third finger

keannu · Feb 28, 2014

From this I can infer the following. Is it correct?

first finger - index finger
second finger - middle finger
third finger - ring finger
fourth finger - ??

48)..,The bride's wedding ring is put on the third finger of her left hand. This tradition comes from the Egyptians, who believed that the ring finger has "the vein of love" which runs directly to the heart.

bhaisahab · Feb 28, 2014

keannu said:
From this I can infer the following. Is it correct?

first finger - index finger
second finger - middle finger
third finger - ring finger
fourth finger - ??

48)..,The bride's wedding ring is put on the third finger of her left hand. This tradition comes from the Egyptians, who believed that the ring finger has "the vein of love" which runs directly to the heart.

The fourth finger is called the "little finger".

Roman55 · Feb 28, 2014

I am not a teacher.

Or, "the pinkie".

emsr2d2 · Feb 28, 2014

We don't really use "pinkie" in BrE. I was about to post that it's "little finger in BrE, and pinkie in AmE" when I spotted that both words had already been given. I was surprised to see that Roman55 (who suggested "pinkie") is a BrE speaker.

Raymott · Feb 28, 2014

keannu said:
From this I can infer the following. Is it correct?

first finger - index finger
second finger - middle finger
third finger - ring finger
fourth finger - ??

48)..,The bride's wedding ring is put on the third finger of her left hand. This tradition comes from the Egyptians, who believed that the ring finger has "the vein of love" which runs directly to the heart.

This sounds strange to me. The first finger is the thumb.
second finger = index finger
third finger = middle finger
fourth finger = ring finger
fifth finger = little finger

This is how the terms are used in medicine, and seems to be the common way to count fingers/digits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_finger
"The fingers (or digits of the hand) are numbered from one to five, beginning with the thumb.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/part_2/chapter_11.html

Otherwise, given that we have 10 fingers and 10 toes (most of us), the second toe would be homologous to the first finger, etc.
However, I note that Wikipedia uses a different confusing scheme:
"The index finger, (also referred to as forefinger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms), is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_finger

Roman55 · Feb 28, 2014

I am not a teacher.

I broadly agree with Raymott but it is interesting that in England, when indicating numbers with the fingers, you would tend to use the index finger to represent 1, the index and the middle finger to represent 2, and so on. In fact the thumb is kept folded to the palm of the hand until you reach 5. This goes against the logic of Raymott's post but it's how it's done.

In France, 1 is shown by sticking the thumb up, which has always seemed strange to me.

SoothingDave · Feb 28, 2014

Raymott said:
This sounds strange to me. The first finger is the thumb.
second finger = index finger
third finger = middle finger
fourth finger = ring finger
fifth finger = little finger

This is how the terms are used in medicine, and seems to be the common way to count fingers/digits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_finger
"The fingers (or digits of the hand) are numbered from one to five, beginning with the thumb.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/part_2/chapter_11.html

Otherwise, given that we have 10 fingers and 10 toes (most of us), the second toe would be homologous to the first finger, etc.
However, I note that Wikipedia uses a different confusing scheme:
"The index finger, (also referred to as forefinger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms), is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_finger

I don't think that, outside of medical contexts, people count starting with the thumb.

By some reckoning, we have 4 fingers and a thumb on each hand.

emsr2d2 · Feb 28, 2014

I'm certainly of the "four fingers and a thumb" brigade. My index finger is certainly, for me, my first finger.

Rover_KE · Feb 28, 2014

SoothingDave said:
I don't think that, outside of medical contexts, people count starting with the thumb.

Many millions of pianists all over the world call the thumb finger 1.

SoothingDave · Feb 28, 2014

Rover_KE said:
Many millions of pianists all over the world call the thumb finger 1.

I played the trumpet. Three valves, starting with the index finger as #1.

emsr2d2 · Feb 28, 2014

Rover_KE said:
Many millions of pianists all over the world call the thumb finger 1.

They do indeed. As do guitarists. I play both guitar and piano and that didn't occur to me. However, outside those contexts, when simply referring to my own fingers, I would still refer to my index finger as my first finger.

Raymott · Mar 1, 2014

When I count on my fingers, I use the little finger as one and count on a table, as in playing a piano. But there's a difference between counting on your fingers and numbering them. You could start counting with any finger. It doesn't really matter unless you're attempting to communicate. That's why doctors use "index, ring finger", etc. There's not a lot to be gained from booking a person in for an amputation of the right third finger unless everyone knows which one is to come off.

MikeNewYork · Mar 1, 2014

Some of our expressions are confusing if one believes we only have four fingers (and a thumb). There are, for example, the "five-finger discount" for stealing and raising the middle finger for an obscene gesture. How can there be a middle finger if there are four of them?

charliedeut · Mar 1, 2014

I agree with Raymott here. To me, all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs.

third finger

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