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tongue

Syllabification: (tongue)
Pronunciation: /təNG/
Translate tongue | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tongue

noun

  • 1the fleshy muscular organ in the mouth of a mammal, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and (in humans) articulating speech.
  • the equivalent organ in other vertebrates, sometimes used (in snakes) as a scent organ or (in chameleons) for catching food.
  • an analogous organ in insects, formed from some of the mouthparts and used in feeding.
  • the tongue of a hoofed mammal, in particular an ox or lamb, as food.
  • used in reference to a person’s style or manner of speaking:he was a redoubtable debater with a caustic tongue
  • a particular language:the prioress chatted to the peddler in a strange tongue
  • (tongues)see the gift of tongues below.
  • 2a thing resembling or likened to a tongue, in particular.
  • a long, low promontory of land.
  • a strip of leather or fabric under the laces in a shoe, attached only at the front end.
  • the pin of a buckle.
  • a projecting strip on a wooden board fitting into a groove on another.
  • the vibrating reed of a musical instrument or organ pipe.
  • a jet of flame:a tongue of flame flashes four feet from the gun

verb (tongues, tonguing /ˈtəNGiNG/, tongued)

[with object]
  • 1 Music sound (a note) distinctly on a wind instrument by interrupting the air flow with the tongue.
  • 2lick or caress with the tongue:the other horse tongued every part of the colt’s mane

Phrases

find (or lose) one's tongue

be able (or unable) to express oneself after a shock.

get one's tongue around

pronounce (words):she found it very difficult to get her tongue around the unfamiliar words

the gift of tongues

the power of speaking in unknown languages, regarded as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).

give tongue

(of hounds) bark, especially on finding a scent.
express one’s feelings or opinions freely, sometimes objectionably so.

keep a civil tongue in one's head

speak politely.

speak in tongues

speak in an unknown language during religious worship.

(with) tongue in cheek

without really meaning what one is saying or writing.

someone's tongue is hanging out

someone is very eager for something:the tabloids have their tongues hanging out for this stuff

Derivatives

tongueless

adjective

Origin:

Old English tunge, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tong, German Zunge and Latin lingua

Spelling rule

Drop the final silent -e when adding -ing or -ed: (tongues, tonguing, tongued).

tongue in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tongue in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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