mother tongue
Americannoun
-
the language first learned by a person; native language.
noun
-
the language first learned by a child
-
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.
Though Vargas’ mother was educated in the American school system, she made a point of preserving her family’s mother tongue.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
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
For Esau, not being able to speak her mother tongue was "a wound".
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
It was like switching from passively watching a film in a foreign language to actively debating in one’s mother tongue.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
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.
