July (Review Suppl.) 29/3 My wife bought a ‘finger watch’ from Topshop about 20 years ago.
finger wave n. Hairdressing a hairstyle produced by using the fingers to form wet hair into waves which are set or dried in place; a wave or curl in hair produced using this method.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > curled or frizzed style
frizz1668
bullhead1672
bull1699
buckle1711
frizzle1850
cataract curls1864
Niagara1864
water wave1876
marcel wave1895
permanent wave1906
Greek goda1910
marcel1921
finger wave1925
permanent1926
perm1927
home perm1949
Afro1967
natural1967
Jewfro1976
Jheri curl1977
bubble perm1992
1925 Decatur (Illinois) Sunday Rev. 20 Sept. 5/3 (advt.) If your hair is naturally curly, or if you have had it waved, the new ‘finger wave’ will add to its charm.
1936 J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle 299 Her hair was damp..and little, uneven finger-waves were pressed into it.
1963 M. McCarthy Group xii. 286 A finger wave in her majestic coiffure.
2007 Sophisticate's Black Hair Styles & Care Guide Mar. 88/1 Styling in the front was achieved with a fingerwave back to the crown.
finger waving n. Hairdressing a technique of waving hair by using the fingers to form the wet hair into waves which are set or dried in place; the action or fact of using this technique.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > [noun] > curling or frizzing
frouncing1530
frizilation1567
frizzling1592
calamistration1621
frizzing1696
buckling1713
frisure1755
papering1777
crêping1889
water waving1901
piping1907
permanent waving1917
marcelling1926
finger waving1928
body wave1955
1928 Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) 16 May 2/8 (advt.) Beauty Shoppe featuring Eugene and LeMur Permanent Waving. Artistic Finger Waving.
1945 Times 25 Apr. 1/4 Artistic, natural, permanent waving, finger waving, and hair colouring.
2013 A. Lowery Hist. Wig Styling: Anc. Egypt to 1830s i. 12 Water waving, or finger waving, creates a wave that is extremely flat to the head.
finger weaving n. weaving performed manually without the use of a loom, typically by interlacing threads attached at one end to a small bar.Traditionally practised by some North American Indian tribes, particularly in the southwestern United States.
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1852 L. H. Morgan Rep. Fabrics & Utensils of Iroquois in 5th Ann. Rep. Condition State Cabinet Nat. Hist. (Univ. State N.-Y.) App. 87 [The belt] is..a remarkable specimen of finger weaving, as well as of artizan skill.
1907 A. Lewis Rise Amer. Proletarian ii. 34 This [sc. the making of the bow and arrow] was followed..by..finger-weaving with thread made from the inner bark of trees.
1976 Register (Orange County, Calif.) 1 Mar. d1/5 It takes an hour and a half to do 1-1/2 inches of finger weaving for a pillow.
2015 Daily Oklahoman (Nexis) 12 Feb. 4 The Pawnee Bill Ranch will offer a class on Cherokee finger weaving.
b. In the names of plants and animals.Chiefly so called on account of the resemblance of a part or the whole to a finger in shape or size.
finger berry n. now rare (a) North American the fruit of a common North American bramble, Rubus allegheniensis; (also) the plant itself; (b) Australian = finger cherry n.
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1870 A. M. Machar Katie Johnstone's Cross xi. 124 Sometimes they varied their afternoons by going with Willie and Mary to look for late raspberries, or for the black finger-berries, which were beginning to ripen.
1896 Rep. 6th Meeting Australasian Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1895 397 The fruit of this small tree is sometimes called ‘Native Loquat’ or ‘Finger Berry’, and is ripe about August.
1916 N.A.R.D. Jrnl. (U.S. Nat. Assoc. Retail Druggists) 2 Mar. 1058/1 Three varieties [of blackberry] are official: Rubus villosus, known as American blackberry.., one-flowered dewberry, and finger-berry.
1957 Oceania 28 127 Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa, Finger berry, Native Loquat; edible.
finger cherry n. the elongated red fruit of the small tree Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa (family Myrtaceae), of Queensland and New Guinea; (also) the tree itself; also called finger berry, native loquat.The fruit is said to be poisonous but is regarded by some as edible.
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1902 Truth (Sydney) 23 Nov. 4/8 Children and animals have become suddenly blind after eating wild berries known as finger cherries.
1967 G. J. Henry Girro Gurrl 58 Some said it caused blindness, but the aboriginal always ate the finger cherry or bush loquat. The fruit..was considered a bush delicacy.
2012 C. J. Williams Med. Plants in Austral. III. i. 37/1 The University of Cambridge investigated samples of Finger Cherries, both ripe and immature.
finger coral n. any of various corals, esp. stony corals of the families Poritidae and Acroporidae, which form finger-like lobes or branches.
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1779 Museum Humfredianum 38 A curious madrepora digitata, or finger coral, from the East Indies.
1884 R. Rathbun in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 841 The so-called Finger Coral or Sea Ginger (Millepora alcicornis), the latter common name having reference to the smarting sensation which it imparts to the skin.
1932 Pop. Sci. Apr. 56/1 (caption) Close-up of one of the exhibit's unique specimens—a mass of beautiful finger coral.
2004 M. D. Spalding Guide Coral Reefs of Caribbean iii. 229/2 Finger coral Porites porites. This is a fairly widespread branching coral found on most zones of the reef.
finger fern n. the rusty-back fern, Asplenium ceterach.
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the world > plants > particular plants > ferns > [noun] > spleenworts
maidenhairc1300
finger fern1548
scale-fern1548
stone-rue1548
wall rue1548
tentwort?1550
ceterach1551
stone-fern1552
English maidenhair1562
male fern1562
miltwaste1578
spleenwort1578
stonewort1585
white maidenhair1597
milt-wort1611
mule's fern1633
rusty-back1776
maidenhair spleenwort1837
sea-spleenwort1850
sea-fern1855
scaly spleenwort1859
black adiantum1866
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. B.iiij Asplenum..maye be called in englishe Citterach, or Scaleferne, or Fingerferne.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. iv. i. iii. 438 For the splene, maiden-haire, fingerfearne.
1931 M. Grieve Mod. Herbal I. 302 Spleenwort, Common. Asplenium ceterach (Linn.) N.O. Filices. Synonyms. Scaly Fern. Finger Fern. Miltwaste. Ceterach (Arabian).
2004 A. J. Drew Wiccan Formulary & Herbal 214/2 Spleenwort, Common—Asplenium ceterach. Also known as Ceterach, Finger Fern, Scaly Fern, Miltwaste Wall Rue.
finger fish n. (a) any small fish approximately the size of a person's finger; †(b) a starfish; cf. five-finger n. 2 (obsolete); (c) any of various fishes with long narrow fins, esp. moonfishes of the genus Monodactylus, popular in aquaria.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Echinodermata > [noun] > subphylum Eleutherozoa > class Asteroidea > member of (starfish)
starfish1538
sea-pad1558
sea-star1569
star1569
pad1613
finger fish1709
sea-sun1731
stelleridan1835
stelliridean1837
asteroid1841
sand-star1841
spoon-worm1841
sun star1841
sun starfish1850
Stellerid1882
stelleroid1900
1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 162 Finger-Fish are very plentiful in this Country; they are of the Length of a Man's Finger, and lie in the Bottom of the Water about one or two Foot deep.
1794 J. Morse Amer. Geogr. (new ed.) 178 Vermes... Star Fish, or Finger Fish. Asterias.—Three or four species.
1826 Encycl. Londiniensis XXI. 98/1 Polynemus lineatus, the lineated finger-fish: appendages five, reaching to the anus.
1872 S. R. Crocker tr. L. Figuier Tomorrow of Death xvi. 222 The madrepore will remain as indifferent to the elements as the shingle on which the finger-fish spreads his four marble arms.
1961 E. S. Herald Living Fishes of World 193/2 Family Monodactylidae. The fingerfishes, of which there are about five species, live in both salt and fresh water.
2006 Trop. Fish Nov. 29/3 Striped Finger fish [sc. Monodactylus sebae] are no more difficult to maintain than your average community fish.
2010 A. D. Livingston Cold-smoking & Salt-curing Meat, Fish, & Game ii. 31 If you've got real anchovies, you're in business. Also, such finger fish as smelts, shiners, and sand lances will do.
finger flower n. now chiefly historical the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea; cf. sense 8.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > foxglove and allied flowers > foxglove
foxglovec1000
London button1552
wine-pot herb1552
finger1562
finger flower1562
lady's glove1575
foxter1623
fox-finger1657
fox1684
bloody finger1789
witch bell1808
fairy fingers1811
fairy thimble1813
dead men's bells1818
witches' thimbles1820
fairy bells1821
fairy glove1841
flap-dock1846
cow-flop1847
pop-glove1847
lady's thimble1853
Scotch mercury1853
poppy1856
fairy petticoats1864
finger root1870
fairy weed1871
pop-dock1878
witches' bells1884
1562 W. Bullein Bk. Simples f. lv, in Bulwarke of Defence What saie you of Foxe Gloues, called commonly the Finger flowers: the flowers of some be yellowe.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole xcvii. 383 Some..doe call them [foxgloves] Finger-flowers, because they are like vnto the fingers of a gloue, the ends cut off.
1823 E. Kent Flora Domestica 138 Fox-glove. Digitalis... This plant is also called Finger-Flower; the shape of the flower resembling the finger of a glove; and Bell-Flower.
1925 Essex Rev. 34 31 Digitalis signifies that which pertains to the ‘digitus’ or finger, and in some parts of the country it is known as ‘The finger-flower’.
2008 D. J. Wagstaff Internat. Poisonous Plants Checklist 132/1 Digitalis purpurea L. [Plantaginaceae] Common Names: bloody finger..; finger flower.
finger grass n. †(a) bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus (cf. fingers and thumbs n. (b)) (obsolete rare); (b) any of various grasses characterized by long finger-like inflorescences; esp. those of the genus Digitaria (also called crab grass), as the widespread D. sanguinalis.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > other grasses
feather-top grass1597
hooded matweed1597
millet grass1597
spring grass1643
moor grass1749
melic1762
finger grass1767
feather-grass1776
aegilops1777
oat-grass1802
prairie grass1812
oat-grass1814
tansy mustard1856
purple moor grass1859
whorl-grass1861
Molinia1866
onion grass1868
káns1874
Turk's-head grass1882
Pangola finger-grass1947
tor grass1954
bush-grass-
1767 Compl. Grazier 119 Birds foot, or Finger Grass (Jotus [sic]). This grass produces yellow butterfly flowers.
1817 A. Eaton Man. Bot. 12 Digitaria..sanguinalis, (finger grass) culm creeping, flowers imbricate.
1943 R. Peattie Great Smokies & Blue Ridge 168 In the first year after abandonment..horseweed and finger grass predominate.
2015 A. Casha Flora Maltese Islands 334 Hairy Finger-grass/Crab Grass/Summer Grass Digitaria sanguinalis. Digitarja. A prostrate to ascending annual.
finger lime n. a thorny shrub or small tree, Citrus australasica (family Rutaceae), native to coastal regions of northeast Australia; (also) the cylindrical citrus fruit of this tree, having green, purple, or pink skin and juicy, large-celled pulp with a sour taste resembling that of lime.Finger limes are occasionally placed in the genus Microcitrus.
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1883 F. M. Bailey Synopsis Queensland Flora 57 C[itrus] australasica,..(Australian Finger Lime.)
1896 Brisbane Courier 6 July 5/4 Various specimens of the citrus tribe, including the curious finger limes of Queensland, are to be seen.
1995 D. Stewart & R. E. Stewart From Seeds to Leaves App. 129 The native finger lime (Microcitrus australasica) bears long, cylindrical fruit that has an orange-like flavour.
2013 H. Blumenthal Hist. Heston 194/2 Obtain the caviar-like vesicles from the finger limes by cutting off the edges and running your finger along the length of them, scooping out the segments.
finger millet n. a kind of millet, Eleusine coracana, originating in Ethiopia and now widely grown as a cereal crop in arid parts of Africa and Asia; also called ragi.
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1909 C. Morrison New Geogr. Indian Empire & Ceylon (ed. 2) 78 Finger millet or Ragi cannot stand drought so well as the other millets.
1968 Florence (S. Carolina) Morning News 18 June 7/1 The finger millet waves tiny seed tufts like outstretched hands in the summer breezes.
2005 Plant Sci. 169 657/1 Among eight minor millets, finger millet..also known as African millet, has outstanding attributes as a subsistence food crop.
finger orchis n. now historical a terrestrial orchid, esp. one of the genus Orchis or Dactylorhiza, the roots of which were formerly used in medicine (cf. handed adj. 2).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > castor-oil plant or bean
ricinusOE
oil treea1425
Palma Christic1450
man's motherworta1500
tick-seed1562
tick-weed1563
finger orchis1597
kick1597
steadfast1597
palmchrist1611
oil-nut1694
oilseed1760
castor-oil bean1814
castor-bean1819
castor-oil plant1839
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 170 Roiall Satyrion or finger Orchis, is called of the Latines Palma Christi.
1979 Shakespeare Q. 30 397/2 The phallic appearance of the roots of the ‘handed’ orchids gave rise to such names as ‘finger orchis’, ‘saffron fingers’, and ‘Kingfingers’ in Shakespeare's day.
† finger plum n. [after post-classical Latin prunus dactyla (1570 in the passage translated in quot. 1577)] Obsolete rare a variety of large blue plum.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > stone fruit > [noun] > plum > other types of plum
bullacea1375
myxe?1440
prunelloa1450
bullace-fruit1530
wheat-plum1538
wheaten plum1542
pear plum1573
finger plum1577
perdrigon1582
damson plum1584
apple-plum1601
bullace-plum1608
amber plum1629
Christian1629
queen mother1629
cinnamon-plum1664
date1664
Orleans1674
Chickasaw plum1760
blue gage1764
golden drop1772
beach-plum1785
quetsch1839
egg-plum1859
hog plum1863
bladder-plum1869
prune1872
Carlsbad plum1885
apricot plum1893
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > stone fruit > plum > other types of
white plumc1330
bullacea1375
myxe?1440
prunelloa1450
bullace-fruit1530
horse plum1530
plum1530
wheat-plum1538
wheaten plum1542
choke-plum1556
pear plum1573
finger plum1577
scad1577
skeg1601
merchant1602
bullace-plum1608
malacadonian1608
prune plum1613
date plum1626
mussel plum1626
amber plum1629
black plum1629
primordian1629
queen mother1629
winter crack1629
myrobalan1630
Christian1651
Monsieur's plum1658
cinnamon-plum1664
date1664
primordial1664
Orleans1674
mirabelle1706
myrobalan plum1708
Mogul1718
mussel1718
Chickasaw plum1760
blue gage1764
magnum bonum1764
golden drop1772
beach-plum1785
sweet plum1796
winesour1836
wild plum1838
quetsch1839
egg-plum1859
Victoria1860
cherry plum1866
bladder-plum1869
prune1872
sour plum1874
Carlsbad plum1885
horse-jug1886
French plum1939
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 96 The fynger Plomes are most commended, being of the length of a mans fynger [L. pruni dactyla, a longitudine digiti], which are brought vnto vs from Bohemia, and Hungary, and Iulians, and Noberdians, being blewe in colour, but later.
finger root n. English regional the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea (cf. finger flower n.). [With the author's query in quot. 1870 compare German Fingerhut , the standard name for the foxglove, transferred use of the word for ‘thimble’, lit. ‘finger-hat’ (15th cent: see digitalis n.).]
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > foxglove and allied flowers > foxglove
foxglovec1000
London button1552
wine-pot herb1552
finger1562
finger flower1562
lady's glove1575
foxter1623
fox-finger1657
fox1684
bloody finger1789
witch bell1808
fairy fingers1811
fairy thimble1813
dead men's bells1818
witches' thimbles1820
fairy bells1821
fairy glove1841
flap-dock1846
cow-flop1847
pop-glove1847
lady's thimble1853
Scotch mercury1853
poppy1856
fairy petticoats1864
finger root1870
fairy weed1871
pop-dock1878
witches' bells1884
1870 J. Britten in Sci.-gossip Apr. 91/1 I am informed that the plant is still, in Sussex, called Finger-root (Fingerhut?)
1935 Sussex County Mag. June 388/1 Thus we find Bird's-eye (Procumbent Pearlwort, Sagina procumbens), a name also applied to the Germander Speedwell; Lion's-mouth, Dragon's-mouth or Finger-root (Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea); and Pheasant's-feather (Saxifraga umbrosa).
1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 300 [Local names for the foxglove] finger cap, Som; finger hut, Dev; finger root, Suss, War; fingers, fingers and thumbs, Som.
fingers and thumbs n. †(a) an Indo-Pacific whelk, Nassarius arcularius, having ridges on the shell resembling knuckles (obsolete rare); (b) English regional (south-western) bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus; (c) English regional (south-western) the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > lotus or bird's-foot trefoil
lote1548
ground honeysuckle1592
bird's-foot trefoil1650
bird's-foot lote1714
lotus1731
winged pea1739
bird's-foot trefoil1760
bloom-fell1799
fingers and thumbs1815
bird's-foot lotus1832
devil's claw1833
five-finger1845
lady's slipper1852
1815 E. J. Burrow Elements Conchol. 201 [Buccinum] Arcularia. Fingers and Thumbs.
1864 Wilts. Mag. 8 116 This species is frequently called ‘Fingers and Thumbs’ by the Wiltshire peasantry.
1949 L. J. F. Brimble Floral Year viii. 436 Children like to gather the flowers and have given them many nicknames such as Tom Thumb, fingers and thumbs, shoes and stockings, and so forth.
1955 G. Grigson Englishman's Flora 300 [Local names for the foxglove] finger cap, Som; finger hut, Dev; finger root, Suss, War; fingers, fingers and thumbs, Som.
1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 221 Common bird's-foot trefoil..(V[ernacular] N[ames]: Eggs and bacon.., Tom Thumb, Fingers and thumbs, Granny's toenails, [etc.]).
fingers and toes n. (a) clubroot affecting turnips; (now usually in form finger and toe; also called anbury); (b) English regional bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus (now rare).
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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > associated with particular type of plant > crop or food plant > vegetables > turnips or cabbages
anbury1742
fingers and toes1799
club1830
club-root1832
clubbing1836
brown-heart1950
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln vii. 136 They complain much of the distemper called fingers and toes; the root, instead of swelling, running into strings of that form, and rot, and come to nothing.
1833 London Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 21 In Hampshire, the Lotus corniculatus is called dead-men's fingers, but in the vicinity of Bristol the plant has various names; fingers and toes, devil's fingers, devil's claws, and crow-toes.
1875 W. T. Thornton in Encycl. Brit. I. 367 The roots present a thickened, palmated appearance, giving rise to the popular name for the disease, ‘fingers and toes’.
1958 H. G. Sanders Outl. Brit. Crop Husbandry (ed. 3) 25 On land with a low lime reserve there was some danger of finger-and-toe disease on turnips.
1967 A. J. Huxley Mountain Flowers in Colour 268/2 L[otus] alpinus... alpine birdsfoot trefoil. The alpine form of the familiar ‘Eggs and Bacon’ or ‘Fingers and Toes’.
2014 R. A. T. George in R. A. T. George & R. T. V. Fox Dis. Temperate Hort. Plants xi. 171 (heading) Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin, club root, finger-and-toe (Cercozoa).
finger shell n. a razor shell (superfamily Solenaceae).
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1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. xiv. 339/2 A Pirot, or Pitot (in some places called a Hag-fish) shell: it is a round shell like a finger, which in Latine is termed Vnguis Marinus; the Sea Finger shell; it opens like the Muskle.
1742 P. Collinson Let. 3 Feb. in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 180 It seems to Agree near with our and your Solen—by some called Razor-Shell, by others Finger Shell and what thou reckons a Sort of Clams.
1995 Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 8) II. 2832/1 Among them the spiral staircase or wentletrap, periwinkle, conch, finger shell, cowry,..and others are to be found on the coasts of the United States.
finger sponge n. any of several demosponges with finger-shaped lobes or branches; esp. the many-branched Haliclona (formerly Chalina) oculata of Atlantic coasts.
ΚΠ
1862 T. W. Higginson Jrnl. 20 Dec. in Compl. Civil War Jrnl. (2000) 72 I have today hung up a long bough of finger sponge, which I found by the river side.
1931 N.Y. State Mus. Handbk. No. 10. 136 The Finger Sponge (Chalina oculata) is dull red or yellow in color.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 31 Oct. v. 7/5 Day-Glo reefs bristle with netted barrel sponges and green finger sponges.

Derivatives

ˈfinger-like adj.
ΚΠ
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 127 Dates (Dactills in Latin from their finger-like shape).
1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) III. 735 Outer scales of the calyx with finger-like divisions.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 20 The lower glacier, cleft..into finger-like ridges.
1959 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 242 354 Each [tube-foot] bears a fringe of finger-like processes round its terminal disk.
2000 Independent on Sunday 27 Aug. (Review Suppl.) 13/2 Normally each hair cell develops about 100 finger-like projections.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

fingerv.

Brit. /ˈfɪŋɡə/, U.S. /ˈfɪŋɡər/
Forms: see finger n.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: finger n.
Etymology: < finger n. Compare Middle Dutch vingeren to touch and soil with the fingers, (probably also) to point at with a finger (Dutch vingeren to move the fingers, to touch or manipulate with the fingers), Middle High German vingern to make finger gestures, to touch with the fingers (German fingern to touch or manipulate with the fingers, to steal), and also (with suffix) Middle Low German vingerēren to work with the fingers, to do something secretly. Compare also post-classical Latin digitare to point at with a finger, to touch or handle with the fingers (see digitate v.). With sense 4a(b) compare earlier fingering adj. 2.
†1. Probably transitive. (Meaning unknown). Obsolete.Post-classical Latin digitare has the senses ‘to point at with the finger’ and ‘to touch or handle with the fingers’, making the sense intended in quots. a1425 and ?c1475, which gloss this Latin word, impossible to determine.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [verb (transitive)] > express with fingers > point to
showa1225
fingera1425
point1477
indigit1603
indigitate1623
digit1628
digitate1658
digitize1736
indicate1808
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 21 Digito, to fingrin.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 47v To ffynger, digitare.
2. Music.
a. transitive. To play (a musical instrument, piece of music, etc.) with the fingers; to move the fingers on (an instrument) in order, or as if, to play. In later use also with out.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > play instrument [verb (transitive)] > play with fingers
toucha1387
finger?1521
strike1565
thumb1593
?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. Av Yet coude he pype and fynger well a drone.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus fol. 9v These balades & roundes, these galiardes, pauanes and daunces, so nicelye fingered, so swetely tuned.
1583 tr. B. des Périers Mirrour of Mirth sig. A2 To take his harpe in hande, which he so finely fingered, [etc.].
?1606 M. Drayton Ode i, in Poemes sig. B2 To seeke, Of Pindar that greate Greeke, To Finger it [sc. the harp or lyre] arighte.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1641 (1955) II. 48 He had fingerd an Organ.
1720 tr. M. de Cervantes Jealous Estremaduran 322 in Select Coll. Novels I. He cou'd not for the Blood of him forbear fingering the Strings of his Guittar.
1799 Public Characters of 1798–9 100 He..listens to the music of a favourite lady while fingering the piano-forte, or the Pedal harp.
1824 Scotsman 23 June 399/3 The Song..was greatly injured, by the instrument which she fingered being wretchedly out of tune.
1873 C. Keene Let. in G. S. Layard Life & Lett. C. S. Keene (1892) vii. 152 A dummy bagpipe chanter..I carried in my pocket, and fingered on every possible occasion.
1903 Rural New-Yorker 17 Oct. 727/2 It was a proud little girl that fingered out the tune while the other children sang.
1922 Collier's 23 Dec. 14/4 He picked it [sc. an accordion] up and fingered a few chords.
2011 N.Y. Amsterdam News 13 Jan. 23 Rather than emitting powerful tones from his baritone saxophone, Hamiet Bluiett fingered a clarinet.
b. transitive. To play (a passage of music, chord, scale, etc.) with the fingers in a particular position or sequence of positions on an instrument. Cf. fingering n.1 1a.
ΚΠ
1778 T. Twining Let. 19 Dec. in Sel. Lett. (1991) I. 158 I had finger'd, & played the passage exactly as you have finger'd it.
1862 Musical Times June 257/1 D and A major, which cannot properly be fingered with the left hand in accordance with this rule, are on that account the most awkward of all scales.
1888 Etude June 93/1 How ought the diatonic scales in sixths to be fingered?
1921 Musician May 24/1 ‘You did not finger that passage,’ he said, ‘as I should have done; at least it did not sound firm enough’.
1989 Computer Music Jrnl. 13 77/1 Different movements of the same sonata can be fingered according to different general guidelines.
2012 M. Phillips & J. Chappell Guitar for Dummies (ed. 3) iv. 51 If you finger the chord that way, the 2nd and 3rd fingers form a shape that simply moves over one string.
c. transitive. To mark (written music) with numbers or signs indicating the fingers with which the notes are to be played. Chiefly in passive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > notation > notate [verb (transitive)] > mark fingering
finger1783
1783 tr. A. Bemetzrieder Acct. New Way of considering Musick 3 We begin with one of the 24 scales of my new Lessons fingered for the Harpsichord.
1816 Gentleman's Mag. June 539/2 All the lessons are sufficiently fingered.
1891 Times 22 Oct. 14/2 The latest issues..of Bach's organ works..are carefully edited and fingered.
1914 Violinist Nov. 29/1 The cello score is fingered by the cellist, Mr. Frederick Search, to whom the composition is dedicated.
1959 Catal. Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office) 12 722/2 The Pretoria Album: string orchestra, arr., scored, edited, fingered & bowed by James Brown.
2008 Notes 64 823 It is lightly edited and fingered, and well printed.
3.
a. transitive. To touch or lay one's hands on (an object) with a view to taking it; to steal (a thing); to put one's fingers in (a pocket, etc.) in order to steal the contents. Cf. pinch v. 15a. colloquial in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > petty theft or pilfering > pilfer [verb (transitive)]
mitcha1393
pelfa1400
purloinc1475
prowl?1529
finger1530
pilfer1532
lurchc1565
filch1567
filch1574
proloyne1581
nim1606
hook1615
truff1718
snaffle1725
crib1735
pettifog1759
magg1762
niffle1785
cabbage1793
weed1811
nibble1819
cab1825
smouch1826
snuga1859
mooch1862
attract1891
souvenir1897
rat1906
snipe1909
promote1918
salvage1918
smooch1941
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 550/2 Beware of hym, for al that he can fyngar gothe with hym.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. i. 44 But whilst he sought to steale the single ten, The king was finelie fingerd from the decke.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 20 His Predecessors..grasp'd it fast in their fist, in defiance of such Popes as would finger it from them.
1693 tr. J. Le Clerc Mem. Count Teckely i. 17 The Troops..took away all they could finger without paying for it.
?1863 Story Lancs. Thief 10 One of his best stories was about fingering Lord —'s ticker in St George's Church.
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi xxix. 318 We lit from our horses and fingered his pockets; we got twelve hundred and sixty-two dollars.
1913 Month Nov. 455 A familiar example is the cashier who has fingered the money in the till, has gambled with it, and lost.
2006 K. Reichs Break No Bones xi. 84 You finally nail the little pissant what fingered my wallet?
†b. transitive. To accept, receive, or come into possession of (money), esp. in the context of corrupt, immoral, or unsavoury activities; to accept (a bribe); to misappropriate (funds). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > handle money with unworthy motives
finger1581
1581 [implied in: R. Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. 159 I would not haue suffred them [sc. the Romans] to haue reigned one day longer, by selling their libertie, they should haue become bond. The fellow said much, and that state felt more, when they fell to fingering. (at fingering n.1 2a)].
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 167 To be fingring the wealth of the richer sort, he hath alwaies some office or lieutenantship with an annuitie to sell them.
1651 Bp. J. Taylor XXVIII Serm. xxi. 264 It is a huge dishonour..to be too busie in fingring money in the matters of religion.
1703 Lett. from Living to Living 139 You know I must have Poundage, or I shall fail of my dexterity in fingering the Pelf when we come in Play again.
1787 W. Beckford Jrnl. 25 July in Jrnl. Portugal & Spain (1954) (modernized text) 146 The lawyer confesses having fingered a bribe.
1850 G. Lippard Killers xvi. 39 You left Velasquez to rot in jail, on the charge of piracy, while you, safe in Philadelphia, fingered the proceeds of his former ventures.
1884 Ld. Tennyson Becket i. iii. 56 The cardinals have finger'd Henry's gold.
1905 Jrnl. Gas Lighting 3 Oct. 23/2 This Committee in turn may desire to finger the ‘profit’ themselves.
1910 Penny Illustr. Paper 27 Aug. 275/1 As soon as he fingered the cash [i.e. an inheritance] he gave way to hidden weaknesses.
1912 Times 4 Dec. 17/2 The shareholders would probably be anxious to know if the company had yet ‘fingered the cash’.
†c. transitive. To cheat (a person) out of something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
1709 Brit. Apollo 23–25 Nov. Three Thornbacks..artfully finger'd me out of five Guineas.
1821 Morning Post 3 Oct. The swindler fingered him out of 3s. and went off.
4.
a.
(a) transitive. To touch, feel, or handle with the fingers; to fidget with or examine using the fingers, esp. restlessly or repeatedly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > consciousness > contemplation of self > reflect on oneself [verb]
bethinkc1000
rememberc1405
to descend into (also within) oneself1539
finger1546
reflect1595
recollect1640
introvert1671
Hamletize1844
introspect1884
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > investigate, examine [verb (transitive)]
underseekc897
speerc900
lookeOE
askOE
seeOE
teem witnessc1200
seeka1300
fand13..
inquirec1300
undergoc1315
visit1338
pursuea1382
searcha1382
examinec1384
assay1387
ensearchc1400
vesteyea1425
to have in waitc1440
perpend1447
to bring witnessc1475
vey1512
investigate?1520
recounta1530
to call into (also in) question1534
finger1546
rip1549
sight1556
vestigatea1561
to look into ——1561
require1563
descry?1567
sound1579
question1590
resolve1593
surview1601
undersearch1609
sift1611
disquire1621
indagate1623
inspect1623
pierce1640
shrive1647
in-looka1649
probe1649
incern1656
quaeritate1657
inquisite1674
reconnoitre1740
explore1774
to bring to book1786
look-see1867
scrutate1882
to shake down1915
sleuth1939
screen1942
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (intransitive)] > touch or handle idly or restlessly
finger1546
to wash one's hands1570
fibulate1640
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)] > touch or handle idly or restlessly
finger1546
to toy with ——1576
paddlea1616
nibble1676
twiddle1676
trifle1818
to pick at ——1841
to play off and on with1845
piggle1847
to twiddle with or at1847
1546 W. Hugh Troubled Mans Med. i. sig. C.viiv Reliques whiche besydes that they were oft halowed by his most holy touchyng be also commaunded to be fingered of vs.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ii. sig. Cc7v To finger the fine needle and nyce thread.
1615 J. Stephens Ess. & Characters (new ed.) 212 By fingering his beard or bandstrings.
1690 J. Dryden Don Sebastian iii. ii. 67 You wou'd feign be fingring your Rents before-hand.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 150 In China, our women..are never permitted to finger a dice-box.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. vii. 166 Philammon, fingering curiously the first coins which he ever had handled.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. xiii. 252 The..crew fingered their oars.
1887 R. N. Carey Uncle Max xxx. 244 She was never weary of fingering her silks and satins.
1912 ‘M. Fairfax’ & A. Hornblow Talker vi. 120 Lonnie..entered sulkily and stood in the hall, nervously fingering his hat.
1973 P. Geddes Ottawa Allegation viii. 102 In a department store on the Mall she stood and fingered Irish linens.
2013 C. Doctorow Homeland xi. 257 The Anon guy fingered Liam's bandanna with admiration.
(b) transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1818 C. Lamb Wks. II. 129 He is forever anticipating persecution and martyrdom; fingering, as it were, the flames, to try how he can bear them.
1883 T. H. Green Proleg. Ethics §297 To be always fingering one's motives is a sign..of an unwholesome preoccupation with self.
1885 W. B. Yeats in Dublin Univ. Rev. Apr. 57/1 For the dawn the foliage fingereth.
1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 61 My body need not be Fingered by the mind.
1985 G. Greene Tenth Man ii. vii. 64 The cruel sun fingered his clothes like a secondhand dealer, pointing out the rubbed cloth, the missing buttons, the general dinginess.
1996 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 2 Jan. My cheer..stemmed from the well guarded knowledge I fingered like a talisman.
b. intransitive. With adverbs and prepositions (as with, at, over). To use the fingers to touch, feel, or handle something; esp. to play, toy, or fiddle with something restlessly or repeatedly.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > do for mere amusement [verb (transitive)] > toy or trifle with
toddle?a1513
sport?1545
finger1587
quiddlea1652
flirt1859
trick1881
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. xvi. 199/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I They will..come galloping apace after, wherby they will be sure, if he ride not the stronger, to be fingering with his purse.
1816 L. Hunt Story of Rimini ii. 119 They stood with their old foreheads bare, And the winds fingered with their reverend hair.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia xix Her..splendid jewels, which she had been fingering over as a child might its toys.
1858 C. Kingsley Sappho in Poems 22 She flung her on her face..And fingered at the grass.
1869 Ld. Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 433 Pelleas..Fingering at his sword-handle.
1922 A. E. Housman Last Poems (N.Y. ed.) xix. 41 The dead call the dying And finger at the doors.
1964 T. Hughes Lett. (2009) 235 Not having been fingered over by schools & Universities & the educators of Gentlemen for the last 600 years.
2001 L. Shiner Invention of Art i. iii. 47 Writings that..were not meant for print where they might be fingered over by anyone at the bookstalls.
c. intransitive. With for. To grope, reach, or feel for something with the fingers. Also (and in earliest use) figurative.
ΚΠ
1655 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 1st Pt. 338 Thy heart is fingering for more of these then God allowes thee.
1874 Rochester (Indiana) Union Spy 22 Oct. He carried a fifty-dollar counterfeit bill to make a show of it sometimes when he was fingering for very small change to pay for a single drink.
1879 World (New York) 5 June 4/1 The Herald, fingering for the scalp of General Grant, exclaims: ‘We have entire confidence in men like Lamar.’
1918 M. Rollins Over Here Stories i. 2 The match went out.., at which the last speaker rather irritably fingered in his pocket for another.
1966 E. Amadi Concubine xii. 93 He fingered about for his walking-stick as casually as he could.
2010 A. Voskamp One Thousand Gifts 144 I finger for the sharpest edge, long and smooth.
5. transitive. To seize or take hold of (a person). Later: to apprehend or arrest (a criminal or suspect) (originally U.S.). Cf. finger n. Phrases 4f(b)(ii).In quot. 1670: to handle roughly or violently.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)]
at-holda1230
attacha1325
resta1325
takec1330
arrest1393
restay?a1400
tachec1400
seisinc1425
to take upa1438
stowc1450
seize1471
to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515
deprehend1532
apprehend1548
nipa1566
upsnatcha1566
finger1572
to make stay of1572
embarge1585
cap1590
reprehend1598
prehenda1605
embar1647
nap1665
nab1686
bone1699
roast1699
do1784
touch1785
pinch1789
to pull up1799
grab1800
nick1806
pull1811
hobble1819
nail1823
nipper1823
bag1824
lag1847
tap1859
snaffle1860
to put the collar on1865
copper1872
to take in1878
lumber1882
to pick up1887
to pull in1893
lift1923
drag1924
to knock off1926
to put the sleeve on1930
bust1940
pop1960
vamp1970
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > treat violently [verb (transitive)] > treat violently or roughly
to lay hands (or hand) on or upon (also in, to)OE
ransacka1400
attamec1430
ruffle1489
tug1493
to shear against the wool1546
rumble1570
finger1572
to pull about1679
misguggle1814
rowdy1825
to jerk around1833
scrag1835
rough1845
hooligan1898
roughhouse1898
savage1899
to rough up1915
to treat 'em rough1918
1572 J. Leslie Table out of Treat. Treasons sig. Aijv Euen so is it aboue all most necessarie for their principall end, hauing once fingered the Childe..to make an end of yow and your Cosin the Queene of Scotland.
1624 R. Aldworth Let. 20 Dec. in Lismore Papers (1888) 2nd Ser. III. 136 The two Releeuers feighin [= Fagan] and lyney [= Leyne] I knowe and Dout not but to finger on Thursday next.
1670 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Latina 200 How would I finger him! Quibus illum lacerarem modis!
1754 T. Birch Mem. Reign Queen Elizabeth I. iii. 199 It would be proper to give orders upon the coast of Norfolk to finger him in his way.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. v. 89 By my faith, if they paid not for mercy, we would finger them tightly.
1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps 386 ‘They like to finger us,’ a hobo said to me..in a Western town where we were both doing our best to dodge the local police force.
1929 C. F. Coe Hooch! iv. 78 When a single bootlegger is fingered, he can't reach us because he won't even know us.
1952 ‘H. Robbins’ Stone for Danny Fisher vi. 133 Leave it! Yuh want the cops should finger you the first time yuh show with it?
2000 T. Blacker Kill your Darlings 290 They fingered Jimmy Rose within hours.
6.
a. transitive. With out. To point out or identify with, or as if with, the finger. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > pointing out > point out [verb (transitive)]
teacha900
showa1225
brevea1377
ensign1477
point1477
note1521
demonstrate1534
appointa1547
to put (also lay) one's (also the) finger on1574
remark1592
outpoint1595
finger1619
clewa1625
notice1627
denote1632
indicate1651
to index outa1796
1619 W. Sclater Expos. 1 Thess. 202 At least you want one helpe in the way to Heauen, when they finger out the way, but foot it not as Guides by their example.
1767 W. Hanbury Hist. Rise Charitable Found. Church-Langton 134 Amity of dunce with dunce, Fingers out genius all at once.
1957 Times 8 Oct. 2/6 He could not speak; he could not write. The words were merely fingered out on a piece of paper.
†b. transitive. With out. To read carefully or with effort, passing the finger along the lines. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > [verb (transitive)] > read attentively or laboriously
spella1400
studya1425
nit1596
finger1653
syllable1724
1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 7 You of the Clergy that were there, you specially that fingred out this Article, heed what I say.
1680 R. Mansell Exact & True Narr. Late Popish Intrigue 101 He received all the Tryals that were printed, and had fingerd them out.
7.
a. transitive. To penetrate (the vagina or anus) with a finger or fingers as a sexual act. Cf. finger-fuck vb. at finger n. Compounds 2a.Quot. 1609 probably puns on this meaning, and thus implies earlier currency.
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles i. 125 You are a faire Violl, and your sense, the stringes; Who finger'd to make man his lawfull musicke, Would draw Heauen downe. View more context for this quotation]
1656 Wit & Drollery 91 In Winter morning you might catch Her hand on Cod, he finging [sic; 1661 fingering] Notch.
c1890 My Secret Life I. 290 I had two other French ladies, and fingered their cunts whilst I fucked a third.
1953 in G. Legman Limerick xii. 210 For the half of that sum You could finger her bum.
1970 W. Henry Spanking & Bondage ii. 34 Continuing to finger her damp cunny to make her squirm and wiggle all the more, Ron continued pumping it to her.
1988 BOMB Spring 54/2 He rolls on top of David, holds David's head down, puts his tongue in his mouth, fingers his asshole.
2008 M. Monroe She had it Coming xxxi. 140 I just know Dr. Hoffman's got something else up his sleeve..the way he fingers my pussy.
b. transitive. To caress the genitals or penetrate the vagina of (a woman) with a finger or fingers as a sexual act; (also) to penetrate the anus of (a man or woman) with a finger or fingers as a sexual act. Frequently reflexive. Cf. finger-fuck vb. at finger n. Compounds 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > other types of sexual activity or intercourse > engage in other types of sexual activity or intercourse [verb (transitive)] > stimulate genitals of (a person)
gropec1275
feel1569
goose1879
to play with ——1879
fingerc1890
to bring off1916
to feel up1926
to jack off?1927
reef1962
fingle1996
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > other types of sexual activity or intercourse > engage in other types of sexual activity or intercourse [verb (transitive)] > penetrate with a finger or fingers
postillion1880
fingerc1890
c1890 My Secret Life I. v. 115 She told me of the pleasure I had given her when fingering her.
1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer 17 She lay in Tottenham Court Road with her dress pulled up and fingered herself.
1987 First Hand Aug. 26/2 I stuck some lube up my ass and fingered myself a bit to loosen up.
2005 M. T. Ford Tangled Sheets 199 I fingered him roughly, still rubbing his ass with the batting glove.
2013 N.Y. Mag. 28 Oct. 71/1 One lady said some guy took her to Babbo for lunch and fingered her under the table.
8. transitive. To manipulate, arrange, or work (something) in a manner requiring particular care or dexterity with the fingers (also figurative); (sometimes spec. with reference to weaving, carpet-making, etc.) to weave or knot in (strands of yarn) using the fingers (frequently with in).In quot. 18161 intransitive with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > embellish [verb (transitive)] > dwell on to excess
overwork1638
finger1755
over-labour1797
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. To Finger,..4. To perform any work exquisitely with the fingers.
1808 J. Duncan Pract. & Descriptive Ess. Art of Weaving: Pt. II v. 219 Every second flower, only, is to be fingered in working.
1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etymol. 185 If they can finger up, or arrange words into..soft, smooth, pretty, insignificant composition.
1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etymol. 236 Addison's composition..is..carelessly irregular..but nevertheless much-laboured and fingered.
1830 Edinb. Enclycl. IV. 752/2 Attempts have been made to..supersede the necessity of employing a boy or girl to assist the operator in fingering brocades, which is the term applied to the interweaving of the coarse woof by the hand.
1879 Furnit. Gaz. 19 July 34/2 The finger rug takes its name from the fact that all the deep pile of velvety wool in front is fingered in by the weaver.
1911 G. Saintsbury in Cambr. Hist. Eng. Lit. VII. v. 112 This famous old measure..had been fingered into new beauty by Shakespeare and others.
1929 C. B. Faraday European & Amer. Carpets & Rugs iii. 150 This name [sc. ‘fingered worsted’] has come from the weaver's practise of twisting or ‘fingering’ the strands, so that every fibre as nearly as possible is caught into its knot.
1952 D. Lawless Rug Hooking & Braiding for Pleasure & Profit x. 74 Flowers..with irregular streaks in their petals or foliage require that their shades be fingered in for realism.
1978 Spectator 16 Sept. 25/2 Tiny pots fingered out of clay.
1999 M. Joss Fearful Symmetry (2005) xxv. 267 Adele's perfect built world was..too fragile to be fingered into shape in any earthy material.
9. intransitive. With adverb or prepositional phrase indicating direction. To form, extend, or divide into one or more long, narrow, finger-like protrusions.
ΚΠ
1854 J. D. Hooker Himalayan Jrnls. I. xi. 264 Peninsulas, between which the misty ocean seemed to finger up like the fiords of Norway.
1885 Mag. of Art 8 270/1 The sea's..fingering up the outlets of our meadow streams.
1956 G. E. Govan & J. W. Livingood Different Valor x. 146 As one neared the river the White Oak Swamp fingered up to make going difficult.
1958 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 66 320/2 They finger out into fine-grained deposits.
1966 J. J. Phillips Mojo Hand (1987) 32 She remembered how she had watched them talk as the classical music fingered through the room and the teacups clinked.
1968 Field & Stream Aug. 124/1 In a back slough that fingered off the narrow river we were riding, mallards complained.
1986 Offshore Engineer Sept. 54/3 To avoid the water ‘fingering’ directly into the production wells it is important for the formation to imbibe the water gradually soaking it up like a sponge.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 19 Oct. d9/5 Roads continue to finger into the foothills, ending in cul-de-sacs of modern log homes.
10. intransitive. To be (easily) handled or manipulated with the fingers. Frequently with reference to the playing of a musical instrument with the fingers (cf. sense 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (intransitive)] > touch with fingers > be manipulated with fingers
finger1925
1925 Boys' Life Feb. 43/2 It [sc. a saxophone] fingers easily.
1927 W. W. Bishop Pract. Handbk. Mod. Libr. Catal. (ed. 2) 33 The tests of a card are the cleanness and speed with which it ‘fingers’ in consultation, and the fastness of its color.
1983 J. L. Collier Louis Armstrong (1985) iv. 37 The alto horn is a good foundation for the comet: it fingers the same and the mouthpiece is similar, just a little larger.
11. Originally U.S.
a. transitive. Criminals' slang. To indicate or identify (a person or place) as a potential target of crime.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > informing on or against > inform on or against [verb (transitive)]
wrayc725
meldeOE
bimeldena1300
forgabc1394
to blow up?a1400
outsay?a1400
detectc1449
denounce1485
ascry1523
inform1526
promote1550
peach1570
blow1575
impeach1617
wheedle1710
split1795
snitch1801
cheep1831
squeal1846
to put away1858
spot1864
report1869
squawk1872
nose1875
finger1877
ruck1884
to turn over1890
to gag on1891
shop1895
pool1907
run1909
peep1911
pot1911
copper1923
finger1929
rat1932
to blow the whistle on1934
grass1936
rat1969
to put in1975
turn1977
1929 ‘C. Walt’ Love in Chicago vi. 70 Awright, have 'em there in twenty minutes—all yuh have t'do is finger the Polack when they drive up.
1936 Detective Fiction Weekly 12 Dec. 8/2 Matt Prance has got me fingered... They're going to kill me.
1951 D. Dressler Parole Chief 126 His job was to get into swank bars, restaurants, and..parties to ‘finger’ jobs for the mob.
2001 N. Barlay Hooky Gear 68 Get me thinkin who we rob that night. Or try. Or why Uncle finger the gaff first place.
b. transitive. Originally Criminals' slang. To identify (an offender) to the police; (more generally) to inform on or betray (a person).
ΚΠ
1930 Flynn's 13 Dec. 194/1 Frank Lee..had ‘fingered’ many, many dealers to the Feds.
1949 R. Chandler Little Sister xxxiii. 242 She's on her way back..with..the pocket money she got..for fingering her brother.
1972 Time 17 Apr. 57/1 The FBI's hired hand who fingered the Ku Klux Klan killers.
1982 S. Bellow Dean's December iii. 52 What's-his-name from Robert Taylor Homes, who described himself as a buddy, fingered Lucas Ebry and repeated what he claimed he heard.
2003 A. J. Singer Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach ii. 170 I met three students who had cut my class that day lining up for the bus. If I had fingered them, their trip was over.
c. transitive. To identify (a person or thing); chiefly with as. Also: to select or choose (a person) for a particular purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > identify or distinguish [verb (transitive)]
to take knowledge ofa1400
character1555
distinguish1600
characterizea1602
remark1633
identify1675
stamp1837
dispunct1842
keynote1877
finger1945
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > choose [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person
resta1500
resolve1710
finger1945
1945 Long Beach (Calif.) Independent 9 Sept. 24/2 I am rather pleased to have fingered him as the shrewdest con-man in the football racket before these disclosures were made.
1963 Life 2 Aug. 11/3 Deputy City Attorney David Tardiff, seven months out of U.C.L.A. law school, was fingered for the task of prosecuting them.
1987 G. Turner Sea & Summer 236 Nor could I refuse once Kovacs had fingered me for his partner.
2003 Afr. News (Nexis) 14 Sept. Moi's pointed hesitation last week to publicly finger a successor showed he has learned his lesson.
2010 J. Pasternak Yellow Dirt (2011) vi. 65 Radioactivity in the mines was fingered as the reason for the abundance of pulmonary tumors.

Derivatives

ˈfingerable adj. that can be fingered (in various senses); esp. that may be, or is suitable for being, touched or manipulated with the fingers.In quot. 1818 with over.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > [adjective] > other attributes
rural1592
unstringed1597
unstrung1598
keyed1761
fingerable1818
keyless1830
omnitonic1861
solo1862
sewing machine1874
unplayed1875
original1899
electrified1938
melodic1938
analogue1976
acoustic1978
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > [adjective] > able to be fingered
fingerable1818
1818 J. Keats Let. 22 Dec. (1958) I. 415 I should like to compose things honourable to Man—but not fingerable over by Men.
1891 G. Du Maurier in Harper's Mag. Aug. 383/1 Four strings; but not the fingerable strings of Stradivarius.
1934 Monroe (Louisiana) News-Star 24 Apr. 6/2 Don't forget to include a few of the fingerable canapes.
2006 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 11 Feb. l7 His shirt is well-made and a nice easy fit, and his hair is very fingerable.
† ˈfingerative adj. Obsolete rare inclined to stealing, thievish; cf. sense 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > petty theft or pilfering > [adjective]
light-fingered1546
lime-fingered1546
pilfering1546
fine-fingeredc1555
filching1570
mitching1576
lurching1577
lime-twig1602
nimming1603
pitchy1660
fingerative1674
marauding1748
light-handed1769
tarry1822
tarry-fingered1825
sticky-fingered1855
panhandling1884
tarry-fisted1906
1674 J. Josselyn Acct. Two Voy. 125 [The Indians are] very fingurative or theevish, and bold importune beggars.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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