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Glite Dictionary
subungual

subungual

1 9.9
Happening under a fingernail or toenail
  • adjective
  • /ˌsʌbˈʌŋɡwəl/
  • Specialized
: subungual
  • The patient developed a subungual infection after injuring his toe.

Examples

  • Doctors often use imaging to detect subungual tumors in the fingers or toes.

  • The doctor discovered a subungual infection during the examination.

  • A subungual hematoma can cause pain and discoloration beneath the nail.

  • She had a subungual hematoma after dropping a heavy box on her foot.

  • The doctor explained that the pain in her toe was due to a subungual infection beneath the nail.

  • He had to remove the subungual tumor that was causing him discomfort in his big toe.

  • The athlete suffered from a subungual injury after dropping a weight on his foot.

Surface Forms

subungual positive

Morphology

subungual = ungual (transparent) = sub + ungual

Composed of the productive prefix 'sub-' (under) + the adjective 'ungual' (relating to nails), yielding the literal sense 'under the nail'.

Etymology

Subungual comes from the parts sub- 'under' and unguis 'nail' or 'claw', so it literally means 'under the nail'. That's why subungual describes something that is under a fingernail or toenail.