What does cuticle mean?
Word: Cuticle
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Cuticle means the thin strip of hard skin along the base of a fingernail or toenail.
Word origin: From Latin cuticula, a small form of cutis.
How do you spell cuticle?
Syllables: cu - ti - cle
Tricky part: The ending is the trouble: it sounds like the close of critical or musical, so students write cutical.
Watch out for: cutical, cuticul, cutikle
Memory tip: A cuticle is a tiny article on your nail, and both words finish with the same three letters.
Cuticle in a sentence
Example 1: Amma rubs coconut oil into each cuticle to keep her nails from drying out.
Example 2: The nail technician told me to stop picking at the cuticle on my thumb.
Example 3: A soft orange stick is the gentlest way to tidy a cuticle after a bath.
Fun Fact
The word comes from the Latin for a little skin, which suits this thin strip at the base of a nail very well.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
u, i
a) t_nt_cle
b) c_t_cle
c) p_rt_cle
d) v_h_cle
Show answer
b) c_t_cle. Only cuticle takes these two vowels; the others are particle, vehicle and tentacle.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. cuticle 2. pore 3. enamel a. a very small opening in the skin b. the rim that a manicurist gently pushes back c. the hard white layer on a tooth
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. Sweat leaves through a pore, a tooth wears enamel, and the nail base has the cuticle.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. cutlet 2. cuticle 3. cutter 4. cutlery
a) 1243
b) 2143
c) 4213
d) 2413
Show answer
d) 2413. All four begin alike, so the fourth letter decides first, and then the sixth letter separates cutlery from cutlet.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) ventricle
b) folicle
c) cuticle
d) tendon
Show answer
b) folicle. A hair grows from a follicle, which has a double l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why is it unwise to cut a cuticle away completely?
a) it gives the nail its pink colour
b) it stops the nail from growing too fast
c) it keeps the fingertip warm in winter
d) it helps keep dirt out of the nail bed
Show answer
d) it helps keep dirt out of the nail bed
2. Asha paints her nails, stopping just short of each cuticle. Which part of each nail has she left bare?
a) the right side of the nail
b) the left side of the nail
c) the edge nearest the knuckle
d) the edge nearest the fingertip
Show answer
c) the edge nearest the knuckle
