Translation
fingernail, toenail; claw
Word origin
From Latin unguis, a nail or claw, from the same ancient root as Greek onyx and English nail.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- unguis
- English cognates
- ungual, onyx
Examples
.
She cut her nails.
.
The cat has sharp claws.
.
He tapped the table with his nails.
is the horn-like plate on a finger or a toe, and by extension an
animal's claw. A big one - an eagle's, a lion's - is o, using the
augmentative --, and a small one o. The adjective is unga, a nail
file is an ungofajlilo, and a manicure is manikuro.
Do not read a suffix into it. is one root of three letters, -,
and there is nothing in front of the -o to decode. This chapter is full of
words that invite exactly that mistake -
benzino, kamelo,
balkono - and the rule is the same each time.
And keep it apart from . English uses "nail" for both the thing on
your finger and the thing you hit with a hammer; Esperanto does not.
Najlo is the metal one, from German Nagel;
is the one on your hand. Two words, two roots, no overlap - which is one of the
places where a planned language is simply tidier than the ones it was built
out of.
Where this fits
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ungo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "ungo" (fingernail, toenail; claw): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 45.