Theindex finger (also referred to asforefinger,[1]first finger,[2]second finger,[3]pointer finger,trigger finger,digitus secundus,digitus II, andmany other terms) is the seconddigit of a humanhand. It is located between thethumb and themiddle finger. It is usually the mostdextrous and sensitive digit of the hand, though not the longest. It is shorter than the middle finger, and may be shorter or longer than thering finger (seedigit ratio).
A lone index finger held vertically is often used to represent thenumber1 (butfinger counting differs across cultures), or when held up or moved side to side (finger-wagging), it can be an admonitory gesture. If held upward, it can also mean "wait a minute" or "one moment". With the hand held palm out and the thumb and middle fingers touching, it represents the letterd in theAmerican Sign Language alphabet.
Pointing with the pointer finger may be used to indicate or identify an item, person, place or object.[4]
Around age one, babies begin pointing to communicate relatively complex thoughts, including interest, desire, and information. Pointing in human babies can demonstrate thetheory of mind, or ability to understand what other people are thinking. This gesture may form one basis for the development of human language.
Non-human primates, lacking the ability to formulate ideas about what others are thinking, use pointing in much less complex ways.[5] However,corvids,dogs[6] andelephants[7] do understand finger pointing.
In some cultures, particularly theMalays andJavanese[8] inSoutheast Asia, pointing using the index finger is considered rude, hence thethumb is used instead.
In Islam raising the index finger signifies theTawhīd (تَوْحِيد), which denotes the indivisible oneness ofGod. It is used to express the unity of God ("there is no god but God").
InArabic, the index or fore finger is called musabbiḥa (مُسَبِّحة), mostly used with the definite article: al-musabbiḥa (الْمُسَبِّحة). Sometimes also as-sabbāḥa (السَّبّاحة) is used.[9][10] The Arabic verb سَبَّحَ - which shares the same root as the Arabic word for index finger - means to praise or glorify God by saying: "Subḥāna Allāh" (سُبْحانَ الله).
Before the advent of GPS and compass, early humans used index finger for pointing direction of objects with the help of stellar objects during night time.[11]
As a modern artistic convention, the index finger pointing at the viewer is in the form of a command or summons. Two famous examples of this arerecruiting posters used duringWorld War I by theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.
^Scott, David Clark (12 April 1990)."A Thumb Points the Way in Java".The Christian Science Monitor....figures in some reliefs can be seen pointing - with their thumbs. 'Pointing with the index finger is a terrible thing to do. It means death or violence. People used their thumb for polite pointing and it's still the same today,' notes Jan Fontein, curator of the exhibition of ancient Indonesian sculpture sponsored by Mobil Indonesia...
^Drißner, Gerald (2016).Islam for Nerds - 500 Questions and Answers. Berlin: createspace. p. 521.ISBN978-1-5308-6018-0.
^Brusati, Celeste; Enenkel, Karl A. E.; Melion, Walter (Nov 11, 2011).The Authority of the Word: Reflecting on Image and Text in Northern Europe, 1400-1700. Brill. p. 168.ISBN978-90-04-21515-3.
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