nail 
mill a small am I thin null, with u heiul 1'iit -nlill> ik'tlni-il, 
i8 called .\in,i,i. 'I In i. :u r i In,, leading distinctions of 
Iron nails as respects the modMof mAnoiauturc -r<>i"i!,i 
mi, :ui,l runt. Sails are saiii t" IK- 7-pimnil nails, 8-pound 
Naik. 
(i, rose-nail : sharp point, flat head showing facets, square 1 
.ink i 
Mil : lt.it {Miint, Miu.irc -.li.oiL ; < , < I.IM>-II.II| : bastard (medi- 
um) thickness, barbed lieait. s'|u.ire shank ; a. clout-nail t fine [x.int, 
ri.it i::icular head, round shank; t, cmintcrcluitt-n.iil -. countersunk 
h< i.l. II. ii j.nmt. K.niiM sh.ink ; /, ilii;-ii.iil : f.u i-icil head, roun<l 
shank, fine point; g, kent. hurdle n.ul l.n>i Him rote-head, Hat 
shank, spear-point, fore linching; h, rose-clinch nail: rose-head, square 
point, either clinched or riveted down on a washer or rove ; i, tn.rse- 
lill countaiwnk head, square shank, line- point; j. brad: 
billed head, square shank, fine point. 
nails, etc., according as 1,000 of the variety in question 
weigh 7 pounds or 8 pounds, etc.; hence such phrase* as 
sixpenny, eii/Min'nnii, mid tenpenny nails, in which penny, 
It Is saiil, retains Its old meaning of pound weight. 
And In the mydys of the Sterr ys on of naylis that ower 
Savyr Crist was crucifyed with. 
Torkington, Dlarie of Eng. Travell, p. 4. 
How many a vulgar Cato has compelled 
His energies, no longer tameless men, 
'lo mould a pin, or fabricate a nail? 
Shelley, Queen Mali. v. 9. 
6. A stud or boss ; a short metallic pin with a 
broad head serving for ornament. 7. Same as 
shooting-needle. 8. A unit of English cloth- 
measure, 2J inches, or ]' - of a yard. Abbre- 
viated H. 9. A weight of eight pounds: gen- 
erally applied to articles of food. Halliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] Countersunk nail, a nail having a 
cone-shaped head, like that of a screw. Cut nail, a nail 
made by a nail-machine, as distinguished from a wrought 
or forged nail. On the nail, on the spot ; at once ; im- 
mediately ; without delay or postponement : as, to pay 
money on the nail. [This phrase is said to have originated 
in the custom of making payments, in the Exchange at 
Bristol, England, and elsewhere, on the top of a pillar 
called "the nail.") 
What legacy would you bequeathe me now. 
And pay it OH the nail, to tly my fury V 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, r. 2. 
To drive the nail. See drive. To hit the nail on the 
head, to hit or touch the exact point : used In a figurative 
sense. 
Venus tels Vulcan, Mars shall shooe her steed, 
For he it is that hits the naile o' the- head. 
Wits' Keereatioia (1054). (Xarei.) 
To put or drive a nail In one's coffin. See coffin. 
nail (mil), c. /. [< ME. miili'ii, mii/lcii, < AS. no;- 
glinn =OS. iifglian =D. MLG. nagelen = OHG. 
Hiii/nlen, MHG. imiii-li-ii, (i. ninjeln = Sw. naala 
= Dan. luigle = Goth, ga-iiiigljan, fasten with 
nails; from the noun.] 1. To fix or fasten with 
a nail or with nails; drive nails into for the 
purpose of fastening or securing: often with a 
preposition and an object, or with an adverb, to 
denote the result : as, to nail up a box ; to nail a 
shelf to the wall; to nail doicn the hatches; to 
imil a joist into place; to nail it buck. 
ij. lytell bynches by euery syde, on by the chymuey, on 
nayled to the walle. English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 327. 
Take your arrows, 
And nat7 these monsters to the earth t 
Fletcher (and another), Sea Voyage, 111. 1. 
2. To stud with nails. 
The rivets of your anus were nail'd with gold. Dryden. 
3. Figuratively, to pin down and hold fast; 
make secure: as, to nail a bargain. 
We had lost the boats at Oondokoro, and wo were now 
nailed to the country for another year. 
Sir S. W. Baiter, Heart of Africa, xxli. 
4. To secure by a prompt action ; catch. [Col- 
loq.] 
Mrs. Oglcton had already ntiilett the cab, a vehicle of all 
others the best adapted for a smii: tlitt:ition. 
Barnaul, InjroMsliy Legends, I. '25. 
5. To make certain; attest; confirm; clinch. 
Ev'n ministers, they ha'e been kenn'd, 
In holy rapture, 
A rouslni; wind at times to vend, 
\n' null 't wi' Scripture. 
Sunn, Death and Doctor Hornbook. 
6. To trip up; detect and expose, as in an error. 
[Colloq.f 
When tlii v r:mie to talk of places in town, you saw at 
once how I nailed them. Ooldsmith, Vicar, xii. 
7t. To spike (a cannon). 8. .\iiat., to spoil; 
trust rate the purpose nf: make unlucky: as, to 
imil the trip (that is, spoil the voyage). To nail 
to the counter, to put (a counterfeit coin) out of circula- 
tion by fastening it ith a nail to the counter of a shop; 
hence, tigm-utivf]), to 4X] :uul thus render in- 
nocuous: us. to nail a lie to the counter, [rolloq.] 
3929 
A few-familiar facts . . . have been suffered to pass cur* 
rent so long that It U time they should be nailed to the 
counter. 0. W. Holmes, Med. Essays, p. 07. 
nail-bone (nal'bon), . 1. The lacrymal bone, 
or os iingiiis: so called from its size and shape 
in man, in which respects it resembles a thumb- 
nail. See liii-ri/iiKil, H., and cut under*/, nil. 2. 
The terminal phalanx of a digit which bears a 
nuil. 
nailbourne (nal'born), n. [Formerly also nmjl- 
linrin ; < imil (f) + fMwm->, burn 2 .] An inter- 
mittent spring in the Cretaceous, and espe- 
cially in the Lower Greensand; a channel 
filled at a time of excessive rainfall, when the 
plane of saturation of the chalk rises to a higher 
level than usual. The running of one of these bourns 
was formerly considered "a token of derthe, or of peaty- 
lence, or of grete batayle." Also called simply bourn and 
bourne both In Kent and Surrey ; also bourn and muter- 
bourn In Hants and further west The term tenant Is also 
used in Hampshire and West Sussex, and gipsy in York- 
shire. 
nail-brush (nal'brush), 11. A small brush for 
cleaning the finger-nails. 
nailer (na'ler), n. [< nail + -er 1 .] 1. One who 
nails. 2. One whose occupation is the mak- 
ing of nails; also, one who sells nails. 
As nailers and locksmiths their fame has spread even to 
the European markets. Disraeli, Sybil, 111. 4. 
naileress (na'ler-es), . [< nailer + -ess.] A 
female nail-maker. Hugh Mil- 
ler. [Rare.] 
nailery (na'ler-i), n.; pi. nailer- 
ies (-iz). [< nail + -try.] An 
establishment where nails are 
made. 
Near the bridge is a large almshouse 
and a vast naUeru. 
Pennant. (Latham. ) 
nail-extractor (ual'eks-trak*- 
tor), n. An implement in 
which are combined nipping- 
claws for grasping the head of 
a nail and a fulcrum and lever 
for drawing it from its socket. 
nail-fiddle (nal'fid'l), . A 
German musical instrument, 
invented in 1750, consisting of 
a graduated series of metallic 
rods, which were sounded by 
means of a bow. 
nail-file (ual'fil), . A small 
flat single-cut file for trimming 
the finger-nails. It forms part of 
the furniture of a dressing-case, or Is 
cut on the blade of a penknife or nail- crum, rests'upon the 
scissors. board or Aaor f '"> 
nail-head (nal'hed),. 1. The S*lyf S 
head of a nail.-S. In arch., a g^/Jj'J 
medieval ornament. See nail- the movement of the 
lii-inlcil.- Nail-head spar, a vari- MJMJ'SSS 
ety of calcite, so named in allusion to the nail, 
the shape of the crystals. 
nail-headed (nal'hed'ed), a. 1. Shaped so as 
to resemble the head of a nail. 2. Ornament- 
ed with round spots whether in relief or in col- 
or, as textile fabrics Nail-headed characters. 
Same as arrow-headed characters 
(which see, under arrow-headed). 
Nail-headed molding, in arch., a 
form of molding common In Eo* 
manesque architecture, so named 
from being cut Into a series of 
quadrangular pyramidal projections 
resembling the heads of nails. 
nailing-machine (na'liug-ma- 
shen*), n. A machine for 
forcing or driving nails into 
place, (a) In carp., a feeding- 
tube for the nails, connected with a 
plunger or reciprocating hammer. 
(M In shoeinaking, a power-machine 
closely allied to the shoe-pegger, 
used to drive small metallic nails or 
brads into the soles of shoes. 
nail-machine (nal'ma-sheii*), n. A power- 
machine for making nails, spikes, brads, or 
tacks. 
nail-maker (nal'ma'ker), n. One who makes 
nails: a nailer; a person engaged in any capa- 
city in the manufacture of nails. 
nail-plate (uaTplat). n. A plate of metal roll- 
ed to the proper thickness for cutting into nails. 
nail-rod (nal'rod). . A strip split or cut from 
an iron plate to be made into wrought nails. 
nail-selector (nal'se-lek'tor), . A machine, 
or an attachment tii a nail-machine, for auto- 
matically throwing out headless or otherwise 
ill-formed nails and slivers. 
nail-tailed inal'tald). n. Having a horny e\- 
i-ivscencc on the end of the tail: as. the iniil- 
/iiilul kangaroo. .V/ocrc/uw nmjiiifii'. 
naively 
nailwort dial' w.'-rt), ;/. It. A plant. /),/, 
limn: al-o. *n nfi'ii/ii Iriilin-ljilili -. ii'Hird. 
2. A plant of tin'' gWtlU riiriniii'-liiii. 
nain (nan), a. [Sc., < mini- '", misiliviil< 
IHI/ niiin: see ///, ii''.] Own. Hl naln, hi 
own. 
nainsell (nftn'tel), /'. [< ;< (./, misili- 
Villeil IIS IHI/ HIlillKlll . .m If. Si I- 
mini.] Own self. [Highland Scotch.] 
Her (his| naintell didna mak ta road an shentlemans 
llklt grand roads, she suld hac plded at clasco. 
Scott, Rob Boy, xxx. 
nainsook (nan'suk), . [< Hind. MfcUMJU. In- 
dian muslin; cf. nuiini. sprigged muslin. J A 
kind of muslin similar to jaconet, but thicker. 
originally made in Bengal. It is made both 
plain and striped, the stripe running the length 
of the stuff. 
nainzook. " Same as iinii<*i"i/:. 
NaiS ( mi' is .), n. [NL., < L. Nats, < Gr. No/f, var. 
of Namr, L. Saias, a water-nymph: see \nintl. ] 
1. The leading genus of AniWiV/Vc, having the 
d 
Nail -extractor. 
a, handle ; A ami < . 
ntagonulng levers 
ith clinchers, c and 
f, acting as a ful- 
Natesant 
Demi-lion nais&aut 
from a fes&e. 
Nail-headed Mold. 
ing. Ducal palace, 
Venice. 
Afel* frotescidta. much enlarged. 
prostomium elongated into a proboscis, the dor- 
sal parapodia simply filamentous, and the ven- 
tral hamulate. A . proboscide a is an example. 
Also called Ktylaria. 2. [I.e.] A worm of this 
genus. 
naissant (na'sant), a. [< F. nainsaiit, < L. na- 
seen(t-)n, being born, nascent: 
see nascent.] Nascent; newly 
born or about to be born or 
brought forth ; specifically, in 
her., rising or coming forth : said 
of a beast which is represented 
as emerging from the middle of 
an ordinary as a f esse, and in this 
way differing from innuant. 
Under pressure of the Revolution, 
which It was expected would give birth 
to the Empire, the German Sovereigns in 1848 had made a 
show of clubbing together, so to speak, for a navy which 
should defend the naissant Empire's coasts. 
Lowe, Bismarck, I. 184. 
nait't, . [ME. nait, nayt, < Icel. neytr, fit, fit 
for use : cf. ncyta, use (see nait 1 , t?. ), < tijota (= 
AS. nedtan, etc.), use: see note'A] Fit; able. 
Of all his sones for sothe, that seinely were holdyn, 
Non was so noble, ne of nait strenght, 
As Ector, the i Mist, & aire to hym selnyn. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 3878. 
nait't, '. '. [ME. naiten, naytcn, < Icel. neylii. 
use, make use of, < ujota, use : see nait 1 , .] To 
use; employ. 
The burd bowet from the bede, broght hym In haste 
An ymage full nobill, that he ttaite shulde. 
Destruction qf Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 776. 
nait-t, f. '. [ME. naiten, not/ten, < Icel. neita (= 
Dan. naigte), deny, < nei, nay: see nay. Cf. nite, 
and nay, c.] To deny ; disclaim. 
He shal nat nayte ne denye his symii-. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
naithlesst, ade. A form of iiitthi-li-xx. 
naitlyt (nat'li), orfc. [ME., < naift, a., + -ty*.] 
Fully; completely. 
All his nauy full nobill naytly were lost, 
And i ft i- fro the rynke. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.\ 1. 13112. 
naive (nU-ev'), a. [< F. natrr, fern, of tiaff(ct. 
>uiif),<. L. iiittifits, native, rustic, simple: see 
Native.] 1. Simple; unsophisticated; ingenu- 
ous; artless. 
Little Lilly . . . would listen to his conversation and 
remarks, which were almost as naire and unsophisticated 
as her own. Harryat, Snarleyyow. 
2. In iiliilii*.. nnreflective : uncritical, 
thought Is characterized by making deductions fiom prop- 
ositions never consciously asserted. =8jTL 1. frank. In 
ffcnuous, etc. See candid. 
naively (nii-ev'li), ntlr. hi a naive manner: 
with native or unaffected simplicity. 
She divided the flsh into thieo parts: . . . helped (7ay 
to the head, me to the middle, and, making the rest nnu-li 
the larL'i-st p:u-t. to<ik it herself, and crietl. \ 
111 be content with my own tail. 
Pope, Letter to Several Ladlea. 
