different between knob vs nail

English

Etymology

From Middle English knobbe, from Middle Low German knobbe (“knob; knot in wood”). Cognate with Dutch knob, knobbel (“knob”), German Knubbe, Knubbel (“knob”). See also knop.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: n?b, IPA^(key): /n?b/
• (US) enPR: n?b, IPA^(key): /n?b/
• Rhymes: -?b
• Homophone: nob

Noun

knob (plural knobs)

1. A rounded protuberance, especially one arising from a flat surface; a fleshy lump or caruncle.
2. A rounded control switch that can be turned on its axis, designed to be operated by the fingers.
3. A ball-shaped part of a handle, lever, etc., designed to be grabbed by the hand.
4. A rounded ornament on the hilt of an edged weapon; a pommel.
5. A prominent, rounded bump along a mountain ridge.
6. (geography) A prominent rounded hill.
   • 2011, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Pulphead, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 144:

     We climbed to the top of Slate Hill, the highest knob in our town, and Ricky gave me a whole talk on how slate formed, how it was and was not shale.

7. (slang, chiefly in the plural) A woman's breast.
8. (vulgar, slang, chiefly Britain) The penis.
9. (vulgar, slang) The head of the penis; the glans.
10. (slang, derogatory, by analogy with above) A contemptible person.
11. (cooking) A dollop, an amount just larger than a spoonful (usually referring to butter).
12. A chunky branch-like piece, especially of a ginger rhizome.
    • 2001, David Joachim, The Clever Cook's Kitchen Handbook

      Place whole, unpeeled knobs of ginger in a zipper-lock freezer bag for up to 3 months. Slice or break off what you need and return the rest to the freezer.

13. A bulb of the garlic plant consisting of multiple cloves.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:penis

Derived terms

• doorknob
• drawknob
• knob-and-tube
• knobhead

Translations

Verb

knob (third-person singular simple present knobs, present participle knobbing, simple past and past participle knobbed)

1. (Britain, slang, vulgar, of a man) To have sex with.

Synonyms

• dick, get up in, schlong; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Anagrams

• Bonk, bonk

Danish

Etymology

From Middle Low German kn?p (“knot”), probably via Old Saxon from a variant of Proto-Germanic *knappô (“knob, lump”). Compare Dutch knoop and Swedish knop.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kno?b/, [k?no??b?]

Noun

knob n or c

1. knot (nautical unit of speed)
2. knot (some specific type of looping of a rope)

Usage notes

In the sense speed unit, it is common gender; the plural indefinite form is knob; no definite forms. In the sense looping of a rope it is neuter gender.

Inflection

Synonyms

• (knot): knude

Further reading

• knob on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da
• Knob (fart) on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “knob”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Middle English

Noun

knob

1. Alternative form of knobbe

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: n?l, IPA^(key): /ne?l/, [ne???]
• Rhymes: -e?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English nail, nayl, Old English næ?l, from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (compare Saterland Frisian Nail (“nail”), West Frisian neil, Low German Nagel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel, Danish negl, Swedish nagel), from Proto-Indo-European *h?nog?- (“nail”) (compare Irish ionga, Latin unguis, Albanian nyell (“ankle, hard part of a limb”), Lithuanian nagas, Russian ????? (nogá, “foot, leg”), ??????? (nógot?, “nail”), Ancient Greek ???? (ónux), Persian ????? (nâxon), Sanskrit ?? (nakhá)).

Noun

nail (plural nails)

1. The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.

2. The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
3. The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
4. The claw of a bird or other animal.
5. A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
6. A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol.
7. An archaic English unit of length equivalent to ¹?₂₀ of an ell or ¹?₁₆ of a yard (2+¹?₄ inches or 5.715 cm).

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• claw
• talon

Etymology 2

From Middle English naylen, from Old English næ?lan.

Verb

nail (third-person singular simple present nails, present participle nailing, simple past and past participle nailed)

1. (transitive) To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.

   Synonyms: pin, rivet, screw; see also Thesaurus:join

2. (intransitive) To drive a nail.

   Synonym: hammer

3. (transitive) To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.

   • The rivets of their arms were nail'd with gold.

4. (slang) To catch.

   Synonyms: arrest, collar, nick; see also Thesaurus:capture
5. (transitive, slang) To expose as a sham.
6. (transitive, slang) To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.

   Synonyms: ace, fullbring, fulfill

7. (transitive, slang) To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
8. (transitive, vulgar, slang) Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.

   Synonyms: dick, pound, rail, screw; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
9. To spike, as a cannon.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Crabb to this entry?)

10. (transitive) To nail down: to make certain, or confirm.

    Synonyms: clinch, fix, lock down, pin down

Translations

See also

• Wikipedia disambiguation page on both meanings of nail
• Wikipedia disambiguation page on spike
• Nail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• I-lan, INLA, Ilan, LNAI, Lain, Lani, Lian, Lina, Nila, anil, lain

Bouyei

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?i??/

Etymology 1

Noun

nail

1. grandmother

Etymology 2

Noun

nail

1. snow
2. ice

Middle English

Noun

nail

1. Alternative form of nayl

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nai?l/

Noun

nail

1. Nasal mutation of dail.

Mutation