tongue

[tuhng]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tongue ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Anatomy. the usually movable organ in the floor of the mouth in humans and most vertebrates, functioning in eating, in tasting, and, in humans, in speaking.

Zoology. an analogous organ in invertebrate animals.

the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling.

the human tongue as the organ of speech: No tongue must ever tell the secret.

the faculty or power of speech: a sight no tongue can describe.

speech or talk, especially mere glib or empty talk.

manner or character of speech: a flattering tongue.

the language of a particular people, region, or nation: the Hebrew tongue.

a dialect.

(in the Bible) a people or nation distinguished by its language.

tongues, speech, often incomprehensible, typically uttered during moments of religious ecstasy.Compare speaking in tongues, glossolalia.

an object that resembles an animal's tongue in shape, position, or function.

a strip of leather or other material under the lacing or fastening of a shoe.

a piece of metal suspended inside a bell that strikes against the side producing a sound; clapper.

a vibrating reed or similar structure in a musical instrument, as in a clarinet, or in part of a musical instrument, as in an organ reed pipe.

the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it.

a projecting strip along the center of the edge or end of a board, for fitting into a groove in another board.

a narrow strip of land extending into a body of water; cape.

a section of ice projecting outward from the submerged part of an iceberg.

Machinery. a long, narrow projection on a machine.

that part of a railroad switch that is shifted to direct the wheels of a locomotive or car to one or the other track of a railroad.

the pin of a buckle, brooch, etc.

verb (used with object), tongued, tongu·ing.

to articulate (tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.) by strokes of the tongue.

Carpentry.

to cut a tongue on (a board).
to join or fit together by a tongue-and-groove joint.

to touch with the tongue.

to articulate or pronounce.

Archaic.

to reproach or scold.
to speak or utter.

verb (used without object), tongued, tongu·ing.

to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.

to talk, especially idly or foolishly; chatter; prate.

to project like a tongue.

Idioms

find one's tongue, to regain one's powers of speech; recover one's poise: She wanted to say something, but couldn't find her tongue.

give tongue,

Fox Hunting.(of a hound) to bay while following a scent.
to utter one's thoughts; speak: He wouldn't give tongue to his suspicions.

hold one's tongue, to refrain from or cease speaking; keep silent.

lose one's tongue, to lose the power of speech, especially temporarily.

on the tip of one's/the tongue,

on the verge of being uttered.
unable to be recalled; barely escaping one's memory: The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't think of it.

slip of the tongue, a mistake in speaking, as an inadvertent remark.

(with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.

Origin of tongue

before 900; (noun) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (OL dingua); (v.) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun

Related formstongue·less, adjectivetongue·like, adjectiveout·tongue, verb (used with object), out·tongued, out·tongu·ing.un·tongued, adjective

Can be confusedthong tong tongue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tongue

dialect, voice, patois, articulation, argot, utterance, idiom, discourse, vernacular, speech, lingo, parlance, expression, talk

Examples from the Web for tongue

Contemporary Examples of tongue

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
Language was no barrier; just about every tongue on the planet was babbling away, caught up in the elaborate mystique of a cult.
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper
Clive Irving
November 16, 2014
Joe Sutter is 93 now, silver-haired and moving a tad more slowly than he would like, but still pugnacious and sharp of tongue.
The Sexy Dream of the 747
Clive Irving
October 26, 2014
The monkey seemed to be sticking his tongue out at me in defiance.
How I (Digitally) Killed My Twitter Impostor
JoBeth McDaniel
July 21, 2014
The monkey avatar stared back at me, its tongue lolling out of its mouth.
How I (Digitally) Killed My Twitter Impostor
JoBeth McDaniel
July 21, 2014

Historical Examples of tongue

A portly burgher was he, friendly of tongue and free of purse.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
Often it has been on the tip of my tongue, and then it slipped away from me.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Except for a very few words we do not know what sort of tongue it was.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Neither did Lizzie, though her tongue was a whip for Connie.
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair
The tongue is a fire, but there is a stronger fire than the tongue.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for tongue

tongue

noun

a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In man it plays an important part in the articulation of speech soundsRelated adjectives: glottic, lingual

an analogous organ in invertebrates

the tongue of certain animals used as food

a language, dialect, or idiomthe English tongue

the ability to speakto lose one's tongue

a manner of speakinga glib tongue

utterance or voice (esp in the phrase give tongue)

(plural) See gift of tongues

anything which resembles a tongue in shape or functiona tongue of flame; a tongue of the sea

a promontory or spit of land

a flap of leather on a shoe, either for decoration or under the laces or buckles to protect the instep

music the reed of an oboe or similar instrument

the clapper of a bell

the harnessing pole of a horse-drawn vehicle

a long and narrow projection on a machine or structural part that serves as a guide for assembly or as a securing device

a projecting strip along an edge of a board that is made to fit a corresponding groove in the edge of another board

hold one's tongue to keep quiet

on the tip of one's tongue about to come to mindher name was on the tip of his tongue

with one's tongue in one's cheek or tongue in cheek with insincere or ironical intent

verb tongues, tonguing or tongued

to articulate (notes played on a wind instrument) by the process of tonguing

(tr) to lick, feel, or touch with the tongue

(tr) carpentry to provide (a board) with a tongue

(intr) (of a piece of land) to project into a body of water

(tr) obsolete to reproach; scold

Derived Formstongueless, adjectivetonguelike, adjective

Word Origin for tongue

Old English tunge; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse tunga, Old High German zunga, Latin lingua

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

Word Origin and History for tongue

Old English tunge "organ of speech, speech, language," from Proto-Germanic *tungon (cf. Old Saxon and Old Norse tunga, Old Frisian tunge, Middle Dutch tonghe, Dutch tong, Old High German zunga, German Zunge, Gothic tuggo), from PIE *dnghwa- (cf. Latin lingua "tongue, speech, language," from Old Latin dingua; Old Irish tenge, Welsh tafod, Lithuanian liezuvis, Old Church Slavonic jezyku).

For substitution of -o- for -u-, see come. The spelling of the ending of the word apparently is a 14c. attempt to indicate proper pronunciation, but the result is "neither etymological nor phonetic, and is only in a very small degree historical" [OED]. Meaning "foreign language" is from 1530s. Tongue-tied is first recorded 1520s.

"to touch with the tongue, lick," 1680s, from tongue (n.). Earlier as a verb it meant "drive out by order or reproach" (late 14c.). Related: Tongued; tonguing.

tongue in Medicine

tongue

[tŭng]

n.

A mobile mass of muscular tissue that is covered with mucous membrane, occupies much of the cavity of the mouth, forms part of its floor, bears the organ of taste, and assists in chewing, swallowing, and speech.

tongue in Science

tongue

[tŭng]

A muscular organ in most vertebrates that is usually attached to the bottom of the mouth. In snakes, the tongue is used as a sense organ. In frogs, the tongue is chiefly used to capture prey. In mammals, the tongue is the main organ of taste and is an important organ of digestion. In humans, the tongue is used to produce speech.

A similar organ in certain invertebrate animals.

Idioms and Phrases with tongue

tongue

In addition to the idioms beginning with tongue

tongue hangs out, one's
tongue in cheek, with
tongues wag

also see:

bite one's tongue
cat got someone's tongue
hold one's tongue
keep a civil tongue
on the tip of one's tongue
slip of the lip (tongue)