The little finger, often called the pinky in American English, pinkie in Scottish English (from the Dutch word pink, "little finger"), or fifth digit in medicine, is the most ulnar and usually smallest finger of the human hand, opposite the thumb, next to the ring finger.
The human hand usually has five digits: four fingers plus one thumb; these are often referred to collectively as five fingers, however, whereby the thumb is included as one of the fingers.
Littlest but not least: the pinky. Appearances aside, the English word has nothing to do with the color pink—rather, it was borrowed from Dutch. The deeper origins of the word are debated, but it may have stuck around because it bears a suffix (“-y”) often used in English for small, endearing things.
The thumb is one of five digits on each hand, but it has a different shape and function from the other digits. However, most medical guides refer to the thumb as a finger. Also known as the pollex or digitus primus manus, the thumb is anatomically different from the hand's other four digits.
After the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger, we come to the fifth digit, the little finger. It was known in Latin as digitus minimus, but in Scotland the little finger is often called the pinkie.
The first digit is the thumb, followed by the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger or pinkie.
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. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger.
Ask an evolutionary biologist, however, and you're likely to get a much simpler answer: We have 10 fingers and 10 toes because, somewhere in our species' past Darwinian wanderings, those numbers gave us an evolutionary advantage. Had events tumbled differently, we might have eight fingers and twelve toes.
Five digits for everybody
Human pentadactyly (the technical term for 'possessing five digits') isn't unique. In fact, the ancestor of all modern tetrapods — mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds — had five digits on each of its four limbs back in the Devonian period, 420 to 360 million years ago.
Thumb refers to the first digit of the human hand, set apart and opposable to the other four digits of the hand. Appendages like your fingers, toes, and thumbs are digits. So humans usually have five digits per hand, one of which is the thumb.
The left-hand little finger, aka pinky, is the smallest and weakest of our fingers. It is shorter than other fingers. And we rarely use it in isolation in everyday life.
The little finger, often called the pinky in American English and pinkie in Scottish English (from the Dutch word pink, meaning little finger), is the most ulnar and usually smallest finger of the human hand, opposite the thumb, next to the ring finger.
A pinky ring is any ring worn on the pinky, or little finger, of either hand. A pinky ring may have special significance conferred by the wearer's office or professional association, but may also may be worn purely for fashion. Signet rings, which hold their own meaning, are often worn on the pinky.
An estimated one in every 700–1,000 babies is born with polydactyly, which means they have extra fingers on their hands or extra toes on their feet or both. Because polydactyly is so unusual, some people may consider it a malformation or anomaly.
Fully developed and functional extra digits on both hands and feet are considered very rare as a genetic trait in medical history, amid some partial development of an extra digit occurs about twice in every 1,000 white male births.
Known as polydactyly, Hernandez's condition is relatively common, but it's rare for the extra digits to be so perfect. Anyone who glanced quickly at his hands would be hard-pressed to notice anything different unless they paused and started counting.
Humans have 10 fingers and 10 toes. It would not be correct to say that we have 20 fingers or 20 toes. Fingers are only on our hands, and toes are only on our feet. However, a general word "digits" can be used to say that we have 20 digits altogether.
Thumb. The thumb digit has only two phalanges (bones) so it only has one joint. The thumb interphalangeal (IP) joint is similar to the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint in the fingers. The IP joint in thumb is located at the tip of the finger just before the fingernail starts.
The fourth finger of the left hand, believed to possess a vein that runs securely to the heart, has traditionally been ringed. This Vein of Love, or more amorously called the Vena Amoris, 1 originated in ancient Egypt, where it was first described by Macrobius in 395–423 AD.
Before counting, all fingers are closed; counting starts by extending the thumb as the first, then the index finger as the second, until all fingers are extended as the fifth; then counting can be continued by folding fingers with the same sequence, from thumb through the little finger, for counting from the sixth ...
While there are extensive differences between and even within countries, there are, generally speaking, two systems. The main difference between the two systems is that the "German" or "French" system starts counting with the thumb, while the "American" system starts counting with the index finger.
When babies are born, they're meant to have 20 fingers and toes, but what do you do if your baby has more? Polydactyly is the condition where humans and animals are born with one or more extra digits on their hands, feet or paws.
The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand.
English. The middle finger, long finger, or tall finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger. It is also called the third finger, digitus medius, digitus tertius, or digitus III in anatomy.
The ring finger, third finger, fourth finger, leech finger, or annulary is the fourth digit of the human hand, located between the middle finger and the little finger.