Can I say “fingers” when referring to toes?
In my native language, there is no word for toes. You just use the same word for both toes and fingers. In this context, I would say a human has 20 fingers.
Recently I've heard someone saying a human has 10 fingers (without saying it out loud but assuming that the other 10 are toes and not fingers).
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
word-usage word-meaning
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
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show 14 more comments
In my native language, there is no word for toes. You just use the same word for both toes and fingers. In this context, I would say a human has 20 fingers.
Recently I've heard someone saying a human has 10 fingers (without saying it out loud but assuming that the other 10 are toes and not fingers).
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
word-usage word-meaning
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
New contributor
aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
6
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
13
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
5
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
12
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
9
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday
|
show 14 more comments
In my native language, there is no word for toes. You just use the same word for both toes and fingers. In this context, I would say a human has 20 fingers.
Recently I've heard someone saying a human has 10 fingers (without saying it out loud but assuming that the other 10 are toes and not fingers).
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
word-usage word-meaning
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
New contributor
aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
In my native language, there is no word for toes. You just use the same word for both toes and fingers. In this context, I would say a human has 20 fingers.
Recently I've heard someone saying a human has 10 fingers (without saying it out loud but assuming that the other 10 are toes and not fingers).
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
word-usage word-meaning
word-usage word-meaning
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
New contributor
aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
New contributor
aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited yesterday
aMJay
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
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aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
asked yesterday
aMJayaMJay
23827
23827
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aMJay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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New contributor
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Check out our Code of Conduct.
6
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
13
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
5
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
12
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
9
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday
|
show 14 more comments
6
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
13
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
5
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
12
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
9
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday
6
6
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
13
13
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
5
5
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
12
12
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
9
9
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday
|
show 14 more comments
8 Answers
8
active
oldest
votes
Nope. Fingers are only on the hand, except for figurative uses such as ladyfingers (a dessert). If you talk about the fingers on someone's foot, or a person with 20 fingers, unfortunately you'll just generate unsettling mental images. :)
However, we do have a separate word that covers both fingers and toes: digits. It registers as a slightly technical term, perhaps something your doctor would write in a report about an injury, but it would still be understood by most people. Some speakers might not realize that it can apply to toes, probably because of the influence of "finger".
There's also "appendages", which everyone will understand, but which is almost too general (see comments below) and sounds funny when used of regular human body parts.
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Toes are not fingers. The general term for fingers and toes is digits. We have twenty digits: ten fingers and ten toes. In French, the toes are sometimes called 'doigts de pied' ('digits of the foot'), also 'orteils' .
Toe
Digit
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
No, the correct term to use in your case would be digits. This means both fingers and toes.
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
add a comment |
Heh. There is one particular case where you could do it, but it's pretty bizarre.
If a person loses his thumb, this will have major effects on the function of the hand as a whole. Thumbs are important.
In such cases, the preferred treatment is to transplant the big toe of the appropriate foot to substitute for the missing thumb. Big toes are not nearly as important to proper functioning of a foot.
With time, the pad of the transplanted toe will shrink, and with use and therapy the toe joint will become more flexible. The result is not a perfect replacement, but it's much better than the alternative.
In this case, you could talk about having 10 fingers when one of them is (or at least started out as) a toe. You could even have two, if you're unfortunate.
Other than that, the other answers are spot on: English makes a clear distinction between fingers and toes.
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
add a comment |
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human
has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
No. I don't believe there is any context in which this would be correct - not even some of the unusual ones suggested by other people.
I agree that 20 digits is correct.
We could say, "The typical human has ten fingers and toes."
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You could refer to toes as fingers as a metaphor if you were describing someone with uncommon dexterity in their toes.
- The crowd was amazed when the escape artist kicked off his shoes and
his newly exposed fingers untied the knot.
If you mean the toes themselves, then describing them as fingers would be wrong, and confusing.
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
add a comment |
I have only used the word 'fingers' to refer to 'toes' when looking at some pre-Renaissance and Renaissance paintings where barefoot figures looked like they had fingers for toes.
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
add a comment |
"fingers and toes" is what we would say in everyday speech or writing (not "digits", which is more technical/precise).
- (Yes, to be pedantic, "finger" is here referring to both fingers and thumbs)
"digits" is the more technical/precise term, but you'd almost never hear that spoken, except when discussing anatomy.
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
add a comment |
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8 Answers
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8 Answers
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oldest
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Nope. Fingers are only on the hand, except for figurative uses such as ladyfingers (a dessert). If you talk about the fingers on someone's foot, or a person with 20 fingers, unfortunately you'll just generate unsettling mental images. :)
However, we do have a separate word that covers both fingers and toes: digits. It registers as a slightly technical term, perhaps something your doctor would write in a report about an injury, but it would still be understood by most people. Some speakers might not realize that it can apply to toes, probably because of the influence of "finger".
There's also "appendages", which everyone will understand, but which is almost too general (see comments below) and sounds funny when used of regular human body parts.
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Nope. Fingers are only on the hand, except for figurative uses such as ladyfingers (a dessert). If you talk about the fingers on someone's foot, or a person with 20 fingers, unfortunately you'll just generate unsettling mental images. :)
However, we do have a separate word that covers both fingers and toes: digits. It registers as a slightly technical term, perhaps something your doctor would write in a report about an injury, but it would still be understood by most people. Some speakers might not realize that it can apply to toes, probably because of the influence of "finger".
There's also "appendages", which everyone will understand, but which is almost too general (see comments below) and sounds funny when used of regular human body parts.
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Nope. Fingers are only on the hand, except for figurative uses such as ladyfingers (a dessert). If you talk about the fingers on someone's foot, or a person with 20 fingers, unfortunately you'll just generate unsettling mental images. :)
However, we do have a separate word that covers both fingers and toes: digits. It registers as a slightly technical term, perhaps something your doctor would write in a report about an injury, but it would still be understood by most people. Some speakers might not realize that it can apply to toes, probably because of the influence of "finger".
There's also "appendages", which everyone will understand, but which is almost too general (see comments below) and sounds funny when used of regular human body parts.
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
Nope. Fingers are only on the hand, except for figurative uses such as ladyfingers (a dessert). If you talk about the fingers on someone's foot, or a person with 20 fingers, unfortunately you'll just generate unsettling mental images. :)
However, we do have a separate word that covers both fingers and toes: digits. It registers as a slightly technical term, perhaps something your doctor would write in a report about an injury, but it would still be understood by most people. Some speakers might not realize that it can apply to toes, probably because of the influence of "finger".
There's also "appendages", which everyone will understand, but which is almost too general (see comments below) and sounds funny when used of regular human body parts.
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
answered yesterday
Luke SawczakLuke Sawczak
5,3371124
5,3371124
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
10
10
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
doesn't "appendage" apply to anything that protrudes from the body? Entire limbs, or even genitalia, flabs and warts?
– Wilson
yesterday
2
2
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
@Wilson Not quite as broad as flabs and warts, but the rest yes. That's why I said it was more general -- meaning unsuitable general. I'll add that in.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
2
2
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
Just for fun, Ladies' fingers is also a name for a vegetable, otherwise known as Okra.
– Ruadhan2300
yesterday
3
3
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
Then we get into the whole thumb/finger thing. @ aMJay - The innermost digit on each hand (the one with only two knuckles rather than three) is a "thumb" and it's never called a "finger" on its own -- but when you say "fingers," thumbs are included. So we have 10 fingers (2 of which are thumbs) and 10 toes (2 of which are "thumb toes" or "big toes").
– T.J. Crowder
yesterday
2
2
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
Correct, of course. But try telling Vibram us.vibram.com/shop/fivefingers
– Digital Trauma
21 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Toes are not fingers. The general term for fingers and toes is digits. We have twenty digits: ten fingers and ten toes. In French, the toes are sometimes called 'doigts de pied' ('digits of the foot'), also 'orteils' .
Toe
Digit
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Toes are not fingers. The general term for fingers and toes is digits. We have twenty digits: ten fingers and ten toes. In French, the toes are sometimes called 'doigts de pied' ('digits of the foot'), also 'orteils' .
Toe
Digit
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
Toes are not fingers. The general term for fingers and toes is digits. We have twenty digits: ten fingers and ten toes. In French, the toes are sometimes called 'doigts de pied' ('digits of the foot'), also 'orteils' .
Toe
Digit
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
Toes are not fingers. The general term for fingers and toes is digits. We have twenty digits: ten fingers and ten toes. In French, the toes are sometimes called 'doigts de pied' ('digits of the foot'), also 'orteils' .
Toe
Digit
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
answered yesterday
Michael HarveyMichael Harvey
17.1k11839
17.1k11839
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
1
1
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Even in Italian, we say the equivalent of what French uses. I would say that dita (in Italian) and doigts (in French) are equivalent to English digits, rather than fingers. It's just that we don't have a more specific word for hand digits even if in some contexts, dita alone could be taken as meaning fingers.
– kiamlaluno
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
Note that French does also oppose orteils to an unqualified doigts.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
6
6
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
@Ruadhan2300 Not true. The thumb is counted as a finger; you say "your thumbs and your other fingers", not "your thumbs and your fingers." And nobody would claim that the sentence "You have ten fingers" is false.
– Luke Sawczak
yesterday
1
1
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
Un orteil (du latin : articulus, « articulation »), appelé doigt de pied dans le langage courant,
– Michael Harvey
yesterday
2
2
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
@Ruadhan2300 We're not talking about a medical context, though. Too many people on this site want to get technical about everything. That's not how language works. Thumbs are definitely fingers in almost any context. All English speakers are taught from a young age that we have ten fingers—that includes thumbs. It's ok to call them fingers, despite what medical texts say. 99.99% of people do not care about medical texts.
– only_pro
7 hours ago
|
show 7 more comments
No, the correct term to use in your case would be digits. This means both fingers and toes.
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
add a comment |
No, the correct term to use in your case would be digits. This means both fingers and toes.
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
add a comment |
No, the correct term to use in your case would be digits. This means both fingers and toes.
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
No, the correct term to use in your case would be digits. This means both fingers and toes.
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
edited yesterday
kiamlaluno
15.8k2577154
15.8k2577154
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
answered yesterday
Mike BrockingtonMike Brockington
3945
3945
add a comment |
add a comment |
Heh. There is one particular case where you could do it, but it's pretty bizarre.
If a person loses his thumb, this will have major effects on the function of the hand as a whole. Thumbs are important.
In such cases, the preferred treatment is to transplant the big toe of the appropriate foot to substitute for the missing thumb. Big toes are not nearly as important to proper functioning of a foot.
With time, the pad of the transplanted toe will shrink, and with use and therapy the toe joint will become more flexible. The result is not a perfect replacement, but it's much better than the alternative.
In this case, you could talk about having 10 fingers when one of them is (or at least started out as) a toe. You could even have two, if you're unfortunate.
Other than that, the other answers are spot on: English makes a clear distinction between fingers and toes.
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
add a comment |
Heh. There is one particular case where you could do it, but it's pretty bizarre.
If a person loses his thumb, this will have major effects on the function of the hand as a whole. Thumbs are important.
In such cases, the preferred treatment is to transplant the big toe of the appropriate foot to substitute for the missing thumb. Big toes are not nearly as important to proper functioning of a foot.
With time, the pad of the transplanted toe will shrink, and with use and therapy the toe joint will become more flexible. The result is not a perfect replacement, but it's much better than the alternative.
In this case, you could talk about having 10 fingers when one of them is (or at least started out as) a toe. You could even have two, if you're unfortunate.
Other than that, the other answers are spot on: English makes a clear distinction between fingers and toes.
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
add a comment |
Heh. There is one particular case where you could do it, but it's pretty bizarre.
If a person loses his thumb, this will have major effects on the function of the hand as a whole. Thumbs are important.
In such cases, the preferred treatment is to transplant the big toe of the appropriate foot to substitute for the missing thumb. Big toes are not nearly as important to proper functioning of a foot.
With time, the pad of the transplanted toe will shrink, and with use and therapy the toe joint will become more flexible. The result is not a perfect replacement, but it's much better than the alternative.
In this case, you could talk about having 10 fingers when one of them is (or at least started out as) a toe. You could even have two, if you're unfortunate.
Other than that, the other answers are spot on: English makes a clear distinction between fingers and toes.
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
Heh. There is one particular case where you could do it, but it's pretty bizarre.
If a person loses his thumb, this will have major effects on the function of the hand as a whole. Thumbs are important.
In such cases, the preferred treatment is to transplant the big toe of the appropriate foot to substitute for the missing thumb. Big toes are not nearly as important to proper functioning of a foot.
With time, the pad of the transplanted toe will shrink, and with use and therapy the toe joint will become more flexible. The result is not a perfect replacement, but it's much better than the alternative.
In this case, you could talk about having 10 fingers when one of them is (or at least started out as) a toe. You could even have two, if you're unfortunate.
Other than that, the other answers are spot on: English makes a clear distinction between fingers and toes.
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
answered yesterday
WhatRoughBeastWhatRoughBeast
4,102918
4,102918
add a comment |
add a comment |
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human
has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
No. I don't believe there is any context in which this would be correct - not even some of the unusual ones suggested by other people.
I agree that 20 digits is correct.
We could say, "The typical human has ten fingers and toes."
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human
has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
No. I don't believe there is any context in which this would be correct - not even some of the unusual ones suggested by other people.
I agree that 20 digits is correct.
We could say, "The typical human has ten fingers and toes."
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human
has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
No. I don't believe there is any context in which this would be correct - not even some of the unusual ones suggested by other people.
I agree that 20 digits is correct.
We could say, "The typical human has ten fingers and toes."
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
Can I use fingers when referring to toes? Would saying that a human
has 20 fingers make sense, in English?
No. I don't believe there is any context in which this would be correct - not even some of the unusual ones suggested by other people.
I agree that 20 digits is correct.
We could say, "The typical human has ten fingers and toes."
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
answered yesterday
chasly from UKchasly from UK
2,571313
2,571313
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
add a comment |
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
1
1
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
Does "ten fingers and toes" mean "ten fingers and ten toes" or should it be "twenty fingers and toes"?
– jf328
7 hours ago
add a comment |
You could refer to toes as fingers as a metaphor if you were describing someone with uncommon dexterity in their toes.
- The crowd was amazed when the escape artist kicked off his shoes and
his newly exposed fingers untied the knot.
If you mean the toes themselves, then describing them as fingers would be wrong, and confusing.
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
add a comment |
You could refer to toes as fingers as a metaphor if you were describing someone with uncommon dexterity in their toes.
- The crowd was amazed when the escape artist kicked off his shoes and
his newly exposed fingers untied the knot.
If you mean the toes themselves, then describing them as fingers would be wrong, and confusing.
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
add a comment |
You could refer to toes as fingers as a metaphor if you were describing someone with uncommon dexterity in their toes.
- The crowd was amazed when the escape artist kicked off his shoes and
his newly exposed fingers untied the knot.
If you mean the toes themselves, then describing them as fingers would be wrong, and confusing.
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
You could refer to toes as fingers as a metaphor if you were describing someone with uncommon dexterity in their toes.
- The crowd was amazed when the escape artist kicked off his shoes and
his newly exposed fingers untied the knot.
If you mean the toes themselves, then describing them as fingers would be wrong, and confusing.
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
answered yesterday
cmmcmm
1193
1193
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
add a comment |
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
5
5
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
I don't think that metaphor could stand on its own - you'd need more context to make it very clear that you're not literally describing fingers on a foot. Taken on its own, I'd read that sentence as describing a morphologically unique individual, not someone with especially dexterous toes.
– Nuclear Wang
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
Fair comment. I used the phrase 'escape artist' I had set up that context, but it was not clear enough.
– cmm
yesterday
4
4
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
This just gives me a rather unsettling mental image of someone with actual fingers where their toes should be. I don't think any context would help, no matter how explicit.
– chasly from UK
yesterday
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
When I was 19 I dated a girl who revealed she had a horror of human feet. Any feet, not just mine. She said "They look like horribly deformed hands".
– Michael Harvey
4 hours ago
add a comment |
I have only used the word 'fingers' to refer to 'toes' when looking at some pre-Renaissance and Renaissance paintings where barefoot figures looked like they had fingers for toes.
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
add a comment |
I have only used the word 'fingers' to refer to 'toes' when looking at some pre-Renaissance and Renaissance paintings where barefoot figures looked like they had fingers for toes.
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
add a comment |
I have only used the word 'fingers' to refer to 'toes' when looking at some pre-Renaissance and Renaissance paintings where barefoot figures looked like they had fingers for toes.
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
I have only used the word 'fingers' to refer to 'toes' when looking at some pre-Renaissance and Renaissance paintings where barefoot figures looked like they had fingers for toes.
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
answered yesterday
XensonXenson
52238
52238
add a comment |
add a comment |
"fingers and toes" is what we would say in everyday speech or writing (not "digits", which is more technical/precise).
- (Yes, to be pedantic, "finger" is here referring to both fingers and thumbs)
"digits" is the more technical/precise term, but you'd almost never hear that spoken, except when discussing anatomy.
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
add a comment |
"fingers and toes" is what we would say in everyday speech or writing (not "digits", which is more technical/precise).
- (Yes, to be pedantic, "finger" is here referring to both fingers and thumbs)
"digits" is the more technical/precise term, but you'd almost never hear that spoken, except when discussing anatomy.
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
add a comment |
"fingers and toes" is what we would say in everyday speech or writing (not "digits", which is more technical/precise).
- (Yes, to be pedantic, "finger" is here referring to both fingers and thumbs)
"digits" is the more technical/precise term, but you'd almost never hear that spoken, except when discussing anatomy.
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
"fingers and toes" is what we would say in everyday speech or writing (not "digits", which is more technical/precise).
- (Yes, to be pedantic, "finger" is here referring to both fingers and thumbs)
"digits" is the more technical/precise term, but you'd almost never hear that spoken, except when discussing anatomy.
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
answered 14 hours ago
smcismci
25617
25617
add a comment |
add a comment |
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6
A related term, Phalanges refers to the bones of the fingers or toes and could be useful depending on context.
– aslum
yesterday
13
In English it's even worse: humans have eight fingers and two thumbs :-)
– Aaron F
yesterday
5
Yep, we have a big toe, but no big finger.
– Strawberry
yesterday
12
Thumbs are fingers, but we rarely call them fingers, because the fact they oppose the other four fingers gives them special status that we call out by using the specific term "thumb".
– Monty Harder
yesterday
9
'Finger' sometimes refers to all five of the digits on the hand, and sometimes to the four non-thumb ones.
– DJClayworth
yesterday