glossolalia Hear it!

glossolalia definition

glos·so·la·lia (gläs′ō lā′lē ə, glôs′-)

noun

  1. ecstatic or apparently ecstatic utterance of usually unintelligible speechlike sounds, as in a religious assembly, viewed by some as a manifestation of deep religious experience
  2. gift of tongues

Etymology: ModL < glosso- (see glosso-) + Gr lalia, a speaking < lalein, to speak, prattle, of echoic orig.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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