LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

unguis

unguis m (genitive unguis)
Classical[ˈʊŋ.ɡʷɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈuŋ.ɡʷis]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinefingernail, toenail
  2. masculinetalon, claw
    Iamque satur nigrīs longum rapit unguibus hydrumAnd now, having eaten his fill [of figs], [the raven] snatches up a long water-snake in his black talons.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 2.257
  3. masculinehoof

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod dūrum in extrēmīs digitīs crēscit.
unguis -is m — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeunguisunguēs
genitiveunguisunguium
dativeunguīunguibus
accusativeunguemunguēs
unguīs
ablativeungue
unguī		unguibus
vocativeunguisunguēs

unguis, is (abl. ungui, Cat. 62, 43; Hor. Ep. 1, 19, 46; id. C. 2, 8, 4; Prop. 1, 20, 39; cf. Charis. p. 120), m. cf. Gr. ΟΝΥΧ-, ὄνυξ; Sanscr. nakha,
I. a nail of a person's finger or toe.
I. Lit., Plin. 11, 45, 101, § 247; 10, 35, 52, § 106; 28, 2, 5, § 28; Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 51; 1, 19, 46; id. S. 1, 3, 101; Prop. 1, 20, 39; Ov. Am. 1, 7, 64; 2, 6, 4; id. A. A. 3, 708.—
2. Of animals. a claw, talon, hoof, Plin. 11, 45, 101, § 247; Hor. C. 2, 19, 24; Ov. M. 4, 717; 10, 540; Col. 6, 12; Mart. 14, 199 al.—
B. Proverbial phrases.
1. Ab imis unguibus usque ad verticem summum, from top to toe, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, Cic. Rosc. Com. 7, 20.—
2. A rectā conscientiā transversum unguem non discedere, not to depart a finger's breadth in the least, Cic. Att. 13, 20, 4; cf. ellipt.: urge igitur, nec transversum unguem, quod aiunt, a stilo, id. Fam. 7, 25, 2: si tu ex isto loco digitum transvorsum aut unguem latum excesseris, Plaut. Aul. 1, 1, 17 sq.; Hier. Ep. 127, 8 (v. transversus and digitus).—
3. Cum medium ostenderet unguem, i. e. showed utter derision, the greatest contempt (because the middle finger was regarded as indecent), Juv. 10, 53.—
4. Incestos amores De tenero meditatur ungui, i. e. from childhood, ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὸνύχων, Hor. C. 3, 6, 24 (for which: a teneris unguiculis, Cic. Fam. 1, 6, 2).—
5. Ad or in unguem, after the Gr. εἰς ὄνυχα or ἐπʼ ὄνυχος, to a hair, to a nicety, exactly, perfectly (an expression borrowed from sculptors, who, in modelling, give the finishing touch with the nail; or joiners, who test the accuracy of joints in wood by the nail: materiem dolare ad unguem, Col. 11, 2, 13: ad unguem Factus homo, highly polished, perfectly accomplished, Hor. S. 1, 5, 32; cf.: carmen decies castigare ad unguem, id. A. P. 294 Jan. ad loc.: suturae capitis in unguem committuntur, Cels. 8, 1, § 12; Verg. G. 2, 277 Serv.; Vitr. 4, 6, 2; cf. also: carmina molli numero fluere, ut per leve severos effundat junctura unguis, Pers. 1, 65.—
6. Homo, cujus pluris erat unguis, quam tu totus es, a man whose little finger was worth more than your whole body, Petr. 57 fin.—
7. Rodere ungues, to bite the nails, i. e. to be buried in thought, etc.: ille in versu faciendo Saepe caput scaberet vivos et roderet ungues, Hor. S. 1, 10, 71; cf.: ungue meam morso saepe querere fidem. Prop. 3 (4), 25, 4. et saepe inmeritos corrumpas dentibus ungues, id. 2, 4, 3 (13).—
II. Transf.
A. Of plants, a nail-like spot, the tip, extremity, Plin. 12, 9, 19, § 36; 21, 18, 73, § 121; Col. 4, 24, 7; Pall. Febr. 12, 5.—
B. A kind of shell-fish, perh. the razor-fish, Varr. L. L. 5, 12, 23.—
C. A hook: ferrei, Col. 12, 18, 2. —
D. A white skin on the eye, a web, haw, πτερύγιον, Cels. 7, 7, 4.

Origins

According to De Vaan, from the Proto-Indo-European u-stem *h₃n̥gʰ-u-, itself from *h₃negʰ- (“nail”). The u-stem was secondarily remade into an i-stem later in Italic. The derivation of this term from the zero-grade *h₃n̥gʰ could serve as an example of Rix's Law, according to which *#h₃NC- would yield #oNC-. Höfler, who rejects the existence of Rix's Law in Latin, alternatively suggests schwebeablaut in the root as an explanation, in which case the term would continue *h₃enbʰ-.In support of this theory, Höfler cites Sanskrit वण्क्रि (váṇkri, “rib”) (< *wénk-ri-) beside व॒क्र (vakrá, “crooked”) (< *wn̥k-ró-) as evidence for the existence for the existence of secondary full-grades in i-stem derivatives. He also cites Sanskrit अङ्घ्रि (áṅghri) (perhaps from *h₃engʰwi-) as evidence for schwebeablaut in the particula root *h₃negʰ- itself. Schrijver, however, rejects schwebeablaut as a possible explanation, arguing that this phenomenon cannot occur within the same paradigm. Cognates include Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux), Old Irish ingen, Sanskrit नख (nakhá, “claw, nail”), Old Armenian եղունգն (ełungn), Old Church Slavonic ногъть (nogŭtĭ), Lithuanian nagas, Persian ناخن (nâxon), Albanian nyell, and Old English næġl (English nail).

Borrowings
  • Englishunguis
  • Frenchunguis
  • Italianungue
Italo-Romance
  • Italianugno
  • Italianogno
  • Sicilianugnu

In English words that came into English from unguis

  • ungulateungulātus
  • ungualunguis
  • unguligradeungula
  • unguisunguis
  • unguicalunguis
  • unguiformunguis
  • unguiferousunguis
  • ungiectomyunguis
  • ungulaungula
  • triungulinungula
  • unguicularunguiculus
  • unguledungula
  • unguiculateunguiculātus
  • unguiculusunguiculus

Quick answers

What does unguis mean in Latin?
unguis, a noun, means “fingernail, toenail; talon, claw; hoof”.
What is the genitive of unguis?
The genitive singular is unguis. unguis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce unguis?
In classical Latin, [ˈʊŋ.ɡʷɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈuŋ.ɡʷis].
Which English words come from unguis?
English words that go back to Latin unguis include ungual, unguis, unguical, unguiform, unguiferous and ungiectomy.