"nail (of a finger or toe)" in seven languages
Meaningnail (of a finger or toe)
Spanish
uña
/ˈuɲa/
fem.inherited
French
ongle
/ɔ̃ɡl/
masc.inherited
Masculine, unlike all its sisters: un ongle.
Italian
unghia
/ˈuŋɡja/
fem.inherited
Portuguese
unha
/ˈuɲɐ/
fem.inherited
Romanian
unghie
/ˈuŋɡje/
fem.inherited
plural: unghii
Catalan
ungla
/ˈuŋɡlə/
fem.inherited
English
nail
/neɪl/
Indo-European kin · PIE *h₃nogʷʰ-
Also the metal nail; the Romance languages keep the two apart (clavo, clou, chiodo).
English → Italiannail (of a finger or toe)unghiaDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: ungulate.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
UNGULAM‘hoof, claw (diminutive of UNGUIS 'nail')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
UNGULA, 'little nail', also meant a hoof — hence ungulates, the animals that walk on their nails. Spoken Latin squeezed it to *UNGLA: Spanish fused the -ngl- into ñ, Italian and Romanian softened it to ghi.
English relatives: ungulate
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo te muerdas las uñas.
- frNe te ronge pas les ongles.
- itNon mangiarti le unghie.
- ptNão roa as unhas.
- roNu-ți roade unghiile.
- caNo et mosseguis les ungles.
- enDon't bite your nails.