Leech-finger

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The finger next to the little finger; ring-finger. obsolete

    "Sing three Our Fathers on your leechfinger, and write around the sore."

Synonyms

All synonyms
ring fingergold-fingermarriage fingermedical fingermedicinal fingerphysic finger

Example

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"Sing three Our Fathers on your leechfinger, and write around the sore."

Etymology

From Middle English leche fingir, læchefinger, from Old English lǣċefinger (“fourth finger, leech-finger”), equivalent to leech (“physician”) + finger. Compare Old Norse lǽknisfingr (“leech-finger”), Icelandic læknisfingur. According to medieval belief, a nerve or artery ran from this digit to the heart. It gave the finger a prominent role in medical lore and practice. Doctors would use it when applying treatments, for example.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.