Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The habit of biting the fingernails.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the
habit ofbiting one'snails
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Director Alain-Raymond van Abbe of the institute for pathological onychophagy IPO announced this on Wednesday.
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WOM World / Nokia have given me for a short testing period ….. .only to realize after 2 weeks of onychophagy uncertainty that the landlord (who lives downstaires in the basement) already received and opened the parcel a week ago - assuming it's the phone he ordered some time ago.
Kikuyumoja 2008
reesetee commented on the word onychophagy
The habit of nail biting.
May 18, 2007
trivet commented on the word onychophagy
*yeech* - but what if a nail-biter doesn't eat the nails, only gnaws them off and spits them out?
May 18, 2007
reesetee commented on the word onychophagy
Can't help you there. I don't think the word is that specific. But I promise to do some research on the subject.
Not firsthand, though. :-)
May 18, 2007
peritus commented on the word onychophagy
@trivet
"onychodaky"? The Greek δακέειν means "to bite" as φᾰγεῖν (the source of -phagy) means "to eat".
February 9, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word onychophagy
JM reckons onychophagy is much nicer as a word than as an act.
March 25, 2010