Tongue Definition
tŭng
tongued, tongues, tonguing
noun
tongues
The movable muscular structure attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates: it is an important organ in the ingestion of food, the perception of taste, and, in humans, the articulation of speech sounds.
Webster's New World
An analogous part in invertebrate animals.
Webster's New World
An animal's tongue used as food.
Webster's New World
Ideas expressed by speaking; talk; speech.
Webster's New World
The act or power of speaking.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
verb
tongued, tongues, tonguing
To talk or talk much.
Webster's New World
To separate or articulate (notes played on a brass or wind instrument) by shutting off the stream of air with the tongue.
American Heritage
To speak or say.
Webster's New World
To touch, lick, etc. with the tongue.
Webster's New World
To project like a tongue.
Webster's New World
idiom
have
- To speak deceitfully; prevaricate or lie.
American Heritage
bite
- To be or keep silent.
American Heritage
loosen (someone's) tongue
- To cause (someone) to speak freely or carelessly or to divulge information.
American Heritage
lose (one's) tongue
- To lose the capacity to speak, as from shock.
American Heritage
on the tip of (one's) tongue
- On the verge of being recalled or expressed.
American Heritage
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Tongue
- have
- bite
- loosen (someone's) tongue
- lose (one's) tongue
- on the tip of (one's) tongue
- find one's tongue
- hold one's tongue
- on everyone's tongue
- on the tip of someone's tongue
- speak in tongues
- with tongue in cheek
Origin of Tongue
-
From Middle English tonge, tunge, tung, from Old English tunge, from Proto-Germanic *tungÇ (“tongue") (compare West Frisian tonge, Dutch tong, German Zunge, Danish tunge, Swedish tunga), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéhâ‚‚s (compare Irish teanga, Latin lingua, Tocharian A/B känt/kantwo, Lithuanian liežùvis, Polish jÄ™zyk 'language, tongue', Armenian Õ¬Õ¥Õ¦Õ¸Ö‚ (lezu), Sanskrit जिह्वा (jihvā́)).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English from Old English tunge dn̥ghū- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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