Definitions for tongue
tʌŋtongue

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tongue, lingua, glossa, clapper(noun)

   a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity

2. natural language, tongue(noun)

   a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language

3. tongue, knife(noun)

   any long thin projection that is transient

   "tongues of flame licked at the walls"; "rifles exploded quick knives of fire into the dark"

4. tongue(noun)

   a manner of speaking

   "he spoke with a thick tongue"; "she has a glib tongue"

5. spit, tongue(noun)

   a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea

6. tongue(noun)

   the tongue of certain animals used as meat

7. tongue(noun)

   the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot

8. clapper, tongue(verb)

   metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side

9. tongue(verb)

   articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments

10. tongue(verb)

    lick or explore with the tongue

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tongue(Noun)

   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.

2. tongue(Noun)

   A language.

   He was speaking in his native tongue.

3. tongue(Noun)

   Glossolalia.

4. tongue(Noun)

   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.

5. tongue(Noun)

   Any large or long physical protrusion on an automotive, a machine part or any other part that fits into a long groove on another part.

6. tongue(Noun)

   An individual point of flame from a fire.

7. tongue(Verb)

   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).

8. tongue(Verb)

   to kiss involving the touching of both tongues, and/or licking.

9. tongue(Verb)

   To manipulate with the tongue.

   Playing wind instruments involves tonguing on the reed or mouthpiece.

Origin: From tonge, tunge, tung, from tunge, from tungōn (compare Dutch tong, German Zunge, Swedish tunga), from dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (compare Irish teanga, Latin lingua, Tocharian A/B känt/kantwo, Lithuanian liežùvis, Polish język 'language, tongue', Armenian լեզու, Sanskrit जिह्वा).

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tongue(noun)

   an organ situated in the floor of the mouth of most vertebrates and connected with the hyoid arch

2. Tongue(noun)

   the power of articulate utterance; speech

3. Tongue(noun)

   discourse; fluency of speech or expression

4. Tongue(noun)

   honorable discourse; eulogy

5. Tongue(noun)

   a language; the whole sum of words used by a particular nation; as, the English tongue

6. Tongue(noun)

   speech; words or declarations only; -- opposed to thoughts or actions

7. Tongue(noun)

   a people having a distinct language

8. Tongue(noun)

   the lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk

9. Tongue(noun)

   the proboscis of a moth or a butterfly

10. Tongue(noun)

    the lingua of an insect

11. Tongue(noun)

    any small sole

12. Tongue(noun)

    that which is considered as resembing an animal's tongue, in position or form

13. Tongue(noun)

    a projection, or slender appendage or fixture; as, the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance

14. Tongue(noun)

    a projection on the side, as of a board, which fits into a groove

15. Tongue(noun)

    a point, or long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or a lake

16. Tongue(noun)

    the pole of a vehicle; especially, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked

17. Tongue(noun)

    the clapper of a bell

18. Tongue(noun)

    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

19. Tongue(noun)

    same as Reed, n., 5

20. Tongue(verb)

    to speak; to utter

21. Tongue(verb)

    to chide; to scold

22. Tongue(verb)

    to modulate or modify with the tongue, as notes, in playing the flute and some other wind instruments

23. Tongue(verb)

    to join means of a tongue and grove; as, to tongue boards together

24. Tongue(verb)

    to talk; to prate

25. Tongue(verb)

    to use the tongue in forming the notes, as in playing the flute and some other wind instruments

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tongue

   The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste, as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels. In humans a secondary function of the tongue is phonetic articulation. The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning one's teeth. The ability to perceive different tastes is not localised in different parts of the tongue, as is widely believed. This error arose because of misinterpretation of some 19th-century research.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tongue

   tung, n. the fleshy organ in the mouth, used in tasting, swallowing, and speech: power of speech: manner of speaking: speech: discourse: a language: anything like a tongue in shape: the catch of a buckle: the pointer of a balance: a point of land.—adjs. Tongued, having a tongue.; Tongue′less, having no tongue.—n. Tongue′let, a little tongue.—p.adj. Tongue′-shaped, shaped like a tongue: (bot.) linear and fleshy and blunt at the point, as a leaf.—n. Tongue′ster, a babbler.—adjs. Tongue′-tied, -tacked, having an impediment, as if the tongue were tied: unable to speak freely.—n. Tongue′-work, babble, chatter.—Hold one's tongue (see Hold). [A.S. tunge; Ice. tunga, Ger. zunge, the tongue; L. lingua (old form dingua).]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. TONGUE

   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.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tongue' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3897

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tongue' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4325

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tongue' in Nouns Frequency: #1451

Anagrams for tongue »

1. tounge

How to say tongue in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tongue in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tongue in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of tongue in a Sentence

1. Egyptian Proverb:

   A man's ruin lies in his tongue.

2. Miguel de Cervantes:

   The pen is the tongue of the mind.

3. Miguel de Cervantes:

   Be slow of tongue and quick of eye.

4. French Proverb:

   Better the foot slip than the tongue.

5. American Indian Proverb:

   Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf.

Images & Illustrations of tongue

Popularity rank by frequency of use