Weird Old Names For Fingers

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SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Where Do Finger Names Come From?: daily.jstor.org/where-do-fing...
How Our Fingers Got Their Names: www.mentalfloss.com/article/7...
Hands On Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand
Thumb Etymology: www.etymonline.com/word/thumb
Index Etymology: www.etymonline.com/word/index
Origin Of The Middle Finger: www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-1...
Flip the Bird Origin: www.etymonline.com/word/bird
Toe Names: www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy/a...
Toe Nicknames: nickfinder.com/Toes

Пікірлер: 132

  • @NameExplain
    @NameExplain24 күн бұрын

    Let me know a fun nickname you came up with for a finger or a toe!

  • @MiggerPlease

    @MiggerPlease

    24 күн бұрын

    I call mine"the big one"

  • @omatic_opulis9876

    @omatic_opulis9876

    24 күн бұрын

    cotton eye toe

  • @trikyy7238

    @trikyy7238

    24 күн бұрын

    Big toe in Finland: potatoe

  • @omatic_opulis9876

    @omatic_opulis9876

    24 күн бұрын

    youtube's going to delete all the replies to this comment, i would know. COTTON EYE TOE

  • @nannettefreeman7331

    @nannettefreeman7331

    24 күн бұрын

    Hey, the toes may not have nicknames, but they’ve got their own, dedicated nursery rhyme…all the way home! 🦶

  • @pedromenchik1961
    @pedromenchik196124 күн бұрын

    Fun fact: In Portuguese there is no concept of toes being a separate thing, they are just literally called “fingers of the foot”

  • @roseopheliashepherd8379

    @roseopheliashepherd8379

    24 күн бұрын

    I was just thinking how this would be totally reasonable 😂

  • @alielkhoumsi4376

    @alielkhoumsi4376

    24 күн бұрын

    In French there is a word for toes but calling them fingers of the foot is just as correct and common.

  • @DimaMuskind

    @DimaMuskind

    24 күн бұрын

    In Ukrainian and probably all slavic languages, we have the same. They are all fingers, and that is logical. Also, we have no concept of a thumb being separate, it is just called "big finger" and is, without any doubt, a finger like 4 others.

  • @FINNSTIGAT0R

    @FINNSTIGAT0R

    24 күн бұрын

    And in German (and some other languages) gloves are hand shoes.

  • @NullCyan

    @NullCyan

    24 күн бұрын

    true

  • @samwill7259
    @samwill725924 күн бұрын

    I call mine Dave, Other Dave, Lord Farnsworth Hornswoggle III, Princess Peach and Chicago Joe

  • @elinakangas571
    @elinakangas57124 күн бұрын

    In Finnish finger between the little finger and middle finger is still called "nameless".

  • @amandajones7234
    @amandajones723424 күн бұрын

    Okay, the most common nickname I've heard for toes is 'piggies'. Like when a mom says the 'this little piggy went to market...' rhyme while counting on their child's toes!

  • @Fenalarhue

    @Fenalarhue

    23 күн бұрын

    I'm not sure if this counts, but in Norwegian it's common to call toes "potatoes" whenever they're sticking out of the socks

  • @altalia07

    @altalia07

    2 күн бұрын

    Yeahhhh

  • @SilsioMansio
    @SilsioMansio24 күн бұрын

    When you suddenly started to see the video and you saw the middle finger 💀

  • @TheWizardYeof

    @TheWizardYeof

    23 күн бұрын

    Ah yes, Tall Man

  • @Olafje
    @Olafje24 күн бұрын

    In Dutch, the name for the index finger is "wijsvinger", with "wijs" coming from the infinitive "wijzen (naar)", meaning "to point (at)".

  • @HalfEye79
    @HalfEye7924 күн бұрын

    In Germany, the big toe is often called "großer Onkel" which translates to English as "big uncle".

  • @doyouguysnothavephones8967
    @doyouguysnothavephones896724 күн бұрын

    I never thought I’d get flipped off by Name Explain

  • @kohakuaiko

    @kohakuaiko

    24 күн бұрын

    And yet I don't mind 🤷🏼‍♀️

  • @IgabodDobagi

    @IgabodDobagi

    23 күн бұрын

    let's be real, you probably had it coming to you anyway.

  • @blakdeth
    @blakdeth23 күн бұрын

    In America we just say "flipping the bird". We don't pluralize the bird.

  • @billthomas8205
    @billthomas820524 күн бұрын

    On the Nameless Finger: I was always taught that the ring finger is the 4th digit on the left hand, where you put the engagement/wedding/eternity ring, & the corresponding digit on the right hand was the nameless finger, as it had no such function.

  • @Jan_Koopman
    @Jan_Koopman23 күн бұрын

    I always knew 'pink' and 'pinky' were etymologically related. Interesting to learn 'pinky' actually comes directly from 'pink'. According to my etymological dictionary, the oldest record of the word 'pink' is from June 1567, but its origin is uncertain. It might come from the Old English 'pinca' ('point'), which would have it originally mean 'pointy object' and make it also related to 'pen' and 'pick' (as in 'pickaxe').

  • @pedromenchik1961
    @pedromenchik196124 күн бұрын

    In Portuguese fingers have very weird nicknames, including: cake poker, lice killer, farher-of-all, tiny, and neighbor

  • @ishouldhavetried
    @ishouldhavetried24 күн бұрын

    Nice Smash Mouth reference

  • @thejwoom9912
    @thejwoom991224 күн бұрын

    Just from looking at the thumbnail I saw some of the same names as they are in Kurdish, I’m not sure which dialect says ram finger but I was taught that the thumb is called espa kuzha meaning lice killer, the index finger is dowshau mizha meaning syrup licker, the middle finger is bala berza meaning tall height, the ring finger is brai toota and the pinky finger is toota which pretty much means the same thing as pinky, the ring finger is called the brother of toota and my guess is because it’s hard to move your pinky finger without also moving the ring finger. Also when I wrote z and h it represents a long j sound.

  • @thejwoom9912

    @thejwoom9912

    24 күн бұрын

    Also in Kurdish fingers are called penja which is from the word penj which means five so the debate of whether the thumb is a finger or not is not a thing in Kurdish.

  • @metsfan1873
    @metsfan187324 күн бұрын

    In the 1920s, legendary baseball player (and even more legendary speaker...) Casey Stengal was being harrassed by fans, when playing at the opposition stadium. Prior to his turn at bat, he caught a pigeon and walked out to his place holding his uniform cap against his torso. Once in place to bat he turned his cap around, literally "flipping the bird" to the crowd. There are many wonderful Stengalisms ("pair up in threes") but this one needed no spoken words at all.....

  • @marcosokajimajr.1709
    @marcosokajimajr.170924 күн бұрын

    In Portuguese hte names are somewhat similar, but still different! Mindinho ("pinky", "little one"), Seu Vizinho ("neighbor"), Pai-de-todos ("father of all"), Fura-bolos ("cake piercer") e Mata-piolhos ("lice killer")

  • @geovannacampos6794

    @geovannacampos6794

    16 күн бұрын

    na minha região falamos “maior de todos”! 😊

  • @thomasloos8257
    @thomasloos825719 күн бұрын

    I've had the (completely baseless, purely conjectured) theory that the special associations with the ring finger, like health, the heart, or, in some cultures, a magical association came specifically because of its initial namelessness. As you pointed out, all the other fingers have something obviously identifiable about them, whereas for that finger, humans had to come up with something original.

  • @allanrichardson1468
    @allanrichardson146819 күн бұрын

    I would suggest that the ring finger be named the SLOWX finger, because on a standard QWERTY typewriter, the left ring finger hits the W, S, and X keys, while the right hits the O and L keys. Combining and anagramming, SLOWX!

  • @ThijquintNL
    @ThijquintNL24 күн бұрын

    In Dutch: duim, wijsvinger, middelvinger, ringvinger, pink (Thumb, pointfinger, ect.)

  • @WayneKitching

    @WayneKitching

    24 күн бұрын

    In Afrikaans: duim, wysvinger, middelvinger, ringvinger, pinkie (pink is also correct but less common)

  • @HalfEye79

    @HalfEye79

    24 күн бұрын

    In German: Daumen, Zeigefinger, Mittelfinger (Stinkefinger), Ringfinger, kleiner Finger

  • @Fenalarhue

    @Fenalarhue

    23 күн бұрын

    In Norwegian: tommel, pekefinger (point finger) langefinger/stygge finger (long finger/ ugly finger) ring finger and lille finger (little finger)

  • @Daddyoh94
    @Daddyoh9424 күн бұрын

    I call mine Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby

  • @antoniosoul
    @antoniosoul23 күн бұрын

    When I was a toddler my Italian mom would do a game similar to This Little Piggy. The names of the fingers, starting from the pinky translate to - the little one, the one with the ring, the longest of all, the plate licker and the lice killer.

  • @pedroff_1

    @pedroff_1

    16 күн бұрын

    Ooooh, Brazilian viewer here, we also have a game like that. Names would be "little one, its neighbour, biggest of all, cake-poker and lice-picker". Funny to see this cultural aspect being preserved and the changes it suffers through places and time

  • @B_Van_Glorious
    @B_Van_Glorious24 күн бұрын

    Having played guitar my entire life, I view my hand as primarily being a thumb, the fore and the little. The two mids are support fingers, especially the middle, since they share a tendon.

  • @aramisortsbottcher8201
    @aramisortsbottcher820123 күн бұрын

    About the index finger being called scythe: when I pick weeds, my index finger is closest to the ground/root. When I pull, the plants usually break where my index finger is. (Best case would be them comming out the ground with roots and all, but you know...)

  • @XVYQ_EY
    @XVYQ_EY22 күн бұрын

    New fingers' names are: Ok finger for thumb & Fuck you finger for middle.

  • @AnnaMno1
    @AnnaMno123 күн бұрын

    Fingers are more individual than toes, I can bend each finger one at a time, while the only toe that I can bend seperate from the other's is the big toe, the other four just kinda work in unison with each other. Interestinly people use their pinky finger way more than they think, and if you're ever in a situation where one of your fingers is going to be chopped off or something but you at least have some say in which one you lose, the middle finger or the pointer are the ones that can most easily be acomidated for by the existance of the other

  • @Eloraurora

    @Eloraurora

    19 күн бұрын

    There are some cases of people born without arms learning how to write, play instruments, etc. with their feet, but I'm not sure how much specific mobility they're able to get with individual smaller toes.

  • @user-qt9ek3us6i
    @user-qt9ek3us6i23 күн бұрын

    I thought people used their index finger for picking their ear And generally anything that needs only one finger outside of wedding rings.

  • @veitforabetterworld7058
    @veitforabetterworld705824 күн бұрын

    "Thuman" (thumb) reminds me of the German word "Daumen".

  • @DopamineSage
    @DopamineSage24 күн бұрын

    In my family we have the "pinky promise", where we wrap our pinkies together to say to each other we'll keep a promise. Not sure if others have this as well

  • @aramisortsbottcher8201

    @aramisortsbottcher8201

    23 күн бұрын

    I've seen it in TV several times.

  • @tomasmondragon883
    @tomasmondragon88321 күн бұрын

    The thumbnail reminded me of the way my mom taught me the finger names in Spanish: niño, tonto, loco, lambe cazuelas, y mata piojos. Niño(child) because the pinky/little is small, tonto (stupid) because the ring finger can't move on its own, loco (crazy) because the middle finger is used to flip people off and crazy people love flipping people off, lambe cazuelas (pot licker) because the index/pointer finger is used to clean up left over food, and mata piojos (flea killer) because the thumbnail was a rigid and broad place that was great for squishing tiny bugs. Though looking through the internet, it look like most Spanish nursery rhymes call the middle finger tonto y loco and the ring finger señor de anillo (Mr. Ring). There is nothing particularly stupid and crazy about the middle finger though so I don't know why those people call it stupid and crazy. On the contrary, I have noticed a lot of old people in Mexico use the middle finger for pointing things out and not as an insult on the sly.

  • @pedroff_1
    @pedroff_116 күн бұрын

    The ones in the thumbnail have some pretty similar names preserved in a nursery rhyme in Portuguese. It's a bit like that "this little piggy" play in Englis. It'd start with "dedo mindinho (doesn't have a good correlate to English, but alludes to its small size), seu vizinho (the neighbour), maior de todos (biggest of all), fura bolo (cake poker), cata-piolhos (lice picker)"

  • @Furienna
    @Furienna24 күн бұрын

    Swedish has: tumme (thumb), pekfinger ("point finger"), långfinger ("long finger"), ringfinger ("ring finger") and lillfinger ("little finger"). Interestingly, "pot licker" and "tall man" are very similar for the names for these fingers in a famous nursery rhyme: "slickepott" and "långeman".

  • @tinahs8269
    @tinahs826921 күн бұрын

    There's a hilarious movie scene in "Harlem Nights" with Eddie Murphy where a character is shot in the "pinky toe".

  • @saraross8396
    @saraross839623 күн бұрын

    I'm a tad surprised the children's didn't make it in this (tune is Frere Jaques): Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? Here I am! Here I am! How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you! Run away! Run away! And so on for pointer, tall man, ring man, and pinky.

  • @tiagox3275
    @tiagox327516 күн бұрын

    In Brazil we have some cute nicknames for fingers that kids tend to use. They're as follow: Pinkie = Mindinho (not sure what this means but apparently it comes from Holland) Ring finger = Sobrinho (cousin) Middle finger = Pai de todos (father of all) Index finger = Fura-bolo (cake poker, a reference to how kids like poking birthday cakes) Thumb = Mata-piolho (lice killer)

  • @storyspren
    @storyspren24 күн бұрын

    The big toe is usually called "isovarvas" (big toe") in Finnish, but it's also sometimes called "pottuvarvas" (tater toe) :D

  • @andrewdreasler428
    @andrewdreasler42820 күн бұрын

    6:32 ALL veins go directly to the heart. Unless the theory was that this particular vein did not merge with other veins on its way.

  • @frogandspanner
    @frogandspanner24 күн бұрын

    I still remember the Dutch kid's rhyme which I learned in the '50s: Naar bed, naar bed, zei Duimelot [Thumb] Eerst nog wat eten, zei Likkepot [the pot licker] Waar gaan we dat halen, zei Lange Jan [Long John] In grootmoederskastje, zei Ringeling [Ring finger] Dat ga ik verklappen, zei het kleine ding (Little thing - although I have vague memories of another name too].

  • @tinahs8269
    @tinahs826921 күн бұрын

    Nice choice...Funny, I heard the song "where is thumbkin" a few days ago after I made the suggestion.

  • @the80hdgaming
    @the80hdgaming24 күн бұрын

    I wear a ring on the ring finger on my right hand and I've had a few German friends ask me if I were married... They wear the wedding ring on the right hand...

  • @slashslash501
    @slashslash50124 күн бұрын

    Don't all veins go directly to the heart?

  • @catane
    @catane8 күн бұрын

    Pinky, Buddy, Father, Cake Ruiner and the Lice Killer. ^ These are the names taught to kids in Brazil, but just kids use them. I translated it to have rhymes just like in portuguese. Originally, it's: Mindinho (Little Boy - Pinky) Seu vizinho (His neighbour - Ring) Pai de todos (Father of all - Middle) Fura-Bolo (Cake Ruiner - Index) Mata Piolho (Lice Killer - Thumb)

  • @jbejaran
    @jbejaran24 күн бұрын

    I've always gone with the toe that went to market, the toe that stayed home, the toe that had roast beef, the toe that had none, and the toe that cried wee-wee-wee all the way home.

  • @bob1234881
    @bob123488124 күн бұрын

    The little finder is super important in tennis. 😀

  • @qwertyuiopgarth
    @qwertyuiopgarth24 күн бұрын

    The 'Pointer' finger? And fingers are often described as being a family? Does that mean that the fingers could be referred to as "The Pointer Sisters"?

  • @aramisortsbottcher8201

    @aramisortsbottcher8201

    23 күн бұрын

    lol

  • @erdmannelchen8829
    @erdmannelchen882916 күн бұрын

    In German the middlefinger is also occasionally called the "Stinkefinger", Stink(ing) Finger.

  • @yashmlele
    @yashmlele22 күн бұрын

    In certain Indian languages, the ring finger is called Anamika, which literally means nameless / anonymous! Also, interestingly, the thumb is called Angutha and a ring is called Anguthi although it's not worn on the thumb!

  • @roseopheliashepherd8379
    @roseopheliashepherd837924 күн бұрын

    Oh my gosh I manifested a video 🥳

  • @sharonminsuk
    @sharonminsuk23 күн бұрын

    My understanding is that "pink" originally just meant, literally, "small". I spent years trying to figure this out, because back in the 90's, a friend I respect told me that the word "pinky" should not be used because it was racist. I doubted it, but that was before all the world's dictionaries were so easily accessible online, so it took a lot more footwork to dig up this stuff. But I wasn't going to let it go until I got to the root of it! Many years and some technological advances later, there you go. "Pinky" just literally means the "small" finger.

  • @dontcomply3976
    @dontcomply397623 күн бұрын

    Its like the Dude Perfect Overtime jingle

  • @leiocera2433
    @leiocera243323 күн бұрын

    The big toe is known as "Der große Willi" (The big Willi [a German name]), "der große Otto" (The big Otto), or "Onkel Willi" (Uncle Willi)

  • @NBK1122
    @NBK112224 күн бұрын

    Since I saw this, I had two ideas. Where did the appendix (body part) get its name? Or maybe other weird named body parts, such as spleen and tonsils (keeping it family friendly, you know 😉) Parts of the leg (hip, thigh, knee, calf)

  • @pedroff_1

    @pedroff_1

    16 күн бұрын

    Ooooh, i love the etymology of body parts! AFAIK, Appendix means "thing attached to", and the appendix's full name is "Appendix Vermiformis", aka "worm-shape attachment", because of its thin and long shape in humans. There are other appendices, like the epiploic ones, which are pieces of fat around the intestine, although I don't know as much about the origin of the epiplon's name"

  • @koppadasao
    @koppadasao24 күн бұрын

    Well, what's the etymology of the Norwegian term for fingers: kleptomanpølser (As if I don't know it...) Kleptomanpølsenavn: tommeltott, pekefinger, langfinger/langemann, ringfinger, lillefinger

  • @bigtub1101
    @bigtub11019 күн бұрын

    my family calls the middle finger the social finger

  • @PumDux
    @PumDux24 күн бұрын

    Kid named Finger:

  • @BrandenBrashear
    @BrandenBrashear24 күн бұрын

    This little piggy went to the market

  • @elbuenohombre
    @elbuenohombre23 күн бұрын

    Why do they call them fingers? I've never seen them fing.

  • @foogriffy
    @foogriffy24 күн бұрын

    came across the thumbnail right as i was picking my ear 😅

  • @beargreen1
    @beargreen124 күн бұрын

    There are a ton of old names

  • @zerpyzonut
    @zerpyzonut24 күн бұрын

    0:49 AYO

  • @ChristoAbrie
    @ChristoAbrie24 күн бұрын

    Interestingly the phrase "fuck you" has a link with the middle finger. In the Middle-Ages archers commonly used their middle finger to shoot an arrow by plucking the string. The piece of string of a bow was called a yew (likely cuz it was made of yarn or something like that). So to "pluck the yew" meant to shoot an arrow. At some point, archers would get captured by their enemies and have their middle fingers chopped off to prevent them from shooting more arrows. Eventually this became a topic of mockery towards the archers with no middle fingers, as they can not pluck yew anymore and so eventually "pluck yew" evolved into the delightful phrase we all know and use frequently, often accompanied by the middle finger.

  • @flamencoprof

    @flamencoprof

    23 күн бұрын

    LOL. AKSHULLY, Yew refers to the Yew tree, whose branches were used to make bows.

  • @MeteorMark
    @MeteorMark24 күн бұрын

    In Dutch: Duim Wijsvinger Middelvinger Ringvinger Pink 😉

  • @ShriSanjay
    @ShriSanjay24 күн бұрын

    In Indian context pinky finger also means you have to go to pee when you show it to another person

  • @kailomonkey
    @kailomonkey23 күн бұрын

    If I could control my individual toes a bit more, maybe they'd jave names :)

  • @batya7
    @batya724 күн бұрын

    In Hebrew the pointer finger is "Etzbah".

  • @Boxttell11
    @Boxttell1123 күн бұрын

    Wait who calls the pinkie finger the little finger

  • @flamencoprof

    @flamencoprof

    23 күн бұрын

    People who are not from the USA, and can use question marks?

  • @CakeboyRiP
    @CakeboyRiP24 күн бұрын

    Never knew pinky came from Dutch

  • @christinebrown3359
    @christinebrown335924 күн бұрын

    SomeBODY once told me... 😂

  • @erraticonteuse
    @erraticonteuse24 күн бұрын

    I just now realized that if I consciously think about trying to give my left middle finger, I can't get my other fingers to fold right, but if I'm not thinking about it, it happens easily. I do not have this issue with my right middle finger.

  • @geojoco8434
    @geojoco84348 күн бұрын

    u forgot kid named finger

  • @mingfanzhang8927
    @mingfanzhang892724 күн бұрын

    😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

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    @mingfanzhang4600

    24 күн бұрын

    ❤😊❤❤

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    @mingfanzhang8927

    22 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang4600 #Islam

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    @mingfanzhang4600

    22 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang8927 #Islam

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    @mingfanzhang460024 күн бұрын

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    @mingfanzhang8927

    24 күн бұрын

    ❤😊❤😊❤

  • @mingfanzhang4600

    @mingfanzhang4600

    22 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang8927 #KFC

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    @mingfanzhang4600

    22 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang8927 🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

  • @mingfanzhang4600

    @mingfanzhang4600

    18 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang8927 #Islam

  • @mingfanzhang4600

    @mingfanzhang4600

    18 күн бұрын

    @@mingfanzhang8927 JustMonika

  • @user-xj8wy4uu1q
    @user-xj8wy4uu1q24 күн бұрын

    Lol

  • @MiggerPlease
    @MiggerPlease24 күн бұрын

    I'm a big gay daddy

  • @skeletonplayingatrumpet

    @skeletonplayingatrumpet

    24 күн бұрын

    Real

  • @WallNutBreaker524
    @WallNutBreaker52422 күн бұрын

    Agreed @NameExplain. Gaming is indeed one of the most important things we do with our fingers. 💪😎👌

  • @masterimbecile
    @masterimbecile24 күн бұрын

    Fumbs