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Antonyms for nail

Grammar : Verb
Spell : neyl
Phonetic Transcription : neɪl


Definition of nail

Origin :
  • Old English negel "metal pin," nægl "fingernail (handnægl), toenail," from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (cf. Old Norse nagl "fingernail," nagli "metal nail;" Old Saxon and Old High German nagel, Old Frisian neil, Middle Dutch naghel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel "fingernail, small metal spike"), from PIE root *(o)nogh "nail" (cf. Greek onyx "claw, fingernail;" Latin unguis "nail, claw;" Old Church Slavonic noga "foot," noguti "nail, claw;" Lithuanian naga "hoof," nagutis "fingernail;" Old Irish ingen, Old Welsh eguin "nail, claw").
  • The "fingernail" sense seems to be the original one. Nail polish attested from 1891. To bite one's nails as a sign of anxiety is attested from 1570s. Nail-biting is from 1805. Hard as nails is from 1828. To hit the nail on the head "say or do just the right thing" is first recorded 1520s. Phrase on the nail "on the spot, exactly" is from 1590s, of obscure origin; OED says it is not even certain it belongs to this sense of nail.
  • verb fasten, fix with pointed object
  • verb capture, arrest
Example sentences :
  • In the beginning, a star, when drawn with a nail into a brick looked as follows.
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • On a nail driven into the door frame hung a heavy bull whip.
  • Extract from : « The Monster Men » by Edgar Rice Burroughs
  • He was sent home, and hung upon a nail over against my table.
  • Extract from : « The Uncommercial Traveller » by Charles Dickens
  • You left them hanging upon the nail, and you found them there.
  • Extract from : « The Channings » by Mrs. Henry Wood
  • The latter was angered, and he swallowed her, tooth and nail.
  • Extract from : « The Chinese Fairy Book » by Various
  • "Captain Blake has hit the nail squarely on the head," he stated.
  • Extract from : « Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 » by Various
  • This hung by a bit of string to a nail projecting from the wall.
  • Extract from : « A Spirit in Prison » by Robert Hichens
  • His only tools were a knife, a tiny saw the size of a nail file and a pot of glue.
  • Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola
  • When he read at night-time, he would hang his lamp on a nail at the head of the bed.
  • Extract from : « The Fortune of the Rougons » by Emile Zola
  • You ought to have called me, and we would have hung her up by the feet to a nail in your kitchen.'
  • Extract from : « Abbe Mouret's Transgression » by Emile Zola

Synonyms for nail

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019