ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pinky

n. countable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈpɪŋki// UK //pˈɪŋki// pinky Archaic Informal Slang Vulgar

n. the smallest finger on your hand. It is the finger furthest from your thumb.

n. the fifth and smallest digit of the human hand. The anatomical term is the 'little finger' or 'fifth digit'.


SIMPLE

She wears a small gold ring on her pinky.

CONTEXTUAL

He accidentally stubbed his pinky against the corner of the wooden table while walking in the dark.

COMPLEX

In some cultures, hooking one's pinky with another person's signifies a solemn promise, a gesture often used by children to seal a pact.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From pink + -y.

Etymology 2

From Dutch pinkje, diminutive of Dutch pink (“little finger”). Cognate with West Frisian pinke (“pinky”), dialectal English pink (“something small or tiny”), and perhaps to Old English pinca (“a point”). Compare also German Low German Pink (“penis”), English pintle (“penis”).

Etymology 3

From pink + -y, from pink (“to wink”).

Usage

Commonly used in North American English; 'little finger' is more frequent in British English.

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