glossolalia

English

Etymology

From glosso- + -lalia.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪliə

Noun

glossolalia (plural glossolalias)

1. Speaking in tongues; speaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under the influence of spirits).
2. Xenoglossy.

Usage notes

• Some writers distinguish glossolalia from xenoglossy, taking the former to mean roughly "speaking a language one does not know" and the latter to mean roughly "knowledge of a language one has never learned". Others do not distinguish the two, using the terms interchangeably or using one term exclusively. When in doubt, it may be preferable to preserve this distinction, and/or to explain what one means when using each term.

Translations

speaking in tongues

Danish: tungetale (da) Finnish: kielilläpuhuminen (fi) (common), glossolalia (psychology) German: Zungenreden (de)

Icelandic: tungutal (is) n. Norwegian: tungetale (no) Spanish: glosolalia (es)

xenoglossy — see xenoglossy