mother tongue
Americannoun
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mother tongues
plural
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the language first learned by a person; native language.
noun
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the language first learned by a child
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a language from which another has evolved
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mother tongue
1350–1400; Middle English moder tonge
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He dropped his English name, James, and resolved to write only in the language of the Kikuyu people, his mother tongue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
It just created this real, almost, like, subconscious intimacy because it’s the mother tongue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
As the young children enthusiastically sang out phrases, Esau interjected occasionally to correct their pronunciation of the distinct sounds and deep clicks of her mother tongue, of which she is the last first-language speaker.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
It made him wonder how his generation had slowly drifted away from their mother tongue, as other languages like English, Urdu and Hindi became more widespread.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
I managed to see the principal alone, and he showed me the computer printouts from Pretoria: yes, I had obtained a third-class pass because I had failed my mother tongue!
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
