hound's-tongue

[ houndz-tuhng ]

/ ˈhaʊndzˌtʌŋ /

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noun

any of various plants belonging to the genus Cynoglossum, of the borage family, especially C. officinale, having coarse, tongue-shaped leaves, dull purple flowers, and prickly nutlets.

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Origin of hound's-tongue

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hundestunge, translation of Latin cynoglōssos<Greek kynóglōssos, kynóglōsson (adj.) literally, dog-tongued

Words nearby hound's-tongue

hoummos, hound, hound dog, houndfish, hounding, hound's-tongue, hound's tooth, hound's-tooth check, houngan, hounskull, Hounslow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hound's-tongue in a sentence

“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” Harry S. Connelly Jr. says in the video, according to the Times.
Are Police Stealing People’s Property?|Joan Blades, Matt Kibbe|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After the release of the trailer for the special last week, TLC received a requisite and perhaps well-deserved tongue-lashing.
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism|Samantha Allen|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Personal hotspots can get speeds of up to 60 Mb/s down, whereas hotel Wi-Fi can be as slow as 1.5 Mb/s,” Sesar said.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In our headlong quest for a legally perfect society, we don’t take the time to take stock of what‘s been created so far.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Abramson, biting her tongue, was widely portrayed in rival outlets as classily above the fray.
The Bloodiest Media Coups of 2014|Lloyd Grove|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Perhaps you do not speak my language,” she said in Urdu, the tongue most frequently heard in Upper India.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Now first we shall want our pupil to understand, speak, read and write the mother tongue well.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He frowned, and bent his head, and his long hair fell over his face, while the poor Stuttgardter sat there like a beaten hound.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The flute and the psaltery make a sweet melody, but a pleasant tongue is above them both.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Each sentence came as if torn piecemeal from his unwilling tongue; short, jerky phrases, conceived in pain and delivered in agony.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for hound's-tongue

hound's-tongue

noun

any boraginaceous weedy plant of the genus Cynoglossum, esp the Eurasian C. officinale, which has small reddish-purple flowers and spiny fruitsAlso called: dog's-tongue

Word Origin for hound's-tongue

Old English hundestunge, translation of Latin cynoglōssos, from Greek kunoglōssos, from kuōn dog + glōssa tongue; referring to the shape of its leaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012