thumbstall

9.9

A small protective cover worn over the thumb to protect it after injury

noun
/ˈθʌmˌstɔl/

: protector de pulgar

The nurse placed a thumbstall over his thumb to protect the wound.

Examples

He wore a leather thumbstall while handling the heavy machinery.
After injuring her thumb, she was advised to use a thumbstall when gardening.
He wore a thumbstall to protect his injured thumb.
The doctor recommended using a thumbstall during recovery.
After injuring her thumb, she was advised to use a thumbstall to protect it while gardening.
He wore a durable thumbstall to prevent further injury while handling the tools.
The nurse fitted a thumbstall on his thumb to shield it from infection.

Antonyms

exposure

301 3.5

Being in contact with something that can affect you

How Protective

cast

Specialized

69 3.5

splint

Specialized

17 5.3

thumbstall

9.9

bandage

126 1.0

Surface Forms

thumbstall singular

thumbstalls plural

Morphology

thumbstall = thumb + stall (opaque) = thumb + stall

Although formally analysable as 'thumb' + 'stall', the modern sense 'protective cover for the thumb' is not derivable from the common meaning of 'stall', so the compound's meaning is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

The word thumbstall is simply thumb + stall, where you can think of 'stall' as a small 'place' or cover for something. So a thumbstall is a little protective cover you wear on your thumb to keep it safe.