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ring finger

ring finger

10 1.0
The finger between the middle finger and little finger where people often wear wedding rings
  • noun
  • /rɪŋ ˈfɪŋɡər/
translation icon : dedo anular
  • Traditionally, the ring finger is where couples wear their wedding rings in many cultures.
  • the left ring finger
  • the right ring finger
  • a band on the ring finger

And on his left ring finger, there's a wedding band, right?

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Examples

  • Place the ring on the ring finger of her left hand.

  • I slipped it onto the knuckle of my left ring finger.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I bought myself a new ring, which I wear on the ring finger of my right hand.

    Blog text (6)
  • I began wearing a ring on my left ring finger when I became engaged.

    Blog text (9)
  • And on his left ring finger, there's a wedding band, right?

  • Father Tim glances down at her ring finger and sees the diamond.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • He slid the beautiful ring onto her ring finger, signifying their engagement.

  • The wedding ceremony concluded with him placing the band on her ring finger.

How Small

pinky
140 1.1
ring finger
10 1.0
index finger
32 1.0

Surface Forms

ring finger singular
ring fingers plural

Morphology

ring + finger

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'ring' (a band worn on a finger) with 'finger' — i.e., the finger where a ring is worn. This noun–noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern and would be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Ring finger: One popular story says the name comes from an old idea that a vein ran from that finger to the heart, so people put a ring there to show 'love' and 'marriage'. That's why the ring finger today is the finger where many people wear a wedding ring.