digitus

Meaning

1. (declension-2, masculine) a finger, toe
2. (declension-2, masculine) a digit, number
3. (declension-2, masculine) an inch (in ancient times, a 16th part of a Roman foot)
4. (declension-2, masculine) a twig

Concepts

finger

toe

digit

paw

linen

footprint

👣

one

Synonyms

pollex

cifra

hallus

digiti

Translations

dedo

dedo

dit

doigt

dito

parmak

Finger

vinger

Zehe

teen

δάχτυλο

orteil

Zeh

δάκτυλο

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈdɪ.ɡɪ.tʊs]

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Italic *digitos, from Proto-Indo-European *deyǵ- (“to show, point out, pronounce solemnly”), variant of the root *deyḱ- that also gave Latin dīcō (“to say, speak talk”) and English toe; fingers were thus "pointers" or "indicators". The "digit" sense comes from the fact that they were used for counting up to ten, though De Vaan is skeptical, as no other term exhibits a comparable change from *-ḱ- to a *-ǵ-.
Indo-European cognates include Sanskrit दिशति (diśáti, “to show, point out”), Ancient Greek δείκνῡμῐ (deíknūmĭ, “to show”), δῐ́κη (dĭ́kē, “manner, custom”), Old English tǣċan (“to show; to point out”, English teach) and tācn (“sign; token”, English token); compare the similar semantic shift in English teacher (“forefinger, index finger”). The relation to Ancient Greek δᾰ́κτῠλος (dắktŭlos, “finger”) is unclear, particularly as the latter term's phonetics suggest a substrate origin.