# nail

> English word · Noun · IPA /neɪl/ · frequency rank #5,064

## Definitions
1. The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
2. The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
3. The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
4. The claw of a bird or other animal.
5. A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
6. A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol.
7. An archaic English unit of length equivalent to ¹⁄₂₀ of an ell or ¹⁄₁₆ of a yard (2+¹⁄₄ inches or 5.715 cm).

## Etymology
From Middle English nail, nayl, Old English næġl, from Proto-West Germanic *nagl, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ- (“nail”).
Cognates
Compare North Frisian Nail (“nail”), Saterland Frisian Nail (“nail”), West Frisian neil, Low German Nagel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel, Danish negl, Swedish nagel, Finnish naula (“nail”), Estonian nael (“nail”), (compare Irish ionga, Latin unguis, Albanian nyell (“ankle, hard part of a limb”), Lithuanian nagas, Russian нога́ (nogá, “foot, leg”), но́готь (nógotʹ, “nail”), Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux), Persian ناخن (nâxon), Sanskrit नख (nakhá).

## Easily confused with
- **ni** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-ni)
- **NL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nl)
- **NFL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nfl)
- **NHL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nhl)
- **nap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nap)
- **Nat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nat)
- **NAS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nas)
- **nan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nan)
- **nay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nay)
- **NIC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nic)
- **NIH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nih)
- **nil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nil)
- **nip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nip)
- **nav** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nav)
- **naw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-naw)
- **nia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nia)
- **nit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nit)
- **nib** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nib)
- **nix** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nix)
- **nao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nail-vs-nao)

## Common misspellings (4)
`naill`, `nali`, `nial`, `nnail`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nail