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forefinger

UK/ˈfɔːˌfɪŋ.ɡə/US/ˈfɔɹˌfɪŋ.ɡɚ/
nounC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — finger sits at #947neutral

Other forms: forefingers

The forefinger is the pointing digit next to the thumb. The one you use to press, point and accuse.

Index finger is the commoner name now and means exactly the same thing, from the Latin for pointing out. It is the most dexterous of the four in combination with the thumb, which is why almost every precise action uses that pair. It is also the trigger finger. Pointing with it is rude in a great many cultures, which travellers discover the hard way.

Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of forefinger

  1. 1nounforefingerThe finger next to the thumb, used for pointing.C1

    “He tapped the map with a forefinger.”

Also accepted in games: index finger

Where it comes from

  1. Middle English

    forefynger

  2. English, today

    forefinger

Mid-15th century, from Middle English forefynger; equivalent to fore + finger.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 1 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

forefinger in the wild

  • Plin means 'a pinch', because one pinches with thumb and forefinger between each mound of filling to close and seal the little pasta packets.

    Agnolotti

  • "LuCIna"; the Brembati coat of arms is instead contained in ring of the woman's left forefinger.

    Portrait of Lucina Brembati

  • The hand holding the instrument holds it with the thumb and forefinger facing each other, holding it firmly.

    Angkuoch

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • finger