- A thumb is a digit, but not technically a finger.
- Many people don’t make the distinction between thumbs and other digits.
How many fingers do you have? Your answer might depend on whether you consider your thumb to be a finger. Let’s look into whether or not you can accurately call your thumb a finger.
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Finger definition
If you look up finger on OxfordDictionaries.com, you will find this definition: “Each of the four slender jointed parts attached to either hand . . .” Doesn’t this definition seem to exclude the thumb? Why exclude it?
Thumb vs. finger
Your thumb is different from your fingers. Your fingers have two joints and three bones called phalanges or phalanxes. A thumb only has one joint and two phalanges. Anatomically, a thumb is unique. The position also sets the thumb apart. The thumb is out to the side of the hand and lower than the four fingers. So if a thumb is not really a finger, what is it?
Thumb definition
Thumb refers to the first digit of the human hand, set apart and opposable to the other four digits of the hand. Appendages like your fingers, toes, and thumbs are digits. So humans usually have five digits per hand, one of which is the thumb.
Thumb and finger examples
- Some call stealing the “five-fingered discount.”
- The ultrasound technician noted that the fetus had ten fingers.
- The robot had something like a hand, but it didn’t have four fingers and a thumb.
- She curled her fingers to the tip of her thumb to make a zero.
FAQs
The thumb is one of five digits on each hand, but it has a different shape and function from the other digits. However, most medical guides refer to the thumb as a finger. Also known as the pollex or digitus primus manus, the thumb is anatomically different from the hand's other four digits.
Can a thumb be called a finger? ›
A thumb is a digit, but not technically a finger. Many people don't make the distinction between thumbs and other digits.
How many people think a thumb is a finger? ›
A YouGov poll asked 8,000 Americans if the thumb is considered a finger or does it just stand alone as it's own thing? 22% of people said that the thumb is NOT a finger, that it is something different. 22 isn't a huge percentage of people polled, but it's still almost 1 in every 4 people.
Do you have 10 or 8 fingers? ›
Anatomists consider all five digits on the hand to be fingers, even though we give special names to some of them such as index finger and thumb (pollex). Similarly, all five digits of the foot are called toes, but the largest one is specifically called the great toe or hallux. Why do we have 10 fingers?
How many fingers are there without the thumb? ›
A common human hand typically has four fingers and a thumb, for a total of five digits. The fingers are often referred to as the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger, while the thumb is opposable, allowing for precise gripping and manipulation of objects.
Can you call a toe a finger? ›
The use of the word “digit” versus “finger” and “toe” is problematic. “Finger” is usually specific to digits 2–5 of the hand and “toe” to digits 2–5 of the foot whereas “digit” is a more general term that can be used to describe any finger or toe.
What counts as fingers? ›
English dictionaries describe finger as meaning either one of the five digits including the thumb, or one of the four digits excluding the thumb (in which case they are numbered from 1 to 4 starting with the index finger closest to the thumb).
Is a thumb a finger then three gloves? ›
Final answer: A thumb is often considered a finger in colloquial language, leading to five digits (fingers/toes) on each hand/foot. Consequently, three hands (found in three gloves) and two feet (found in three shoes; as the matches aren't perfect) would hold 35 digits in total, given each limb has five digits.
Is the thumb blank to the fingers? ›
The thumb is lateral to the other fingers.
Does anyone have 12 fingers? ›
Kamani Hubbard, a boy in California, was born in 2009 with a rare case of polydactyly, with 12 fingers and 12 toes, all fully functional.
The thumb, and the rest of the fingers, are appendages or digits of the hand. While the thumb is distinctly different from the other four fingers, many medical professionals consider it a finger due to differences in size, bones, joints, and function.
Is your pinky considered a finger? ›
The pinky finger is the fifth digit of the hand and is the least often utilized of the five fingers. As the smallest digit, the pinky is located next to the ring finger.
Is the thumb the longest finger? ›
In the human hand the middle finger is the longest, the thumb is the shortest, and the little finger is the next shortest. The relative lengths of the index and ring fingers make a disputable point, and to elucidate it the present investigation was undertaken.
What are the 5 fingers called? ›
The five fingers are commonly referred to as the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger.
What is the real name of thumb finger? ›
When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb is pollex (compare hallux for big toe), and the corresponding adjective for thumb is pollical.
What is the 5th digit finger? ›
The pinky finger is the fifth digit of the hand and is the least often utilized of the five fingers. As the smallest digit, the pinky is located next to the ring finger. In comparison to other fingers, the pinky possesses the most diminished range of motion.
