Adjacent Words

Tongue definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TONGUE
TONGUE-GR`AFTING
TUNG'-GR`AFTING, n. A mode of grafting by inserting the end of a cion in a particular manner.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity [syn: tongue, lingua, glossa, clapper]
2: a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language [syn: natural language, tongue] [ant: artificial language]
3: any long thin projection that is transient; "tongues of flame licked at the walls"; "rifles exploded quick knives of fire into the dark" [syn: tongue, knife]
4: a manner of speaking; "he spoke with a thick tongue"; "she has a glib tongue"
5: a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea [syn: spit, tongue]
6: the tongue of certain animals used as meat
7: the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot
8: metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side [syn: clapper, tongue] v
1: articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments
2: lick or explore with the tongue

Merriam Webster's

geographical name river 246 miles (396 kilometers) N Wyoming & S Montana flowing N into Yellowstone River

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English tunge, from Old English; akin to Old High German zunga tongue, Latin lingua Date: before 12th century 1. a. a fleshy movable muscular process of the floor of the mouths of most vertebrates that bears sensory end organs and small glands and functions especially in taking and swallowing food and in humans as a speech organ b. a part of various invertebrate animals that is analogous to the tongue 2. the flesh of a tongue (as of the ox or sheep) used as food 3. the power of communication through speech 4. a. language; especially a spoken language b. manner or quality of utterance with respect to tone or sound, the sense of what is expressed, or the intention of the speaker <she has a clever tongue> <a sharp tongue> c. ecstatic usually unintelligible utterance usually accompanying religious excitation — usually used in plural d. the cry of or as if of a hound pursuing or in sight of game — used especially in the phrase to give tongue 5. a tapering flame <tongues of fire> 6. a long narrow strip of land projecting into a body of water 7. something resembling an animal's tongue in being elongated and fastened at one end only: as a. a movable pin in a buckle b. a metal ball suspended inside a bell so as to strike against the sides as the bell is swung c. the pole of a vehicle d. the flap under the lacing or buckles of a shoe at the throat of the vamp 8. a. the rib on one edge of a board that fits into a corresponding groove in an edge of another board to make a flush joint b. feather 4 • tonguelike adjective II. verb (tongued; tonguing) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. archaic scold 2. to touch or lick with or as if with the tongue 3. a. to cut a tongue on <tongue a board> b. to join (as boards) by means of a tongue and groove <tongue flooring together> 4. to articulate (notes) by tonguing intransitive verb 1. to project in a tongue 2. to articulate notes on a wind instrument by successively interrupting the stream of wind with the action of the tongue

Britannica Concise

Muscular organ on the floor of the mouth. It is important in motions of eating, drinking, and swallowing, and its complex movements shape the sounds of speech. Its top surface consists of thousands of raised projections (papillae). The receptors of taste (taste buds) are embedded in the papillae and are sensitive to four basic flavors: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. More specific flavors are influenced by the sense of smell. The tongue's appearance (e.g., coated or red) can give clues to disease elsewhere. Disorders of the tongue include cancer (often caused by smokeless tobacco), leukoplakia (white patches), fungal infection, and congenital disorders. Different animals use the tongue to serve varied functions; for example, frogs have an elongated tongue adapted to capturing prey, the snake's tongue collects and transfers odors to a specialized sensory structure to help locate prey, and cats use their tongues for grooming and cleaning.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the fleshy muscular organ in the mouth used in tasting, licking, and swallowing, and (in man) for speech. 2 the tongue of an ox etc. as food. 3 the faculty of or a tendency in speech (a sharp tongue). 4 a particular language (the German tongue). 5 a thing like a tongue in shape or position, esp.: a a long low promontory. b a strip of leather etc., attached at one end only, under the laces in a shoe. c the clapper of a bell. d the pin of a buckle. e the projecting strip on a wooden etc. board fitting into the groove of another. f a vibrating slip in the reed of some musical instruments. g a jet of flame. --v. (tongues, tongued, tonguing) 1 tr. produce staccato etc. effects with (a flute etc.) by means of tonguing. 2 intr. use the tongue in this way. Phrases and idioms: find (or lose) one's tongue be able (or unable) to express oneself after a shock etc. the gift of tongues the power of speaking in unknown languages, regarded as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). keep a civil tongue in one's head avoid rudeness. tongue-and-groove applied to boards in which a tongue along one edge fits into a groove along the edge of the next, each board having a tongue on one edge and a groove on the other. tongue-in-cheek adj. ironic; slyly humorous. --adv. insincerely or ironically. tongue-lashing a severe scolding or reprimand. tongue-tie a speech impediment due to a malformation of the tongue. tongue-tied 1 too shy or embarrassed to speak. 2 having a tongue-tie. tongue-twister a sequence of words difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly. with one's tongue hanging out eagerly or expectantly. with one's tongue in one's cheek insincerely or ironically. Derivatives: tongued adj. (also in comb.). tongueless adj. Etymology: OE tunge f. Gmc, rel. to L lingua

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tongue Tongue, n. [OE. tunge, tonge, AS. tunge; akin to OFries. tunge, D. tong, OS. tunga, G. zunge, OHG. zunga, Icel. & Sw. tunga, Dan tunge, Goth. tugg[=o], OL. dingua, L. lingua. [root]243 Cf.Language, Lingo. ] 1. (Anat.) an organ situated in the floor of the mouth of most vertebrates and connected with the hyoid arch. Note: The tongue is usually muscular, mobile, and free at one extremity, and in man other mammals is the principal organ of taste, aids in the prehension of food, in swallowing, and in modifying the voice as in speech. To make his English sweet upon his tongue. --Chaucer. 2. The power of articulate utterance; speech. Parrots imitating human tongue. --Dryden. 3. Discourse; fluency of speech or expression. Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together. --L. Estrange. 4. Honorable discourse; eulogy. [Obs.] She was born noble; let that title find her a private grave, but neither tongue nor honor. --Beau. & Fl. 5. A language; the whole sum of words used by a particular nation; as, the English tongue. --Chaucer. Whose tongue thou shalt not understand. --Deut. xxviii. 49. To speak all tongues. --Milton. 6. Speech; words or declarations only; -- opposed to thoughts or actions. My little children, let us love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. --1 John iii. 18. 7. A people having a distinct language. A will gather all nations and tongues. --Isa. lxvi. 18. 8. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk. (b) The proboscis of a moth or a butterfly. (c) The lingua of an insect. 9. (Zo["o]l.) Any small sole. 10. That which is considered as resembing an animal's tongue, in position or form. Specifically: (a) A projection, or slender appendage or fixture; as, the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tongue Tongue, v. i. 1. To talk; to prate. --Dryden. 2. (Mus.) To use the tongue in forming the notes, as in playing the flute and some other wind instruments.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tongue Tongue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tongued; p. pr. & vb. n. Tonguing.] 1. To speak; to utter. ``Such stuff as madmen tongue.'' --Shak. 2. To chide; to scold. How might she tongue me. --Shak. 3. (Mus.) To modulate or modify with the tongue, as notes, in playing the flute and some other wind instruments. 4. To join means of a tongue and grove; as, to tongue boards together.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Radula Rad"u*la, n.; pl. Radul[ae]. [L., a scraper, fr. radere to scrape.] (Zo["o]l.) The chitinous ribbon bearing the teeth of mollusks; -- called also lingual ribbon, and tongue. See Odontophore.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tongues) 1. Your tongue is the soft movable part inside your mouth which you use for tasting, eating, and speaking. I walked over to the mirror and stuck my tongue out... She ran her tongue around her lips. N-COUNT: usu poss N 2. You can use tongue to refer to the kind of things that a person says. She had a nasty tongue, but I liked her. N-COUNT: usu supp N 3. A tongue is a language. (LITERARY) The French feel passionately about their native tongue. = language N-COUNT see also mother tongue 4. Tongue is the cooked tongue of an ox or sheep. It is usually eaten cold. N-VAR 5. The tongue of a shoe or boot is the piece of leather which is underneath the laces. N-COUNT 6. A tongue of something such as fire or land is a long thin piece of it. (LITERARY) A yellow tongue of flame shot upwards. N-COUNT: N of n 7. A tongue-in-cheek remark or attitude is not serious, although it may seem to be. ...a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach... PHRASE: PHR n, v-link PHR, PHR after v 8. If you hold your tongue, you do not say anything even though you might want to or be expected to, because it is the wrong time to say it. Douglas held his tongue, preferring not to speak out on a politically sensitive issue. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If you describe something you said as a slip of the tongue, you mean that you said it by mistake. At one stage he referred to Anna as John's fiancée, but later said that was a slip of the tongue. PHRASE: slip inflects 10. to bite your tongue: see bite

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tung: Almost invariably for either lashon, or glossa the latter word with the cognates heteroglossos, "of strange tongues" (1Co 14:21), glossodes, "talkative," English Versions of the Bible "full of tongue" (Sirach 8:3; 9:18), glossotomeo, "to cut out the tongue" (2 Macc 7:4), diglossos, "double-tongued" (Sirach 5:9; 28:13). In 1Ti 3:8, however, "double-tongued" is for dilogos, literally, "two-worded." Where "tongue" in the King James Version translates dialektos (Ac 1:19; 2:8; 21:40; 22:2; 26:14), the Revised Version (British and American) has "language," while for the King James Version "in the Hebrew tongue" in Joh 5:2; Re 9:11; 16:16 (Hebraisti) the Revised Version (British and American) has simply "in Hebrew." In addition, in the Old Testament and Apocrypha, the King James Version uses "to hold one's tongue" as a translation for various verbs meaning "to be silent"; the Revised Version (British and American) in the Old Testament writes "to hold one's peace" and in the Apocrypha "to be silent," except in Sirach 32:8, where the King James Version is retained (siopao).

The various uses of "tongue" in English are all possible also for lashon and glossa, whether as the physical organ (Ex 11:7; Mr 7:33, etc.) or as meaning "language" (Ge 10:5; Ac 2:4, etc.) or as describing anything shaped like a tongue (Isa 11:15; Ac 2:3, etc.). In addition, both words, especially lashon appear in a wider range of meanings than can be taken by "tongue" in modern English. So the tongue appears as the specific organ of speech, where we should prefer "mouth" or "lips" (Ex 4:10; Ps 71:24; 78:36; Pr 16:1; Php 2:11, etc.), and hence, "tongue" is used figuratively for the words uttered (Job 6:30; Ps 139:4; 1Joh 3:18, etc.). So the tongue can be said to have moral qualities (Ps 109:2; Pr 15:4, etc.) or to be "glad" (Ac 2:26); to "love with the tongue" (1 Joh 3:18) is to love in word only, and to be "double-tongued" (Sirach 5:9; 28:13; 1Ti 3:8 is to be a liar. A further expansion of this figurative use has produced expressions that sound slightly bizarre in English, although their meaning is clear enough: e.g., "Who have whet their tongue like a sword" (Ps 64:3); "His tongue is as a devouring fire" (Isa 30:27); "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer" (Ps 45:1), and, especially, "Their tongue walketh through the earth" (Ps 73:9).

In Job 20:12, "Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue," the figure is that of an uncultured man rolling a choice morsel around in his mouth so as to extract the utmost flavor. In Ps 10:7; 66:17 (Revised Version margin), however "under the tongue" means "in readiness to utter," while in So 4:11, "Honey and milk are under thy tongue," the pleasure of a caress is described. To "divide their tongue" (Ps 55:9) is to visit on offenders the punishment of Babel.

See TONGUES, CONFUSION OF.

Burton Scott Easton

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Language, dialect. 2. Talk, discourse, speech. 3. Nation, race. 4. Tong, catch of a buckle. 5. Projection, projecting part.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Tongue enough for two sets of teeth: said of a talkative person. As old as my tongue, and a little older than my teeth; a dovetail in answer to the question, How old are you? Tongue pad; a scold, or nimble-tongued person.

Foolish Dictionary

An unruly member that is frequently put out, yet an artist who's a hard worker at the palate and a great wag among women.

Moby Thesaurus

Maypole, abatis, aftertaste, alveolar ridge, alveolus, apex, argot, articulation, arytenoid cartilages, back, bagpipe, bar, baste, bell, berate, bill, bitter, blade, blow, blow a horn, blunder, boob, brains, breakwater, bugle, cape, carillon, carpet, chersonese, chew out, chimes, chitterlings, church bell, clapper, clarion, cockscomb, coral reef, cowbell, delta, dialect, dinner bell, dinner gong, doodle, doorbell, dorsum, double-tongue, facetiously, faux pas, fife, fire bell, flagstaff, flavor, flute, foreland, gaffe, giblets, gizzard, gong, gong bell, gust, hand bell, hard palate, haslet, head, headland, heart, hook, idiom, in fun, in jest, jaw, jestingly, jingle bell, jocularly, jokingly, keep mum, kidneys, language, langue, lap, larynx, lick, lingo, lingua, linguistic act, lip, lips, liver, locution, marrow, mistake, mouth, mull, nasal cavity, naze, ness, oral cavity, palate, parlance, parol, parole, passing bell, patois, peninsula, personal usage, pharyngeal cavity, pharynx, phonation, phraseology, pipe, point, pole, promontory, rail, rate, reef, relish, rod, sacring bell, salt, sandspit, sapidity, sapor, savor, savoriness, say nothing, scape, sequence of phonemes, shaft, sheepbell, shut up, sleigh bell, slip, smack, soft palate, sound, sour, speaking, speech, speech act, speech organ, spit, spur, stalk, stem, stick, stomach, string, sweet, sweetbread, syrinx, talk, tang, taste, taste bud, teeth, teeth ridge, telephone bell, the spoken word, tintinnabulum, tip, toot, tooth, tootle, totem pole, triangle, tripe, triple-tongue, trumpet, tweedle, upbraid, usage, utterance, utterance string, velum, vernacular, vocable, vocal chink, vocal cords, vocal folds, vocal processes, voice, voice box, whimsically, whistle, wind, wind the horn, word, word of mouth