Definition of TONGUE

tongue

Meanings

Plural: tongues

Noun

  • a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
  • a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language
  • any long thin projection that is transient
    • "tongues of flame licked at the walls"
  • a manner of speaking
    • "he spoke with a thick tongue"
    • "she has a glib tongue"
  • a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea
  • the tongue of certain animals used as meat
  • the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot
  • metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side
  • 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.
  • Such an organ, as taken from animals and used for food (especially from cows).
  • Any similar organ, such as the lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk; the proboscis of a moth or butterfly; or the lingua of an insect.
  • A language.
  • The speakers of a language, collectively.
  • A voice, (the distinctive sound of a person's speech); accent (distinctive manner of pronouncing a language).
  • A manner of speaking, often habitually.
  • A person speaking in a specified manner.
  • The power of articulate utterance; speech generally.
  • Discourse; the fluency of speech or expression.
  • Discourse; fluency of speech or expression.
  • Honorable discourse; eulogy.
  • Glossolalia.
  • In a shoe, the flap of material that goes between the laces and the foot (so called because it resembles a tongue in the mouth).
  • Any large or long physical protrusion on an automotive or machine part or any other part that fits into a long groove on another part.
  • A projection, or slender appendage or fixture.
  • A long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or lake.
  • The pole of a towed or drawn vehicle or farm implement (e.g., trailer, cart, plow, harrow), by which it is pulled; for example, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked.
  • The clapper of a bell.
  • An individual point of flame from a fire.
  • A small sole (type of fish).
  • A short piece of rope spliced into the upper part of standing backstays, etc.; also, the upper main piece of a mast composed of several pieces.
  • A reed.
  • A division of formation; A layer or member of a formation that pinches out in one direction.

Verb

  • articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments
  • lick or explore with the tongue
  • On a wind instrument, to articulate a note by starting the air with a tap of the tongue, as though by speaking a 'd' or 't' sound (alveolar plosive).
  • To manipulate with the tongue, as in kissing or oral sex; to perform cunnilingus or anilingus on.
  • To protrude in relatively long, narrow sections.
  • To join by means of a tongue and groove.
  • To talk; to prate.
  • To speak; to utter.
  • To chide; to scold.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English tonge, tunge, tung, from Old English tunge, from Proto-West Germanic *tungā, from Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (“tongue”) (compare West Frisian tonge, Dutch tong, Luxembourgish Zong, German Zunge, Yiddish צונג (tsung), Danish tunge, Norwegian Bokmål tunge, Swedish tunga, Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍉 (tuggō)), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s. Cognate with Old Irish tengae, Latin lingua, Tocharian A käntu, Tocharian B kantwo, Lithuanian liežùvis, Russian язык (jazyk), Polish język, Old Armenian լեզու (lezu), Avestan 𐬵𐬌𐬰𐬎𐬎𐬁 (hizuuā), Persian زبان (zabân), Ashkun žū, Kamkata-viri dić, diz, Prasuni luzuk, Sanskrit जिह्वा (jihvā́). Doublet of language and lingua.
It has been noted by many over the centuries that the word's spelling, were it true to pronunciation or etymology, would be tung (which is indeed a rare alternative spelling). The spelling with -ue at the end came about in the late Middle English period, seemingly to keep the word from being misread with a soft g (that is, /dʒ/) since -e was still needed to show the word-final vowel that has now been lost. The use of u to harden g is adopted from the Romance spelling principle, with one example indeed being the French cognate langue (“tongue”), whose u is unlikewise etymological.

Synonyms

clapper, glossa, idiom, knife, language, lingo, lingua, natural language, speaking in tongues, spit

Antonyms

artificial language

Scrabble Score: 7

tongue is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
tongue is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
tongue is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

tongue is a valid Words With Friends word