tongue

tongue

 (tŭng)

n.

1.

a. The fleshy, movable, muscular organ, attached in most vertebrates to the floor of the mouth, that is the principal organ of taste, an aid in chewing and swallowing, and, in humans, an important organ of speech.

b. An analogous organ or part in invertebrate animals, as in certain insects or mollusks.

2. The tongue of an animal, such as a cow, used as food.

3. A spoken language or dialect.

4.

a. Speech; talk: If there is goodness in your heart, it will come to your tongue.

b. The act or power of speaking: She had no tongue to answer.

c. tongues Speech or vocal sounds produced in a state of religious ecstasy.

d. Style or quality of utterance: her sharp tongue.

5. The bark or baying of a hunting dog that sees game: The dog gave tongue when the fox came through the hedge.

6. Something resembling a tongue in shape or function, as:

a. The vibrating end of a reed in a wind instrument.

b. A flame.

c. The flap of material under the laces or buckles of a shoe.

d. A spit of land; a promontory.

e. A bell clapper.

f. The harnessing pole attached to the front axle of a horse-drawn vehicle.

7. A protruding strip along the edge of a board that fits into a matching groove on the edge of another board.

v. tongued, tongu·ing, tongues

v.tr.

1. Music To separate or articulate (notes played on a brass or wind instrument) by shutting off the stream of air with the tongue.

2.

a. To touch or lick with the tongue.

b. To give (someone) a French-kiss.

3.

a. To provide (a board) with a tongue.

b. To join by means of a tongue and groove.

4. Archaic To scold.

v.intr.

1. Music To articulate notes on a brass or wind instrument.

2. To project: a spit of land tonguing into the bay.

Idioms:

have/speak with a forked tongue

To speak deceitfully; prevaricate or lie.

bite/hold (one's) tongue

To be or keep silent.

loosen (someone's) tongue

To cause (someone) to speak freely or carelessly or to divulge information.

lose (one's) tongue

To lose the capacity to speak, as from shock.

on the tip of (one's) tongue

On the verge of being recalled or expressed.

---

[Middle English, from Old English tunge; see dn̥ghū- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tongue

(tʌŋ)

n

1. (Anatomy) a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In man it plays an important part in the articulation of speech sounds.

2. (Zoology) an analogous organ in invertebrates

3. (Cookery) the tongue of certain animals used as food

4. (Languages) a language, dialect, or idiom: the English tongue.

5. the ability to speak: to lose one's tongue.

6. a manner of speaking: a glib tongue.

7. utterance or voice (esp in the phrase give tongue)

8. (Ecclesiastical Terms) (plural) See gift of tongues

9. anything which resembles a tongue in shape or function: a tongue of flame; a tongue of the sea.

10. (Physical Geography) a promontory or spit of land

11. (Clothing & Fashion) a flap of leather on a shoe, either for decoration or under the laces or buckles to protect the instep

12. (Music, other) music the reed of an oboe or similar instrument

13. (Music, other) the clapper of a bell

14. the harnessing pole of a horse-drawn vehicle

15. (Mechanical Engineering) a long and narrow projection on a machine or structural part that serves as a guide for assembly or as a securing device

16. (Building) a projecting strip along an edge of a board that is made to fit a corresponding groove in the edge of another board

17. hold one's tongue to keep quiet

18. on the tip of one's tongue about to come to mind: her name was on the tip of his tongue.

19. with one's tongue in one's cheek tongue in cheek with insincere or ironical intent

vb, tongues, tonguing or tongued

20. (Music, other) to articulate (notes played on a wind instrument) by the process of tonguing

21. (tr) to lick, feel, or touch with the tongue

22. (Building) (tr) carpentry to provide (a board) with a tongue

23. (Physical Geography) (intr) (of a piece of land) to project into a body of water

24. (tr) obsolete to reproach; scold

[Old English tunge; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse tunga, Old High German zunga, Latin lingua]

ˈtongueless adj

ˈtongueˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tongue

(tʌŋ)

n., v. tongued, tongu•ing. n.

1. a movable organ in the floor of the mouth, functioning in tasting, eating, and, in humans, speaking.

2. the tongue of an animal, as an ox or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling.

3. the faculty or power of speech.

4. manner or character of speech: a flattering tongue.

5. the language of a particular people, region, or nation.

6. (in the Bible) a people or nation distinguished by its language.

7. tongues, speech, often incomprehensible, typically uttered during moments of religious ecstasy.

8. a strip of leather or other material under the lacing or fastening of a shoe.

9. a piece of metal suspended inside a bell that strikes against the side, producing a sound; clapper.

10. a vibrating reed or similar structure in a musical instrument.

11. the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it.

12. a projecting strip along the center of the edge of a board, for fitting into a groove in another board.

13. a narrow strip of land extending into a body of water; cape.

14. the pin of a buckle, brooch, etc.

v.t.

15. to articulate (tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.) by strokes of the tongue.

16.

a. to cut a tongue on (a board).

b. to join or fit together by a tongue-and-groove joint.

17. to touch with the tongue.

18. to articulate or pronounce.

19. Archaic.

a. to reproach or scold.

b. to speak or utter.

v.i.

20. to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.

21. to project like a tongue.

Idioms:

1. at or on the tip of one's or the tongue,

a. on the verge of being said.

b. eluding the memory but about to be recalled: The answer is on the tip of my tongue.

2. give tongue, (of a hound in fox hunting) to bay while following a scent.

3. give tongue to, to utter; speak.

4. hold one's tongue, to remain silent; refrain from speaking.

5. (with) tongue in cheek, as a joke; ironically.

[before 900; (n.) Middle English tunge, Old English, c. Old Frisian tunge, Old Saxon, Old Norse tunga, Old High German zunga, Gothic tuggo]

tongue′less, adj.

tongue′like`, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

tongue

(tŭng)

1. A muscular organ in most vertebrate animals that is usually attached to the bottom of the mouth. In some reptiles, such as snakes, the tongue is mainly used as a sense organ, while in some other animals, such as frogs, chameleons, and anteaters, it is used to capture prey. The tongue is the main organ of taste in mammals, and it is used to aid in chewing and swallowing. In humans, it is also used to produce speech sounds.

2. A similar organ in certain invertebrate animals.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Tongue

 

See Also: MOUTH, SHARPNESS

1. Her tongue felt like a freshly painted shingle —Edwin L. Sabin
2. Her tongue hung out like a yard of red hall carpet —Wilson Mizener
3. Her tongue [as she kissed him] was like a kitten’s, soft and rough, tasting of milk —Shirley W. Schoonover
4. His tongue darted in and out when he talked, as if he were keeping count of the words —Shelby Hearon
5. (A large dog lay panting,) his tongue unrolled like a carpet —Peter Meinke
6. My tongue is big as a liverwurst —Marge Piercy
7. The tongue is like a race horse: the less weight it carries, the faster it runs —Joseph Addison

   This has been modernized from the original. “The tongue is like a race-horse, which runs the faster the lesser weight it carries.”

8. Tongue like a pink dart —Joseph Conrad
9. The tongue … like a stream, could run smooth music from the roughest stone —Elizabeth Barrett Browning
10. Your tongue curls up in your mouth like a cat lapping up cream —R. Wright Campbell

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

tongue

Past participle: tongued
Gerund: tonguing

Imperative

tongue

tongue

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

tongue

A mobile, muscular organ in the mouth, involved in tasting, chewing, swallowing, and speech.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited

Tongue

A long pole attached to the front wheels of an implement and held between two horses by the horses’ Harness. As the horses turned, they moved the tongue and changed the direction of travel of the front wheels.

1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	tongue - a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity glossa, lingua, clapper organ - a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function articulator - a movable speech organ mouth, oral cavity, oral fissure, rima oris - the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge; "he stuffed his mouth with candy" gustatory organ, taste bud, tastebud - an oval sensory end organ on the surface of the tongue pharynx, throat - the passage to the stomach and lungs; in the front part of the neck below the chin and above the collarbone
	2.	tongue - a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language natural language language, linguistic communication - a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols; "he taught foreign languages"; "the language introduced is standard throughout the text"; "the speed with which a program can be executed depends on the language in which it is written" first language, maternal language, mother tongue - one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next tonal language, tone language - a language in which different tones distinguish different meanings creole - a mother tongue that originates from contact between two languages American-Indian language, Amerind, Amerindian language, American Indian, Indian - any of the languages spoken by Amerindians Eskimo-Aleut, Eskimo-Aleut language - the family of languages that includes Eskimo and Aleut Chukchi language, Chukchi - an indigenous and isolated language of unknown origin spoken by the Chukchi that is pronounced differently by men and women Sino-Tibetan, Sino-Tibetan language - the family of tonal languages spoken in eastern Asia Austro-Asiatic, Austro-Asiatic language, Munda-Mon-Khmer - a family of languages spoken in southern and southeastern Asia Hmong language, Miao, Hmong - a language of uncertain affiliation spoken by the Hmong Austronesian language, Austronesian - the family of languages spoken in Australia and Formosa and Malaysia and Polynesia Papuan language, Papuan - any of the indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea or New Britain or the Solomon Islands that are not Malayo-Polynesian languages Khoisan, Khoisan language - a family of languages spoken in southern Africa Indo-European language, Indo-Hittite, Indo-European - the family of languages that by 1000 BC were spoken throughout Europe and in parts of southwestern and southern Asia Ural-Altaic - a (postulated) group of languages including many of the indigenous languages of Russia (but not Russian) Basque - the language of the Basque people; of no known relation to any other language Elamitic, Susian, Elamite - an extinct ancient language of unknown affinities; spoken by the Elamites Cassite, Kassite - an ancient language spoken by the Kassites Caucasian language, Caucasian - a number of languages spoken in the Caucasus that are unrelated to languages spoken elsewhere Dravidian language, Dravidic, Dravidian - a large family of languages spoken in south and central India and Sri Lanka Afrasian, Afrasian language, Afroasiatic, Afro-Asiatic, Afroasiatic language, Hamito-Semitic - a large family of related languages spoken both in Asia and Africa Niger-Kordofanian, Niger-Kordofanian language - the family of languages that includes most of the languages spoken in Africa south of the Sahara; the majority of them are tonal languages but there are important exceptions (e.g., Swahili or Fula) Nilo-Saharan, Nilo-Saharan language - a family of East African languages spoken by Nilotic peoples from the Sahara south to Kenya and Tanzania
	3.	tongue - any long thin projection that is transient; "tongues of flame licked at the walls"; "rifles exploded quick knives of fire into the dark" knife projection - any solid convex shape that juts out from something
	4.	tongue - a manner of speaking; "he spoke with a thick tongue"; "she has a glib tongue" manner of speaking, delivery, speech - your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally; "his manner of speaking was quite abrupt"; "her speech was barren of southernisms"; "I detected a slight accent in his speech" sharp tongue - a bitter or critical manner of speaking
	5.	tongue - a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea spit cape, ness - a strip of land projecting into a body of water sand - a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral
	6.	tongue - the tongue of certain animals used as meat organs, variety meat - edible viscera of a butchered animal beef tongue - the tongue of a cow eaten as meat calf's tongue - the tongue of a calf eaten as meat
	7.	tongue - the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot boot - footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg flap - any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely; "he wrote on the flap of the envelope" shoe - footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material
	8.	tongue - metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side clapper bell - a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck striker - the part of a mechanical device that strikes something
Verb	1.	tongue - articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments music - musical activity (singing or whistling etc.); "his music was his central interest" music - (music) the sounds produced by singers or musical instruments (or reproductions of such sounds) spiel, play - replay (as a melody); "Play it again, Sam"; "She played the third movement very beautifully" double tongue, triple-tongue - play fast notes on a wind instrument
	2.	tongue - lick or explore with the tongue   lap, lick - pass the tongue over; "the dog licked her hand"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

tongue

noun

1. language, speech, vernacular, talk, dialect, idiom, parlance, lingo (informal), patois, argot They feel passionately about their native tongue.

2. utterance, voice, speech, articulation, verbal expression her sharp wit and quick tongue

Related words
technical name lingua
adjectives lingual, glottal

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

tongue

noun

A system of terms used by a people sharing a history and culture:

dialect, language, speech, vernacular.

Linguistics: langue.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

شَيْء على شَكْل لِسانلسانلِسانلِسَانلُغَه

език

jazyk

tungemodersmålsprog

ZungeFederschnalzenSprache

γλώσσαγλωσσίδι

lango

lenguaidioma

keel

زبان

kieliiltti

langueardillon

jezik

nyelv

lidah

tungatungumál

lingualinguetta di scarpatoccare con la linguatrattenersidire ironicamente

舌

혀

lingua

liežuvis

mēlevaloda

tong

tungetungemål

język

língua

limbă

языкязыковый

jazyk

jezik

tungaplös

ลิ้น

dillisan

cái lưỡilưỡi

舌头舌状物语言方言舌

tongue

[tʌŋ]

A. N

1. (Anat, Culin) → lengua f
to put or stick one's tongue out (at sb) → sacar la lengua (a algn)
she has a quick/nasty tongue (fig) → tiene mucha labia/una lengua viperina
with (one's) tongue in (one's) cheek → irónicamente, burla burlando
to say sth tongue in cheek → decir algo en tono de burla
to keep a civil tongue in one's head → moderar las palabras or el lenguaje
to get one's tongue around sth I can't get my tongue round these Latin names → estos nombres latinos resultan impronunciables
to find one's tongue so you've found your tongue? → ¿así que estás dispuesto por fin a hablar?
to give tongue [hounds] → empezar a ladrar
to hold one's tongue → callarse
hold your tongue! → ¡cállate la boca!
to loosen sb's tongue → hacer hablar a algn
wine loosens the tongue → el vino suelta la lengua
to lose one's tongue have you lost your tongue? → ¿te has tragado la lengua?
to trip or roll off the tongue the formula came tripping or rolling off his/her tongue → pronunció la fórmula con la mayor facilidad
it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue → no se puede decir que sea fácil de pronunciar

2. [of shoe] → lengüeta f; [of bell] → badajo m (fig) [of flame, land] → lengua f

3. (= language) → lengua f, idioma m
in the German tongue → en alemán, en la lengua alemana
to speak in tongues (Rel) → hablar en lenguas desconocidas

B. CPD tongue twister N → trabalenguas m inv

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

tongue

[ˈtʌŋ]

n

(= part of body) → langue f
to stick out one's tongue → tirer sa langue

(= language) → langue f
English is not her native tongue → L'anglais n'est pas sa langue natale.

to say sth tongue in cheek → dire qch sur un ton pince-sans-rire
Were they written tongue-in-cheek? → Ont-ils été écrits sur le ton de l'ironie?

to hold your tongue → tenir sa langue

a slip of the tongue → un lapsustongue-in-cheek [ˈtʌŋˈɪnˈtʃiːk] adj [humour] → pince-sans-rire invtongue-lashing tongue lashing [ˈtʌŋlæʃɪŋ] n
to give sb a tongue-lashing → houspiller qntongue-tied [ˈtʌŋtaɪd] adj (= shy) → muet(te)tongue twister n → virelangue m, vire-langue m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tongue

n

→ Zunge f; to put or stick one’s tongue out at somebody → jdm die Zunge herausstrecken; to lose/find one’s tongue (fig) → die Sprache verlieren/wiederfinden; to hold one’s tongue → den Mund halten; to have a ready tongue → schlagfertig sein, nicht auf den Mund gefallen sein; to have a sharp tongue → eine scharfe Zunge haben; keep a civil tongue in your head! → werden Sie nicht ausfallend!; I can’t get my tongue round it → dabei breche ich mir fast die Zunge ab ? slip, tip, tongue-in-cheek

(liter: = language) → Sprache f; (old Bibl) → Zunge f; the gift of tongues (Bibl) → die Gabe, in fremden Zungen zu reden

(of shoe) → Zunge f, → Lasche f; (of bell) → Klöppel m; (of land) → (Land)zunge f; (of wood) → Spund m, → Zapfen m; a tongue of fire licked the building → eine Flamme züngelte an dem Gebäude empor

vt (Mus) note → (mit der Zunge) stoßen

---

tongue

:

tongue-and-groove joint

n → Anschlitzzunge f, → Spundung f

tongue-in-cheek

adj attr, tongue in cheek¹ adj pred humour, approach → ironisch; remark → ironisch gemeint

tongue in cheek²

adv → nicht ganz ernst gemeint

tongue-lashing

n to give somebody a tongue → jdm gehörig die Meinung sagen; to get a tongue → gehörig die Meinung gesagt bekommen

tongue-tied

adj to be tongue → keinen Ton herausbringen; she sat there tongue → sie saß da und brachte keinen Ton heraus

tongue twister

n → Zungenbrecher m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

tongue

[tʌŋ] n

a. (gen) → lingua; (of shoe) → linguetta; (of bell) → battaglio
have you lost your tongue? → hai perso la lingua?
hold your tongue! → chiudi quella bocca!
to put out one's tongue (at sb) → mostrare la lingua (a qn)
to say sth tongue in cheek (fig) → dire qc ironicamente
I can't get my tongue round it (fig) → non riesco a pronunziarlo

b. (frm, liter) (language) → lingua

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

tongue

(taŋ) noun

1. the fleshy organ inside the mouth, used in tasting, swallowing, speaking etc. The doctor looked at her tongue. tong لِسان език língua jazyk die Zunge tunge γλώσσαlengua keel زبان kieli langueלשון जीभ jezik nyelv lidah tunga lingua 舌 혀 liežuvis mēle lidah tongtungejęzyk ژبه، دغوښې ټوټه: وينا، ژبه ( لكه پښتو )، ژبۍ: دوينا سبك língua limbă язык jazyk jezik jezik tunga ลิ้น dil 舌頭 язик زبان، جيب lưỡi 舌头

2. the tongue of an animal used as food. tong وَجْبَة طَعام: لِسانات език língua jazyk die Zunge tunge γλώσσαlengua keel گوشت زبان kieli langueלשון बोली jezik nyelv lidah tunga lingua 舌の肉 (식용 짐승의) 혀 liežuvis mēle lidah tongtungeozór دغوښې ټوټه língua limbă язык jazyk jezik jezik tunga ลิ้น dil 舌肉 язик کسي جانور کي زبان جو کھانے ميں کام آئے lưỡi động vật...làm thức ăn （用作食品的）舌

3. something with the same shape as a tongue. a tongue of flame. tong شَيْء على شَكْل لِسان език língua jazyk die Zunge tunge; -tunge κτ. που έχει το σχήμα γλώσσας lengua -keel زبانه lieska langueלשון बहिर्विष्ट पट्टी jezičac nyelv lidah (eld)tunga lingua 舌形のもの 혀와 같은 것 liežuvis mēle lidah tongtungejęzyk, jęzor ژبۍ língua limbă язык jazyk jezik jezik tunga สิ่งที่เหมือนลิ้น dil 舌狀物 язик полум'я; серце дзвона; язичок духового інструмента, черевика زبان کي شکل کا có hình cái lưỡi 舌状物

4. a language. English is his mother-tongue / native tongue; a foreign tongue. taal لُغَه език língua jazyk die Sprache sprog; modersmål γλώσσαlengua, idioma keel زبان kieli langueלשון भाषा, किसी राष्ट्र आदि की भाषा jezik nyelv bahasa tungumál lingua 言語 언어 kalba valoda bahasa taalspråk, tungemåljęzyk ژبه língua limbă язык jazyk jezik jezik språk, tungomål ภาษา dil, lisan 方言，語言 мова زبان، بولي một ngôn ngữ 方言，语言

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

tongue

→ لِسَان jazyk tunge Zunge γλώσσα lengua kieli langue jezik lingua 舌 혀 tong tunge język língua язык tunga ลิ้น dil cái lưỡi 舌头

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

tongue

n. lengua;

black hairy ___ → ___ negra velluda, lengua infectada de hongos parásitos;

dry ___ → ___ seca;

geographic ___ → ___ geográfica;

red ___ → ___ roja o enrojecida;

sticky ___ → ___ pegajosa;

___ depressor → depresor de ___.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

tongue

n lengua; — depressor o blade depresor m (de lengua), bajalenguas m, abatelenguas m (Mex), paleta (fam)

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.