nail

[ neyl ]
/ neɪl /

noun

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

nail down, to make final; settle once and for all: Signing the contract will nail down our agreement.

Idioms for nail

Origin of nail

before 900; (noun) Middle English nail(l), nayl(l), Old English nægl, cognate with Old Frisian neil, Old Saxon, Old High German nagal, Dutch nagel, German Nagel, Old Norse nagl fingernail, all < Germanic *naglaz; akin as derivative to Lithuanian nãgas, nagà hoof, OPruss nage foot, OCS noga leg, foot (Serbo-Croatian nòga, Czech noha, Russian nogá; probably orig. jocular reference to the foot as a hoof), OCS nogŭtĭ, Tocharian A maku, B mekwa fingernail, claw, all < North European Indo-European *Honogwh-; further akin to Old Irish ingen, Welsh ewin, Breton ivin < Celtic *ṇgwhīnā, Latin unguis < Italo-Celtic *Hongwhi-; Greek ónyx, stem onych-, Armenian ełungn < *Honogwh-; (v.) Middle English nail(l)( e), nayl(l)e(n), Old English næglian, cognate with Old Saxon neglian, Old High German negilen, Old Norse negla < Germanic *nagl-janan; compare Gothic ganagljan

OTHER WORDS FROM nail

nail·less, adjective nail·like, adjective re·nail, verb (used with object)

British Dictionary definitions for on the nail

nail
/ (neɪl) /

noun

verb (tr)

See also nail down, nail up

Derived forms of nail

nailer, noun nail-less, adjective

Word Origin for nail

Old English nǣgl; related to Old High German nagal nail, Latin unguis fingernail, claw, Greek onux

Medical definitions for on the nail

nail
[ nāl ]

n.

A fingernail or toenail.
A slender rod used in operations to fasten together the divided extremities of a broken bone.

Idioms and Phrases with on the nail (1 of 2)

on the nail

1

Immediately, without delay, as in He paid us back on the nail. [c. 1600]

2

Under discussion or consideration, as in The subject of the budget deficit has been on the nail for some time. [Late 1800s] The precise allusion in these expressions has been lost. Neither has any connection to hit the nail on the head (see under hit the bull's-eye).

Idioms and Phrases with on the nail (2 of 2)

nail