hound's-tongue

American  

[houndz-tuhng] / ˈhaʊndzˌtʌŋ /

noun

1. 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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hound's-tongue British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of hound's-tongue

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

Example Sentences

Toothed medick has never officially been recorded in Wales, and hound's-tongue is on the UK's red list and has only been recorded 18 times in Denbighshire in the last 116 years.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2021

In a report to a council scrutiny committee meeting, officers said there had been common spotted orchids in Stryd y Brython, as well as hound's-tongue and toothed medick at two sites in Prestatyn.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2021

Among the first plants to respond to the quickening influence of the early winter rains, is the hound's-tongue, whose large, pointed leaves begin to push their way aboveground usually in January.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

The water-carrier brings with her a leaf of the hound's-tongue fern, and, inserting it in the crevice of the gray rock, makes a cool, green spout for the sparkling stream.

From Half a Life-Time Ago by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn

The possessive case and its governing noun, combining to form a metaphorical name, should be written with both apostrophe and hyphen; as, Job's-tears, Jew's-ear, bear's-foot, colts-tooth, sheep's-head, crane's-bill, crab's-eyes, hound's-tongue, king's-spear, lady's-slipper, lady's-bedstraw, &c.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold