naillessadj.
/ˈneɪlləs/, U.S. /ˈneɪ(l)ləs/ 1. Of a human or animal foot or digit: not provided with or protected by nails.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > nail > [adjective] > having no
nailless1847
1847 National Encycl. I. 884 The thumbs were nailless.
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars iii. 28 The feet themselves were heavily padded and nailless, which fact had also contributed to the noiselessness of their approach.
1942 Q. Rev. Biol. 17 232/1 That digit appears as little more than a nailless tubercle.
1992 Callaloo 15 54 My fingers are nailless.
2. Of something manufactured (esp., in early use, a horseshoe): having or needing no nails.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > shoeing of horses > [adjective] > types of shoe
support1855
nailless1866
1866 Sci. Amer. 2 June 387/3 I claim a nailless shoe for horses and mules.
1889 Science Sept. 166/1 The nailless shoe..is particularly suited to brittle hoofs.
1951 E. Coxhead One Green Bottle ii. 58 Watching them slither in their nail-less shoes.
1997 B. Morrow Giovanni's Gift ii. 190 We..nailed courses of fresh asphalt where the defaulting had occurred—hasty nails in a formerly nailless building.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1847