noun
quick
The sensitive flesh beneath a fingernail or toenail.
He trims the nail carefully to avoid cutting the quick.
Etymology
Old English cwic means alive. The quick is the living, sensitive flesh under the nail, contrasted with the hard outer nail material.
More examples
- Biting her nails exposed the quick.
- The broken nail tore down to the quick.
- The remark cut her to the quick.
Forms
quick
Similar words
- living tissue
- The plain description of the sensitive flesh beneath a nail.