unguis
Americannoun
plural
ungues-
a nail, claw, or hoof.
-
Botany. the clawlike base of certain petals.
noun
-
a nail, claw, or hoof, or the part of the digit giving rise to it
-
the clawlike base of certain petals
Etymology
Origin of unguis
1685–95; < Latin unguis a nail, claw, hoof; akin to Greek ónyx
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Secondly and thirdly, Bignonia unguis with its close allies, and Cardiospermum; but their tendrils are so short that their contraction could hardly occur, and would be quite superfluous.
From The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants by Darwin, Charles
Unguif′erous, bearing an unguis of one kind or other; Ung′uiform, shaped like a claw; Ung′uinal, pertaining to the unguis or nail; Unguiros′tral, with a nail at the end of the bill.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
It is a thin, clear white shell, and is well named, from unguis, a finger-nail, which it much resembles.
From Beautiful Shells of New Zealand An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them by Moss, E. G. B.
Recall to your memory the beautiful hands of Diana and Minerva, and these two lines of Ovid, which naturally come in here:Pg 156 "Exiguo signet gestu quodcunque loquetur, Cui digiti pingues, cui scaber unguis erit."
From The Wonders of Pompeii by Monnier, Marc
I have no doubt, from the analogy of the two following allied species, that the petioles also move spontaneously; but they are not irritable like those of B. unguis and B. Tweedyana.
From The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants by Darwin, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
