noun
A small pointed stick used to remove food from between teeth after a meal.
食事の後、爪楊枝で歯の間を掃除した。
After the meal, I cleaned between my teeth with a toothpick.
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
Rarely used kanji form; 妻 is an ateji for つま.
Compound of 爪 (つま, 'nail, claw') + 楊枝 (ようじ, 'toothpick'). The つま element may refer to the pointed shape, but the exact derivation is uncertain.