- the white crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernailNontechnical name: half-moon
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
lu•nu•la
(lo̅o̅′nyə lə),USA pronunciation n., pl. -lae
-
(-lē′).USA pronunciation
- something shaped like a narrow crescent, as the small, pale area at the base of the fingernail.
- Latin lūnula, equivalent. to lūn(a) moon + -ula -ule
- 1565–75
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
lunula /ˈluːnjʊlə/, lunule /ˈluːnjuːl/ n ( pl -nulae /-njʊˌliː/, -nules)
'lunula' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):