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Nail vs Staple - What's the difference?

nail | staple |

In lang=en terms the difference between nail and staple

is that nail is to stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails while staple is to secure with a staple.

As nouns the difference between nail and staple

is that nail is the thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals while staple is a town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group or staple can be a wire fastener used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.

As verbs the difference between nail and staple

is that nail is to fix (an object) to another object using a nail while staple is to sort according to its staple or staple can be to secure with a staple.

As an adjective staple is

relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.

nail

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) nail, nayl, (etyl) ).

Noun

(en noun)
  • The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
  • The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
  • The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
  • A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction.
  • *
    • Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside .
  • An archaic English unit of length equivalent to 1/20th of an ell or 1/16th of a yard (2.25 inches or 5.715 cm).
    • Derived terms
    * eightpenny nail * fourpenny nail * hangnail * hard as nails * hit the nail on the head * (l) * nail file / nail-file / nailfile * nail polish * (l) * (l) * on the nail * fingernail * rusty nail * sixpenny nail * spit nails * straw nail * tenpenny nail * toenail * twelvepenny nail

    See also

    * claw * talon

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.
    • He nailed the placard to the post.
  • To drive a nail.
    • He used the ax head for nailing .
  • To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails.
  • * Dryden
    • The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold.
  • (slang) To catch.
  • * 2005 , (Plato), Sophist . Translation by Lesley Brown. .
    • we'll nail the sophist to it, if we can get him on that charge;
  • (slang) To expose as a sham.
  • (slang) To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully.
    • I really nailed that test.
  • (slang) To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=October 1 , author=Tom Fordyce , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson departed early with injury but Chris Paterson nailed a penalty from wide out left to give Scotland an early lead, and Jackson's replacement Dan Parks added three more points with a penalty which skimmed over the crossbar.}}
  • (slang) Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with.
    • There’s a benefit gala at the Boston Pops tonight, and... well, I’m trying to nail the flautist.'' - Brian Griffin in the TV series ''Family Guy
  • To spike, as a cannon.
    • (Crabb)
    Synonyms
    * (to engage in sexual intercourse) bang, fuck, pound, screw, shag (British)

    See also

    * (w) * (w) *

    Anagrams

    * * * * * ----

    staple

    English

    Etymology 1

    (The Staple) From (etyl) estaple, (etyl) . Compare staff.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.
  • * Arbuthnot
    • The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool.
  • * 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 73:
    • Calais was one of the ‘principal treasures’ of the crown, of both strategic and economic importance. It was home to the staple , the crown-controlled marketplace for England's lucrative textile trade, whose substantial customs and tax revenues flooded into Henry's coffers.
  • (by extension) Place of supply; source.
  • * Macaulay
    • Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumour that any thing important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head.
  • The principal commodity produced in a town or region.
  • * Trench
    • We should now say, Cotton is the great staple , that is, the established merchandize, of Manchester.
  • * 1929 , , , Chapter VIII, Section ii:
    • The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse.
  • A basic or essential supply.
    • Rice is a staple in the diet of many cultures.
  • A recurring topic or character.
  • * 2010 , The Economist , Jul-Aug 2010, p. 27:
    • In most countries, rubbish makes headlines only when it is not collected, and stinking sacks lie heaped on the streets. In Britain bins are a front-page staple .
  • Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread.
    • Tow is flax with short staple .
  • Unmanufactured material; raw material.

    • Verb

    (stapl)
  • To sort according to its staple.
    • to staple cotton

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities.
    • a staple town
  • Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled.
    • a staple trade
    (Dryden)
  • Fit to be sold; marketable.
    • (Swift)
  • Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief.
  • * Hallam
    • wool, the great staple commodity of England

    Etymology 2

    Probably from (etyl) , from (etyl).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A wire fastener used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around.
  • A wire fastener used to secure something else by penetrating and curling.
    • Can you believe they use staples to hold cars together these days?
  • A U-shaped metal fastener, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures.
    • The rancher used staples to attach the barbed wire to the fence-posts.
  • One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder.
    • Fortunately, there were staples in the quay wall, and she was able to climb out of the water.
  • (mining) A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels.
  • A small pit.
  • A district granted to an abbey.
    • (Camden)

    Verb

    (stapl)
  • To secure with a staple.
    • Derived terms
    * stapler

    Anagrams

    * ----