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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Finger

Fin′ger (fĭn̲′gẽr), n. [AS. finger; akin to D. vinger, OS. & OHG. fingar, G. finger, Icel. fingr, Sw. & Dan. finger, Goth. figgrs; of unknown origin; perh. akin to E. fang.] 1. One of the five terminating members of the hand; a digit; esp., one of the four extremities of the hand, other than the thumb.

2. Anything that does the work of a finger; as, the pointer of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; especially (Mech.) a small projecting rod, wire, or piece, which is brought into contact with an object to effect, direct, or restrain a motion.

3. The breadth of a finger, or the fourth part of the hand; a measure of nearly an inch; also, the length of finger, a measure in domestic use in the United States, of about four and a half inches or one eighth of a yard.

A piece of steel three fingers thick. Bp. Wilkins.

4. Skill in the use of the fingers, as in playing upon a musical instrument. [R.]

She has a good finger. Busby.

Ear finger, the little finger. — Finger alphabet. See Dactylology. - - Finger bar, the horizontal bar, carrying slotted spikes, or fingers, through which the vibratory knives of mowing and reaping machines play. — Finger board (Mus.), the part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the strings to vary the tone; the keyboard of a piano, organ, etc.; manual. — Finger bowl or glass, a bowl or glass to hold water for rinsing the fingers at table. — Finger flower (Bot.), the foxglove. — Finger grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Panicum sanguinale) with slender radiating spikes; common crab grass. See Crab grass, under Crab. — Finger nut, a fly nut or thumb nut. — Finger plate, a strip of metal, glass, etc., to protect a painted or polished door from finger marks. — Finger post, a guide post bearing an index finger. — Finger reading, reading printed in relief so as to be sensible to the touch; — so made for the blind. — Finger shell (Zoöl.), a marine shell (Pholas dactylus) resembling a finger in form. — Finger sponge (Zoöl.), a sponge having finger-shaped lobes, or branches. — Finger stall, a cover or shield for a finger. — Finger steel, a steel instrument for whetting a currier's knife.

To burn one's fingers. See under Burn. — To have a finger in, to be concerned in. [Colloq.] — To have at one's fingers' ends, to be thoroughly familiar with. [Colloq.]

Fin′ger (fĭn̲′gẽr), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fingered; p. pr. & vb. n. Fingering.] 1. To touch with the fingers; to handle; to meddle with.

Let the papers lie; You would be fingering them to anger me. Shak.

2. To touch lightly; to toy with.

3. (Mus.) (a) To perform on an instrument of music. (b) To mark the notes of (a piece of music) so as to guide the fingers in playing.

4. To take thievishly; to pilfer; to purloin. Shak.

5. To execute, as any delicate work.

Fin′ger, v. i. (Mus.) To use the fingers in playing on an instrument. Busby.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.