Hangnail

  A hangnail or agnail is a small, loose strip of torn skin near a fingernail or toenail. Hangnails are usually caused by dry skin or (in the case of fingernails) nail biting, and may be prevented with proper moisturization of the skin.

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When attempting to remove a hangnail, additional skin may be painfully ripped off if its attachment is not broken properly. This may lead to a painful infection called paronychia. Therefore, hangnails should usually be cut using nail scissors or a nail clipper; biting them frequently makes it worse. People with a hangnail should be careful to cut it all off and rub hand lotion into the cuticles two to three times a day. ^[1]

The term "hangnail" is misleading, as a hangnail is not an actual part of the nail. It's dead, dried skin, not nail, the latter being made up of mostly calcium and a fibrous protein, known as keratin.

Etymology

Agnail is the Middle English term meaning "corn on the foot." It comes from the Old English term angnægl (from ang- tight/painful + nægl- nail). Agnail was adapted to hangnail by a process of folk etymology.^[2]

References

1. ^ http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/Home-treatment-for-a-hangnail
2. ^ Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary Entry for "hangnail".