Name That Finger: Digit-al Wordplay
A pentadactyl adventure
© Meredith Mullins
The Cultural Traditions of Finger Names Around the World
The finger has a long history. No, not THAT finger—that one that always seems to come to mind first.
The finger in the broader, pentadactyl sense. The five fingers of the hand.
We humans aren’t the only folks in the world with fingers. Many in the animal kingdom have five-fingered limbs, from monkeys and apes to rats and bats to pandas and birds.
We humans are not alone in our pentadactyl digits.
© iStock/Kilted Arab
But we humans have given our fingers names to distinguish them from one another. And the uses of our fingers have evolved according to cultural traditions and lifestyle. That makes us unique.
So . . . let’s have some wordplay adventures by getting to know the fingers in all their cultural glory.
Timeless beauty: The power of our fingers.
© Meredith Mullins
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