Hypertext Webster Gateway: "nail"

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)

Nail
for fastening. (1.) Hebrew yathed, "piercing," a peg or nail of
any material (Ezek. 15:3), more especially a tent-peg (Ex.
27:19; 35:18; 38:20), with one of which Jael (q.v.) pierced the
temples of Sisera (Judg. 4:21, 22). This word is also used
metaphorically (Zech. 10:4) for a prince or counsellor, just as
"the battle-bow" represents a warrior.

(2.) Masmer, a "point," the usual word for a nail. The words
of the wise are compared to "nails fastened by the masters of
assemblies" (Eccl. 12:11, A.V.). The Revised Version reads, "as
nails well fastened are the words of the masters," etc. Others
(as Plumptre) read, "as nails fastened are the masters of
assemblies" (comp. Isa. 22:23; Ezra 9:8). David prepared nails
for the temple (1 Chr. 22:3; 2 Chr. 3:9). The nails by which our
Lord was fixed to the cross are mentioned (John 20:25; Col.
2:14).

Nail of the finger (Heb. tsipporen, "scraping"). To "pare the
nails" is in Deut. 21:12 (marg., "make," or "dress," or "suffer
to grow") one of the signs of purification, separation from
former heathenism (comp. Lev. 14:8; Num. 8:7). In Jer. 17:1 this
word is rendered "point."

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Nail \Nail\, n. [AS. n[ae]gel, akin to D. nagel, OS ? OHG.
nagal, G. nagel, Icel. nagl, nail (in sense 1), nagli nail
(in sense 3), Sw. nagel nail (in senses 1 and 3), Dan. nagle,
Goth. ganagljan to nail, Lith. nagas nail (in sense 1), Russ.
nogote, L. unguis, Gr. ?, Skr. nakha. ?]
1. (Anat.) the horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end
of the fingers and toes of man and many apes.

His nayles like a briddes claws were. --Chaucer.

Note: The nails are strictly homologous with hoofs and claws.
When compressed, curved, and pointed, they are called
talons or claws, and the animal bearing them is said to
be unguiculate; when they incase the extremities of the
digits they are called hoofs, and the animal is
ungulate.

2. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of
certain hemiptera.
(b) The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and
other allied birds.

3. A slender, pointed piece of metal, usually with a head,
used for fastening pieces of wood or other material
together, by being driven into or through them.

Note: The different sorts of nails are named either from the
use to which they are applied, from their shape, from
their size, or from some other characteristic, as
shingle, floor, ship-carpenters', and horseshoe nails,
roseheads, diamonds, fourpenny, tenpenny (see {Penny},
a.), chiselpointed, cut, wrought, or wire nails, etc.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Nail \Nail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nailed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Nailing}.] [AS. n[ae]glian. See {Nail}, n.]
1. To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by
means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams.

He is now dead, and nailed in his chest. --Chaucer.

2. To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails.

The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.
--Dryden.

3. To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a
bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion;
hence, to catch; to trap.

When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at
once how I nailed them. --Goldsmith.

4. To spike, as a cannon. [Obs.] --Crabb.

{To nail} {a lie or an assertion}, etc., to detect and expose
it, so as to put a stop to its currency; -- an expression
probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers,
who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of
money to the counter.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

nail
n 1: horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal
surface of the digits
2: a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into
materials as a fastener
3: a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard
v 1: attach something somewhere by means of nails; "nail the
board onto the wall"
2: take into custody, as of suspected criminals, by the police
[syn: {collar}, {apprehend}, {arrest}, {pick up}, {nab}, {cop}]
3: hit hard; "He smashed a 3-run homer" [syn: {smash}, {boom},
{blast}]
4: succeed in obtaining a position; "He nailed down a spot at
Harvard" [syn: {nail down}, {peg}]
5: succeed at an exam easily and do very well; "She sailed
through her exams"; "You will pass with flying colors"
[syn: {breeze through}, {ace}, {pass with flying colors},
{sweep through}, {sail through}]
6: locate exactly; "can you pinpoint the position of the
enemy?"; "The chemists could not nail the identity of the
chromosome" [syn: {pinpoint}]
7: complete a pass, in football [syn: {complete}]


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