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Index finger

February 14, 2023

The index finger (also referred to as forefinger,[1] first finger,[2] second finger,[3] pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the middle finger. It is usually the most dextrous and sensitive digit of the hand, though not the longest. It is shorter than the middle finger, and may be shorter or longer than the ring finger (see digit ratio).

A man pointing at a woman during an argument

Anatomy

"Index finger" literally means "pointing finger", from the same Latin source as indicate; its anatomical names are "index finger" and "second digit".

The index finger has three phalanges. It does not contain any muscles, but is controlled by muscles in the hand by attachments of tendons to the bones.

Uses

A lone index finger held vertically is often used to represent the number 1 (but finger counting differs across cultures), or when held up or moved side to side (finger-wagging), it can be an admonitory gesture. With the hand held palm out and the thumb and middle fingers touching, it represents the letter d in the American Sign Language alphabet.

Pointing

Pointing with the pointer finger may be used to indicate or identify an item, person, place or object.[4]

Around age one, babies begin pointing to communicate relatively complex thoughts, including interest, desire, and information. Pointing in human babies can demonstrate the theory of mind, or ability to understand what other people are thinking. This gesture may form one basis for the development of human language.

Non-human primates, lacking the ability to formulate ideas about what others are thinking, use pointing in much less complex ways.[5] However, corvids, dogs[6] and elephants[7] do understand finger pointing.

In some cultures, particularly the Malays and Javanese[8] in Southeast Asia, pointing using index finger is considered rude, hence the thumb is used instead.

Index finger in Islam

In Islam raising the index finger signifies the Tawhīd (تَوْحِيد), which denotes the indivisible oneness of God. It is used to express the unity of God ("there is no god but Allah").[citation needed]

In Arabic, the index or fore finger is called musabbiḥa (مُسَبِّحة), mostly used with the definite article: al-musabbiḥa (الْمُسَبِّحة). Sometimes also as-sabbāḥa (السَّبّاحة) is used.[9][10] The Arabic verb سَبَّحَ - which shares the same root as the Arabic word for index finger - means to praise or glorify God by saying: "Subḥāna Allāh" (سُبْحانَ الله)

Index finger in archaeoastronomy

Before the advent of GPS and compass, early humans used index finger for pointing direction of objects with the help of stellar objects during night time.[11]

Gestures in art

As an artistic convention, the index finger pointing at the viewer is in the form of a command or summons. Two famous examples of this are recruiting posters used during World War I by the United Kingdom and the United States.

 
Recruitment poster, Alfred Leete, 1914
 
Recruitment poster, James Montgomery Flagg, 1917

The index finger pointing up is a sign of teaching authority. This is shown in the depiction of Plato in the School of Athens by Raphael.[12]

 
Plato, detail from the School of Athens, Raphael, 1509
 
A detail from The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo, 1512

See also

References

  1. ^ . Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  2. ^ . Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  3. ^ "second finger". Medical Dictionary. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  4. ^ Gary Imai. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 31, 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  5. ^ Day, Nicholas (26 March 2013). "Research on babies and pointing reveals the action's importance". Slate. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  6. ^ Kirchhofer, Katharina C.; Zimmermann, Felizitas; Kaminski, Juliane; Tomasello, Michael (2012). "Dogs (Canis familiaris), but Not Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Understand Imperative Pointing". PLOS ONE. 7 (2): e30913. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730913K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030913. PMC 3275610. PMID 22347411.
    • "Dogs succeed while chimps fail at following finger pointing: Chimpanzees have difficulty identifying object of interest based on gestures". ScienceDaily (Press release). February 8, 2012.
  7. ^ Goodman, M.; Sterner, K. N.; Islam, M.; Uddin, M.; Sherwood, C. C.; Hof, P. R.; Hou, Z. C.; Lipovich, L.; Jia, H.; Grossman, L. I.; Wildman, D. E. (2009). "Phylogenomic analyses reveal convergent patterns of adaptive evolution in elephant and human ancestries". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (49): 20824–9. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10620824G. doi:10.1073/pnas.0911239106. JSTOR 40536081. PMC 2791620. PMID 19926857.
    • Katie Collins (October 10, 2013). "Elephants found to understand human pointing without training". Wired UK.
  8. ^ Scott, David Clark (12 April 1990). "A Thumb Points the Way in Java". The Christian Science Monitor. ...figures in some reliefs can be seen pointing - with their thumbs. "Pointing with the index finger is a terrible thing to do. It means death or violence. People used their thumb for polite pointing and it's still the same today, notes Jan Fontein, curator of the exhibition of ancient Indonesian sculpture sponsored by Mobil Indonesia...
  9. ^ Drißner, Gerald (2016). Islam for Nerds - 500 Questions and Answers. Berlin: createspace. p. 521. ISBN 978-1530860180.
  10. ^ . Arabic for Nerds. 2016-12-31. Archived from the original on 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  11. ^ "Using The Stars For Direction, Latitude, And Time". Astronomy Trek. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  12. ^ Brusati, Celeste; Enenkel, Karl A. E.; Melion, Walter (Nov 11, 2011). The Authority of the Word: Reflecting on Image and Text in Northern Europe, 1400-1700. Brill. p. 168. ISBN 978-9004215153.

External links

 
Look up index finger or Wikisaurus:index finger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

  Media related to Index fingers at Wikimedia Commons

February 14, 2023
index, finger, index, finger, also, referred, forefinger, first, finger, second, finger, pointer, finger, trigger, finger, digitus, secundus, digitus, many, other, terms, second, digit, human, hand, located, between, thumb, middle, finger, usually, most, dextr. The index finger also referred to as forefinger 1 first finger 2 second finger 3 pointer finger trigger finger digitus secundus digitus II and many other terms is the second digit of a human hand It is located between the thumb and the middle finger It is usually the most dextrous and sensitive digit of the hand though not the longest It is shorter than the middle finger and may be shorter or longer than the ring finger see digit ratio Index fingerLeft human hand with index finger extendedDetailsArteryRadial artery of index finger proper palmar digital arteries dorsal digital arteriesVeinPalmar digital veins dorsal digital veinsNerveDorsal digital nerves of radial nerve proper palmar digital nerves of median nerveIdentifiersLatinDigitus II manus digitus secundus manus indexTA98A01 1 00 054TA2152FMA24946Anatomical terminology edit on Wikidata A man pointing at a woman during an argument Contents 1 Anatomy 2 Uses 2 1 Pointing 2 2 Index finger in Islam 2 3 Index finger in archaeoastronomy 3 Gestures in art 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksAnatomy Edit Index finger literally means pointing finger from the same Latin source as indicate its anatomical names are index finger and second digit The index finger has three phalanges It does not contain any muscles but is controlled by muscles in the hand by attachments of tendons to the bones Uses EditA lone index finger held vertically is often used to represent the number 1 but finger counting differs across cultures or when held up or moved side to side finger wagging it can be an admonitory gesture With the hand held palm out and the thumb and middle fingers touching it represents the letter d in the American Sign Language alphabet Pointing Edit Pointing with the pointer finger may be used to indicate or identify an item person place or object 4 Around age one babies begin pointing to communicate relatively complex thoughts including interest desire and information Pointing in human babies can demonstrate the theory of mind or ability to understand what other people are thinking This gesture may form one basis for the development of human language Non human primates lacking the ability to formulate ideas about what others are thinking use pointing in much less complex ways 5 However corvids dogs 6 and elephants 7 do understand finger pointing In some cultures particularly the Malays and Javanese 8 in Southeast Asia pointing using index finger is considered rude hence the thumb is used instead Index finger in Islam Edit In Islam raising the index finger signifies the Tawhid ت و ح يد which denotes the indivisible oneness of God It is used to express the unity of God there is no god but Allah citation needed In Arabic the index or fore finger is called musabbiḥa م س ب حة mostly used with the definite article al musabbiḥa ال م س ب حة Sometimes also as sabbaḥa الس ب احة is used 9 10 The Arabic verb س ب ح which shares the same root as the Arabic word for index finger means to praise or glorify God by saying Subḥana Allah س ب حان الله Index finger in archaeoastronomy Edit Before the advent of GPS and compass early humans used index finger for pointing direction of objects with the help of stellar objects during night time 11 Gestures in art EditAs an artistic convention the index finger pointing at the viewer is in the form of a command or summons Two famous examples of this are recruiting posters used during World War I by the United Kingdom and the United States Recruitment poster Alfred Leete 1914 Recruitment poster James Montgomery Flagg 1917The index finger pointing up is a sign of teaching authority This is shown in the depiction of Plato in the School of Athens by Raphael 12 Plato detail from the School of Athens Raphael 1509 A detail from The Creation of Adam Michelangelo 1512See also EditDigit ratio comparative lengths of the index finger and ring finger and androgen levels in utero Extensor indicis muscle Fingering disambiguation Index typography References Edit forefinger definition of forefinger in English Oxford Dictionaries Oxford Dictionaries English Archived from the original on September 25 2016 Retrieved 2017 06 08 first finger definition of first finger in English Oxford Dictionaries Oxford Dictionaries English Archived from the original on September 25 2017 Retrieved 2017 06 08 second finger Medical Dictionary Retrieved 17 August 2022 Gary Imai Gestures Body Language and Nonverbal Communication PDF Archived from the original PDF on March 31 2010 Retrieved 12 November 2009 Day Nicholas 26 March 2013 Research on babies and pointing reveals the action s importance Slate Retrieved 25 April 2013 Kirchhofer Katharina C Zimmermann Felizitas Kaminski Juliane Tomasello Michael 2012 Dogs Canis familiaris but Not Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes Understand Imperative Pointing PLOS ONE 7 2 e30913 Bibcode 2012PLoSO 730913K doi 10 1371 journal pone 0030913 PMC 3275610 PMID 22347411 Dogs succeed while chimps fail at following finger pointing Chimpanzees have difficulty identifying object of interest based on gestures ScienceDaily Press release February 8 2012 Goodman M Sterner K N Islam M Uddin M Sherwood C C Hof P R Hou Z C Lipovich L Jia H Grossman L I Wildman D E 2009 Phylogenomic analyses reveal convergent patterns of adaptive evolution in elephant and human ancestries Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 49 20824 9 Bibcode 2009PNAS 10620824G doi 10 1073 pnas 0911239106 JSTOR 40536081 PMC 2791620 PMID 19926857 Katie Collins October 10 2013 Elephants found to understand human pointing without training Wired UK Scott David Clark 12 April 1990 A Thumb Points the Way in Java The Christian Science Monitor figures in some reliefs can be seen pointing with their thumbs Pointing with the index finger is a terrible thing to do It means death or violence People used their thumb for polite pointing and it s still the same today notes Jan Fontein curator of the exhibition of ancient Indonesian sculpture sponsored by Mobil Indonesia Drissner Gerald 2016 Islam for Nerds 500 Questions and Answers Berlin createspace p 521 ISBN 978 1530860180 What does it mean when a Muslim raises the index finger Arabic for Nerds 2016 12 31 Archived from the original on 2019 07 18 Retrieved 2019 07 18 Using The Stars For Direction Latitude And Time Astronomy Trek 29 November 2012 Retrieved 26 October 2022 Brusati Celeste Enenkel Karl A E Melion Walter Nov 11 2011 The Authority of the Word Reflecting on Image and Text in Northern Europe 1400 1700 Brill p 168 ISBN 978 9004215153 External links Edit Look up index finger or Wikisaurus index finger in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to Index fingers at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Index finger amp oldid 1134844413, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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