tongue
English meaning: Tongue
Definition
The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.
Example
“She burned her tongue on the hot soup.”
Another example: “English may not be his mother tongue, but he speaks it fluently.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A very common noun for the organ in the mouth (taste, speech) and, figuratively, for a language ('mother tongue'). Appears in many idioms ('hold your tongue', 'slip of the tongue', 'tongue in cheek').
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old English 'tunge' (tongue, speech), from a Proto-Germanic root, with the unusual modern spelling appearing in the 1400s.
Synonyms
- clapper
- glossa
- spit
- knife
- lingua
- natural language
Antonyms / Opposites
- artificial language
Related Words
- lingual
- cheek
- papillae
- palate
- groove
- alveolar
- lips
- piercing
- articulation
- consonants
Common Collocations
- mother tongue
- native tongue
- hold your tongue
- slip of the tongue
- tongue in cheek
Word Forms
tongue (n); tongues (pl.); tongued (adj)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B