nail
part of speech
noun (nail, nails); verb (nail, nails, nailed, nailing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A nail is a thin, pointed piece of metal you hit with a hammer to join pieces of wood. tree →
2) Your fingernails and toenails are nails too: the hard parts at the ends of your fingers and toes. tree →
3) To nail is to fix something with nails. tree →
4) To nail something (informal) is to do it perfectly: «She nailed the test.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah it is a fingernail, which a captive woman must trim when she is brought into a house. Elsewhere it is a metal nail, used to fasten gold in the Temple and doors, or to hold idols in place. Interpretation: Some read the trimming as a sign of mourning and of leaving her old life, and others as making her plain. Jeremiah mocks idols that must be nailed down so they do not fall, and Chronicles tells of David preparing iron nails for the Temple gates. In the primary lessons: things counted or bought in boxes; nails per board, nails used up; in science and health nails grow and should be kept clean and short; phrases «hit the nail on the head» (be exactly right), «nail polish», «bite your nails», «as hard as nails»
examples
- then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; (Torah DEU.21.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. (Writings 2CH.3.9, JPS 1917) tree →
- They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. (Prophets JER.10.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; (Writings 1CH.22.3, JPS 1917) tree →
- A box has 100 nails. tree →
- He uses 4 nails for each board. tree →
- She painted her 10 nails. tree →
- How many nails are left after he used 35? tree →
- Dad nailed the sign to the fence. tree →
- Cut your nails and wash your hands. tree →
- You hit the nail on the head with that answer. tree →
- He nailed his dance at the show. tree →
note
A thing counted. «For each board» gives a rate: nails = 4 × boards. Trap: «nails» on fingers and toes, 10 each, may be a hidden number. Safety: rusty nails can cause infection; tell an adult if you step on one.
In the corpora
- then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
- They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
- And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold.
- Nails often grow a little faster in summer and on the hand you use most.
- Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same stuff as hair and nails, so they rot away and rarely become fossils.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «nail» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.