nail

英 [neɪl] 美[nel]

英英释义考试真题实用场景例句

近义词capture catch hook snare apprehend trap seize

vt. 钉；使固定；揭露
n. [解剖] 指甲；钉子
n. (Nail)人名；(法)纳伊；(土、阿拉伯、罗)纳伊尔

核心词汇中低频词CET6考研TEM4CET4

中文词源

nail 钉子，指甲

来自PIE*nogh,指甲，爪子，词源同unguent,onyx.引申词义钉子。拼写比较rule,regulate.

词态变化

复数: nails;第三人称单数: nails;过去式: nailed;过去分词: nailed;现在分词: nailing;

英文词源

nail: nail: [OE] The Indo-European ancestor of nail was *nogh- or *onogh-. The latter was the source of Latin unguis (which evolved into French ongle and Italian unghia and has given English ungulate [19]) and Greek ónux (source of English onyx). Both these strands refer only to the sort of nails that grow on fingers and toes, but the Germanic branch of the family (which has come from *nogh- through a prehistoric Germanic *naglaz) has differentiated into a ‘fastening pin’ – originally of wood, latterly of metal.

Hence English nail and German nagel cover both meanings (although Dutch and Swedish nagel and Danish negl are used only for the anatomical ‘nail’).
=> onyx, ungulate
nail (n.): Old English negel "metal pin," nægl "fingernail (handnægl), toenail," from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (cognates: Old Norse nagl "fingernail," nagli "metal nail;" Old Saxon and Old High German nagel, Old Frisian neil, Middle Dutch naghel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel "fingernail, small metal spike"), from PIE root *(o)nogh "nail" (cognates: Greek onyx "claw, fingernail;" Latin unguis "nail, claw;" Old Church Slavonic noga "foot," noguti "nail, claw;" Lithuanian naga "hoof," nagutis "fingernail;" Old Irish ingen, Old Welsh eguin "nail, claw").

The "fingernail" sense seems to be the original one. Nail polish attested from 1891. To bite one's nails as a sign of anxiety is attested from 1570s. Nail-biting is from 1805. Hard as nails is from 1828. To hit the nail on the head "say or do just the right thing" is first recorded 1520s. Phrase on the nail "on the spot, exactly" is from 1590s, of obscure origin; OED says it is not even certain it belongs to this sense of nail.
nail (v.): Old English næglian "to fasten with nails," from Proto-Germanic *ganaglijan (cognates: Old Saxon neglian, Old Norse negla, Old High German negilen, German nageln, Gothic ganagljan "to nail"), from the root of nail (n.). Related: Nailed; nailing. Meaning "to catch, seize" is first recorded 1766, probably from earlier sense "to keep fixed in a certain position" (1610s). Meaning "to succeed in hitting" is from 1886. To nail down "to fix down with nails" is from 1660s.

双语例句

1. He fought tooth and nail to keep his job.: 他竭尽全力保住自己的工作。

2. A mirror hung on a nail above the washstand.: 脸盆架上方用钉子挂着一面镜子。

3. One dip into the bottle should do an entire nail.: 往瓶子里蘸一下的量就应该能涂满整个指甲。

4. The glitterati of Hollywood are flocking to Janet Vaughan's nail salon.: 众多的好莱坞名流都去光顾珍妮特·沃恩的美甲店。

5. I held it still and drove in a nail.: 我稳稳地拿着它将钉子钉了进去。

英英释意

1. horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits

2. a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener

3. a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard

考试真题

In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies.

fighting back the tears, he spoke proudly of the fact that he had built their home from the ground up, and that he had pounded every nail and laid every brick in the process.

实用场景例句

Stop biting your nails!: 别咬指甲！

nail clippers: 指甲钳

She hammered the nail in.: 她把钉子敲了进去。

They're good customers who always pay on the nail.: 他们是好主顾，付账从不耽搁。

I nailed the sign to a tree.: 我将标示牌钉到了一棵树上。

The police haven't been able to nail the killer.: 警方还没有抓到杀人凶手。

We must nail this lie.: 我们一定要戳穿这个谎言。

He nailed a victory in the semi-finals.: 他在半决赛中获胜。

All the parties seem anxious to nail down a ceasefire.: 各方面似乎都渴望将停火之事敲定。

She says she'll come, but I can't nail her down to a specific time.: 她说要来，但我无法让她敲定具体什么时候来。

A mirror hung on a nail above the washstand...: 脸盆架上方用钉子挂着一面镜子。

He hammered the nail into the branch.: 他把钉子钉到了树枝上。

Frank put the first plank down and nailed it in place...: 弗兰克放下第一块厚木板，把它钉在合适的位置上。

They nail shut the front door...: 他们把前门钉死了。

Keep your nails short and your hands clean.: 常剪指甲，保持双手清洁。

The prosecution still managed to nail him for robberies at the homes of leading industrialists.: 检控方仍设法使其入室抢劫知名实业家们的罪名成立。

He's a shrewd businessman and hard as nails...: 他是一个既精明又铁石心肠的生意人。

He simply looked mean and hard as nails.: 他看起来既卑鄙又冷酷无情。

'I think it would civilize people a bit more if they had decent conditions.' — 'I think you've hit the nail on the head.': “我认为，如果人们有良好的环境，就会更有教养一点。”——“我想你说到点子上了。”

In future, we will continually carry forward our plant spirits: factuality, innovation, wholehearted service and improvement.: 我厂将继续发扬“求实、创新、诚恳服务、精益求精”的企业精神,努力开拓进取, 于时俱进.

She hit the nail with a sledgehammer.: 她用大锤钉钉子.

Every word he said hit the nail on the head.: 他说的真是头头是道.

Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.: 咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映.

They were fighting tooth and nail.: 他们猛烈地厮打着.

My dress hitched on a nail.: 我的衣服被钉子挂住了.

I missed the deadline again last week; I suppose that is another nail in my coffin.: 上星期我又误了最后期限, 我想那是另一个促使我完蛋的错误.

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