Friday, October 07, 2011

Nail (claw), in my words + nails

naug : nail

The Illunse word for nail (fingernail, toenail, claw) is naeg. Naug is a unusual last name. Naugatuck Railroad (reporting mark NAUG) in Connecticut.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for nail nægl or nægel (fingernail, toenail; nail, peg), and the Latin word for nail unguis (nail, claw, talon).

naugas : nails

The Illunse word for nails (fingernails, toenails, claws) is naugas. Naugas are fictional creatures which a 1960s and 1970s marketing campaign humorously asserted were the source of Naugahyde, a brand of artificial leather.

Nails in Latin is unguis (same as singular). Nails in Old English is næglas.

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