Hangnail • Although it is possible that a torn fingernail or toenail can have a hanging remnant and thus be called a "hangnail," more often hangnail refers to a piece of cuticle (the skin at the base of the nail) that has split away and become painful. The origin of hangnail (which first appeared in 1678) is agnail (circa 950). An agnail was not a hangnail at all but a sore on the foot. The ag- in agnail means "tight and painful" — think agony and aggrieve. The suffix -agra means "pain," podagra meaning "pain in the foot," chiragra meaning "pain in the hand." (Sort of makes you wonder what "Viagra" means, doesn't it?)...