Fingering is the act of
holding up a number of
digits of the hand to
offend/
harrass another
person. An example of fingering are holding up the
middle finger with the
metacarpus facing the intended
recipient of the insulting
gesture. Another, holding up the
index and middle finger in a
V, in the same direction.
Fingering, recognized very widely for what it is, has manifested in a disturbing, thriving sub-culture; some people will correct the position of their corrective lenses, or scratch their (collective) eyebrow, or even prop their head up, all the while providing digital stimulation to their environment. Further, an art of this sub-culture has developed, with people using mimed windlasses to imitate the raising action of other mechanisms, or perhaps hitting themselves in the elbow to send a conceptual wave of force that results, inevitably (by fortune or design), in the raising of the offending digit(s).
Fingering also refers to the positioning of one's hand and fingers in relation to a musical instrument, wind or string, to produce a given note or chord. To write down fingering for a given instrument may be as simple as marking a number, or may require a series of black and white dots, or even a chart. Braille has given blind people fingering notation for keyboard and other instruments. The term "fingering" is used for computer keyboards in the context of learning to type, but for little else.
Fingering also refers to manual female masturbation, and the stimulation of a woman's genitals by the fingers of another person. Fingering is considered low-risk activity for the transmission of HIV, however, breaks in the skin could allow for such transmission, but you pretty much need contact with mucous membranes.