: a bit of skin hanging loose at the side or root of a fingernail

Did you know?

Hangnail is altered by folk etymology from angnail or agnail, which originally did not correspond to what we now know as “hangnail.” In Old English angnægl meant “corn on the foot,” with the element nægl referring not to a fingernail but rather the nail we drive in with a hammer, with the head of an iron nail being likened to a hard corn. By the 16th century, the association of -nail with the body’s nails led to a new sense, “an inflammation around a finger- or toenail.” The first element, ang- or ag-, which is akin to Old English enge, “painful,” was no longer understandable. Some speakers altered it to hang-, so that the dominant sense of both hangnail and agnail came to be “loose skin at the root of a fingernail.”

Examples of hangnail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Either way, hangnails and dry fingertips will be a thing of the past with these hyper-hydrating cuticle-care products. Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 6 Dec. 2024 Caravans of cars traveled from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia and Ohio to clinics here, loading up on pills and prescriptions from crooked doctors selling their prescription pads to anyone with so much as a hangnail. Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 29 Nov. 2024 This is a chronic hangnail infection that damages fingernails or toenails. Mark Gurarie, Health, 9 Oct. 2024 However, a hangnail for me could be career ending. —John Smoltz talks right up until the pitch is thrown. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hangnail 

Word History

Etymology

by folk etymology from agnail inflammation about the nail, from Middle English, corn on the foot or toe, from Old English angnægl, from ang- (akin to enge tight, painful) + nægl nail — more at anger

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hangnail was in 1678

Dictionary Entries Near hangnail

Cite this Entry

“Hangnail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangnail. Accessed 29 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

hangnail

noun
: a bit of skin hanging loose at the side or base of a fingernail

Medical Definition

: a bit of skin hanging loose at the side or root of a fingernail

More from Merriam-Webster on hangnail

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!