“Pollex” comes directly from the same word in Latin, meaning “thumb” or “big toe.” In English, it’s spelled exactly the same as the Latin word, but variations on the term exist in several other languages. In Russian, “palex” means “finger,” “bol′šoj palec” means “thumb,” and “palec nogi” means “toe.” In both Czech and Bulgarian, “palec” means “thumb.” Humans have a pollex, which sets us apart from most mammals, but primates also have a thumb as the innermost digit of their forelimb.