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finger paint

finger paint

1 1.8
A soft colored paste children use with their fingers to make pictures
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪŋɡər peɪnt/
  • Baby Talk
translation icon : pintura de dedos
  • The children eagerly dipped their fingers into the bright colors of the finger paint and created beautiful artwork.

Examples

  • But one piece of it is that traditional media and materials, wooden blocks, finger paint are great for learning kindergarten concepts.

  • During art class, each student was given a set of finger paints to express their creativity without using brushes.

  • She set up a large sheet of paper on the floor for the kids, knowing they would love to play with the finger paint all afternoon.

Synonyms

paint
vsfinger paint
469 1.0

A coloured liquid you put on surfaces to protect or decorate them

is a specific kind with jelly-like texture used for children's hand application
fingerpaint
vsfinger paint
3.5

Thick paint that children spread with their fingers

is the same in meaning but written as two separate words

How Precise

fineliner
4.8
crayon
66 1.0
finger paint
  • Baby Talk
1 1.8

Surface Forms

finger paint singular
finger paints plural

Morphology

finger + paint

The meaning 'paint designed to be applied with the fingers' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'finger' (the digit used to apply) with 'paint' (a pigmented coating). This noun–noun compounding pattern is common across languages and in English (indicating method or tool), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the expression.

Etymology

Finger paint is named because children use their fingers to spread the paint instead of a brush, and the paint is soft and washable so they can play safely. So the term means 'paint you use with your fingers'.