'Tongue' definitions:
Definition of 'tongue'
From: WordNet
noun
A mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity [syn: tongue, lingua, glossa, clapper]
noun
A human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language [syn: natural language, tongue] [ant: artificial language]
noun
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]
noun
A manner of speaking; "he spoke with a thick tongue"; "she has a glib tongue"
noun
A narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea [syn: spit, tongue]
noun
The tongue of certain animals used as meat
noun
The flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot
noun
Metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side [syn: clapper, tongue]
verb
Articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments
verb
Lick or explore with the tongue
Definition of 'Tongue'
From: GCIDE
- 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. ] [1913 Webster]
- 1. (Anat.) an organ situated in the floor of the mouth of most vertebrates and connected with the hyoid arch. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- To make his English sweet upon his tongue. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The power of articulate utterance; speech. [1913 Webster]
- Parrots imitating human tongue. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Discourse; fluency of speech or expression. [1913 Webster]
- Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together. --L. Estrange. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Honorable discourse; eulogy. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- She was born noble; let that title find her a private grave, but neither tongue nor honor. --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]
- 5. A language; the whole sum of words used by a particular nation; as, the English tongue. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- Whose tongue thou shalt not understand. --Deut. xxviii. 49. [1913 Webster]
- To speak all tongues. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 6. Speech; words or declarations only; -- opposed to thoughts or actions. [1913 Webster]
- My little children, let us love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. --1 John iii. 18. [1913 Webster]
- 7. A people having a distinct language. [1913 Webster]
- A will gather all nations and tongues. --Isa. lxvi. 18. [1913 Webster]
- 8. (Zool.) (a) The lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk. (b) The proboscis of a moth or a butterfly. (c) The lingua of an insect. [1913 Webster]
- 9. (Zool.) Any small sole. [1913 Webster]
- 10. That which is considered as resembing an animal's tongue, in position or form. Specifically: [1913 Webster] (a) A projection, or slender appendage or fixture; as, the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] (b) A projection on the side, as of a board, which fits into a groove. [1913 Webster] (c) A point, or long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or a lake. [1913 Webster] (d) The pole of a vehicle; especially, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked. [1913 Webster] (e) The clapper of a bell. [1913 Webster] (f) (Naut.) 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. [1913 Webster] (g) (Mus.) Same as Reed, n., 5. [1913 Webster]
- To hold the tongue, to be silent.
- Tongue bone (Anat.), the hyoid bone.
- Tongue grafting. See under Grafting. [1913 Webster]
- Syn: Language; speech; expression. See Language. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Tongue'
From: GCIDE
- Tongue \Tongue\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tongued; p. pr. & vb. n. Tonguing.]
- 1. To speak; to utter. "Such stuff as madmen tongue." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To chide; to scold. [1913 Webster]
- How might she tongue me. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Mus.) To modulate or modify with the tongue, as notes, in playing the flute and some other wind instruments. [1913 Webster]
- 4. To join means of a tongue and grove; as, to tongue boards together. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Tongue'
From: GCIDE
- Tongue \Tongue\, v. i.
- 1. To talk; to prate. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Mus.) To use the tongue in forming the notes, as in playing the flute and some other wind instruments. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'tongue'
From: GCIDE
- Radula \Rad"u*la\ (r[a^]d"[-u]*l[.a]), n.; pl. Radulae (r[a^]d"[-u]*l[=e]). [L., a scraper, fr. radere to scrape.] (Zool.) The chitinous ribbon bearing the teeth of mollusks; -- called also lingual ribbon, and tongue. See Odontophore. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'tongue'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- 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,
- Maypole,
- 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
Words containing 'Tongue'
- Tongued,
- Tonguing,
- Goose tongue,
- Lamb's tongue,
- Mother tongue,
- Serpent's tongue,
- To bite the tongue,
- To give tongue,
- To hold the tongue,
- To smite with the tongue,
- Tongue bone,
- Tongue grafting,
- Whale's tongue,
- adder's tongue,
- beef tongue,
- black tongue,
- bull tongue,
- calf's tongue,
- devil's tongue,
- double tongue,
- double tonguing,
- egg and tongue,
- foul tongued,
- furry tongue,
- give tongue to,
- hairy tongue,
- painted tongue,
- sharp tongue,
- silver tongued,
- single tonguing,
- slip of the tongue,
- smooth tongued,
- speak in tongues,
- tongue depressor,
- tongue fern,
- tongue in cheek,
- tongue lash,
- tongue lashing,
- tongue tie,
- tongue tied,
- tongue twister,
- tongue worm,
- tongues confusion of,
- tongues gift of,
- triple tonguing,
- Bird's-tongue,
- Close-tongued,
- Deer's-tongue,
- Dog's-tongue,
- Double-tongue,
- Double-tongued,
- Double-tonguing,
- Earth-tongue,
- Free-tongued,
- Half-tongue,
- Hart's-tongue,
- Honey-tongued,
- Hound's-tongue,
- Long-tongue,
- Long-tongued,
- Pleasant-tongued,
- Serpent-tongued,
- Shrill-tongued,
- Smooth-tongued,
- Snake's-tongue,
- Split-tongued,
- Tongue-pad,
- Tongue-shaped,
- Tongue-shell,
- Tongue-tie,
- Tongue-tied,
- Trumpet-tongued,
- Two-tongued,
- adder's tongue fern,
- egg-and-tongue,
- glib-tongued,
- silver-tongued,
- tongue and groove joint,
- tongue-fish,
- tongue-flower,
- tongue-in-cheek,
- tongue-lashing,
- tonguing and grooving plane,
- triple-tongue,
- yellow adder's tongue,
- cow-tongue fern,
- hart's-tongue fern,
- mother-in-law's tongue,
- bantering facetious tongue-in-cheek witty