parseltongue

English

Etymology

Coined as Parseltongue by J. K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998). J. K. Rowling stated that she based the term on an "old word for someone who has a problem with the mouth, like a hare lip".

Proper noun

parseltongue

1. A fictional language of snakes in the Harry Potter universe.
   • 2005 December 1, Aisling Willow Grey, “Re: AMC -- Kendall (and Ryan too)”, in rec.arts.tv.soaps.abc‎^[1] (Usenet), message-ID <0001HW.BFB4D67000210837F0284550@news.verizon.net>:

     Now I can't get this out of my head - them hissing and whispering at one another like they're speaking in parseltongue.

   • 2007 April 3, Let's Go Inc., Let's Go Roadtripping USA: The Complete Coast-to-Coast Guide to America, 2nd edition, Macmillan, page 496:

     Slither around Santa Fe's Rattlesnake Museum while practicing your parseltongue.

   • 2009 September 22, Sara Paretsky, Hardball: A V.I. Warshawski Novel‎^[2], New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, →OL:

     “Parseltongue, that's what I need,” I murmured out loud as I brushed my teeth. A language for communicating with snakes.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:parseltongue.

Translations

language of snakes in Harry Potter

• Breton: naeryezh f
• Chinese: (Mainland China) 蛇佬腔 (shélǎoqiāng); (Taiwan) 爬說語／爬说语, 爬说语 (páshuōyǔ)
• Dutch: sisselspraak f
• French: fourchelang m
• German: Parsel n
• Italian: serpentese m
• Japanese: パーセルマウス
• Norwegian: ormtunge c
• Polish: wężomowa f
• Portuguese: ofidioglossia f, língua de cobra (Brazil), serpentês m (Portugal)
• Spanish: pársel m
• Swedish: ormviskning c

See also

• Magic in Harry Potter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• rogue planets