nail-clippingn.
/ˈneɪlˌklɪpɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈneɪlˌklɪpɪŋ/ 1. A shaving cut from a fingernail or toenail. Cf. nail-cutting n. 2, nail-paring n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > a piece cut off > from a nail
twitching1688
nail-clipping1880
nail-cutting1937
1880 Q. Rev. Oct. 327 It is dangerous to throw hair or nail-clippings on the hearth.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 444 A bundle of finger, or other bones, nail-clippings, eyes, brains, &c.
1942 A. Christie Body in Libr. xiii. 119 There were nail clippings in Ruby's wastepaper-basket.
1997 B. Rowlands Which? Guide Complementary Med. 210 He or she works from a sample or ‘witness’ of the patient, usually a strand of hair, nail clipping or spot of blood.
2. The action of trimming the nails of a person or animal. Cf. nail-cutting n. 1, nail-paring n. 2.
ΚΠ
1943 Arlington Heights (Illinois) Herald 17 Sept. 11/2 (advt.) Canaries… Birds boarded and treated. Nail clipping.
1991 Dogs Today Mar. 53 Send your humans on a one day course where they can learn about nail clipping, ear care, how to trim your coat.
1997 W. I. Miller Anat. Disgust iv. 82 The noises that accompany any disgusting bodily emission are themselves tainted: the sounds of defecation, throat clearing, nose blowing, even nail clipping for some sensitive souls.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1880