tongue

English

Picture of a human tongue.

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English (deprecated template usage) tonge, (deprecated template usage) tunge, (deprecated template usage) tung, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English (deprecated template usage) tunge, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *tungǭ (“tongue”) (compare West Frisian (deprecated template usage) tonge, Dutch (deprecated template usage) tong, German (deprecated template usage) Zunge, Danish (deprecated template usage) tunge, Swedish (deprecated template usage) tunga), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (compare Irish (deprecated template usage) teanga, Latin (deprecated template usage) lingua, Tocharian A/B (deprecated template usage) känt/(deprecated template usage) kantwo, Lithuanian (deprecated template usage) liežùvis, Polish (deprecated template usage) język 'language, tongue', Armenian (deprecated template usage) լեզու (lezu), Sanskrit (deprecated template usage) जिह्वा (jihvā́)).

Alternative forms

• tounge (obsolete, now considered a misspelling); tung (informal/eye dialect); tong, tonge, toong, toongue, toung, toungue, tunge (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌŋ/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈtɒŋ/ (UK, rare)
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (US)

  (file)

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Rhymes: -ʌŋ

Noun

tongue (plural tongues)

1. 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. Any similar organ, such as the lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk; the proboscis of a moth or butterfly; or the lingua of an insect.
3. A language.

   He was speaking in his native tongue.

4. The power of articulate utterance; speech generally.
   • Dryden

     parrots imitating human tongue

5. (deprecated template usage) (obsolete) Discourse; fluency of speech or expression.
   • L'Estrange

     Much tongue and much judgment seldom go together.

6. (deprecated template usage) (obsolete) Honourable discourse; eulogy.
   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     She was born noble; let that title find her a private grave, but neither tongue nor honour.

7. (deprecated template usage) (religion, often in the plural) Glossolalia.
8. 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.
9. Any large or long physical protrusion on an automotive or machine part or any other part that fits into a long groove on another part.
10. A projection, or slender appendage or fixture.

    the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance

11. A long, narrow strip of land, projecting from the mainland into a sea or lake.
12. The pole of a vehicle; especially, the pole of an ox cart, to the end of which the oxen are yoked.
13. The clapper of a bell.
14. (deprecated template usage) (figuratively) An individual point of flame from a fire.
    • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter XI

      Now, in this decadent age the art of fire-making had been altogether forgotten on the earth. The red tongues that went licking up my heap of wood were an altogether new and strange thing to Weena.

15. A small sole (type of fish).
16. (deprecated template usage) (nautical) 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.
17. (deprecated template usage) (music) A reed.

Synonyms

• (language): language, lingo (colloquial)

Translations

organ

• Abkhaz: абз (abz), абыз (abəz)
• Afrikaans: tong (af)
• Ainu: チャルㇺペ (carumpe), パルㇺペ (parumpe)
• Albanian: gjuhë (sq) f
• Alviri-Vidari: زووان (zuvān) (Vidari)
• Ama: isauno
• Arabic: لسان m or f (lisān)

  Egyptian Arabic: لسان m (lesān)

• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܠܫܢܐ m (lišānā’)

  Hebrew: לשנא m (lišānā’)

• Archi: мац‎ (mac‎)
• Arin: elep
• Armenian: լեզու (hy) (lezu)
• Aromanian: limbã (roa-rup)
• Asturian: llingua (ast) f
• Avar: мацӏ (macʼ)
• Azeri: dil (az)
• Baluchi: زبان, زوان (zawán)
• Bashkir: тел (tel)
• Basque: mihi
• Belarusian: язы́к m (jazýk)
• Bella Coola: tixca
• Bengali: জিহ্বা (bn) (jihba), জিভ (jibh), জিব (jib)
• Breton: teod (br) m, teodoù (br) pl
• Bulgarian: ези́к (bg) m (ezík)
• Burmese: လျှာ (my) (hlya)
• Catalan: llengua (ca) f
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵙ (ils)
• Chamicuro: menu
• Chechen: мотт (mott)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 舌頭／舌头 (zh) (shétou), 舌头 (zh) (shétou), 舌 (zh) (shé)

  Cantonese: 舌頭／舌头, 舌头 (sit⁶ tau⁴, sit³ tau⁴), 舌 (sit⁶, sit³), 脷 (lei⁶)

  Min Nan: 舌頭／舌头, 舌头 (chi̍h-thâu), 舌 (chi̍h)

• Coptic: ⲗⲁⲥ (las)
• Crimean Tatar: til
• Czech: jazyk (cs) m
• Dalmatian: langa f
• Danish: tunge (da) c
• Dargwa: лезми (lezmi)
• Darkinjung: dhallung
• Dhivehi: ދޫ (dū)
• Dongxiang: kielien
• Dutch: tong (nl) f
• Erzya: кель (keľ)
• Esperanto: lango
• Estonian: keel (et)
• Evenki: чоли (čoli)
• Ewe: aɖe n
• Faroese: tunga f
• Finnish: kieli (fi)
• French: langue (fr) f
• Friulian: lenghe f
• Galician: lingua (gl) f
• Gamilaraay: thalay
• Georgian: ენა (ka) (ena)
• German: Zunge (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍄𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍉 f (tuggō)
• Greek: γλώσσα (el) f (glóssa)
• Greenlandic: oqaq
• Guaraní: kũ
• Gujarati: જીભ (jībh)
• Guugu Yimidhirr: nganhdhaar
• Haitian Creole: lang
• Hawaiian: alelo
• Hebrew: לשון (he) f (lashón)
• Hindi: जीभ f (jībh), ज़बान f (zabān)
• Hungarian: nyelv (hu)
• Icelandic: tunga (is) f
• Ido: lango (io)
• Ilocano: dila
• Indonesian: lidah (id)
• Ingush: мотт (mott)
• Interlingua: lingua
• Irish: teanga (ga) f
• Istriot: lèngua f, laèngua f, lengua f
• Italian: lingua (it) f
• Japanese: 舌 (ja) (した, shitá), べろ (bero) informal
• Jèrriais:
• Karelian: kieli
• Kazakh: тіл (kk) (tıl)
• Ket: qo
• Khmer: អណ្ដាត (km) (ɑndaat)
• Korean: 혀 (ko) (hyeo)
• Kumyk: тил (til)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kyrgyz: тил (ky) (til)
• Lak: маз (maz)
• Lao: ລີ້ນ (lo) (līn)
• Latgalian: mēle f
• Latin: lingua (la) f
• Latvian: mēle (lv) f
• Lezgi: мез (mez)
• Lithuanian: liežuvis (lt) m
• Luhya: olurimi
• Luo: lep
• Luxembourgish: Zong f
• Macedonian: јазик (mk) m (jazik)
• Malay: lidah
• Malayalam: നാക്ക് (ml) (nākkŭ)
• Maltese: ilsien m
• Maori: arero
• Mapudungun: dungun
• Mazanderani: زوون
• Mbabaram: jalnggulay
• Mirandese: llengua f
• Mongolian: хэл (mn) (xel)
• Navajo: atsooʼ
• Nepali: जिब्रो (jibrō)
• Ngarrindjeri: tallanggi
• Northern Sami: njuovčča
• Norwegian: tunge (no) c
• Nottoway-Meherrin: darsunke
• Nuer: lɛp
• Occitan: lenga (oc) f
• Old Church Slavonic: ѩзꙑкъ m (językŭ)
• Old English: tunge
• Ossetian: ӕвзаг (ævzag)
• Persian: زبان (fa) (zabân)
• Polish: język (pl) m
• Portuguese: língua (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਜੀਭ (jībh)
• Romanian: limbă (ro) f
• Romansch: lieunga
• Russian: язы́к (ru) m (jazýk)
• Rusyn: язы́к m (jazŷ́k)
• Sanskrit: जिह्वा f (jihvā), लोला f (lolā), रसना f (rasanā)
• Sardinian: (Nugorese) limba f
• Scots: tung
• Scottish Gaelic: teanga f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: језик m

  Roman: jezik (sh) m

• Sicilian: lingua (scn) f
• Sinhalese: දිව (si) (diwa)
• Skolt Sami: njuuč
• Slovak: jazyk (sk) m
• Slovene: jêzik m
• Somali: af (so)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: jězyk m

  Upper Sorbian: jazyk m

• Sotho: leleme
• Spanish: lengua (es) f
• Swahili: ulimi (sw)
• Swedish: tunga (sv) c
• Tagalog: dila (tl)
• Tajik: забон (tg) (zabon)
• Tamil: நாக்கு (ta) (nākku), நாவு (ta) (nāvu)
• Tatar: тел (tt) (tel)
• Telugu: నాలుక (te) (nāluka)
• Thai: ลิ้น (th) (lín), ชิวหา (ćhiw-hā)
• Tibetan: ལྕེ (lce), ལྗགས (ljags) (polite)
• Tocharian A: käntu
• Tocharian B: kantwo
• Tok Pisin: tang
• Torres Strait Creole: tang
• Turkish: dil (tr)
• Turkmen: dil (tk)
• Tuvan: дыл (dıl)
• Ukrainian: язи́к (uk) m (jazýk)
• Urdu: جیبھ f (jībh), زبان (ur) f (zabān)
• Uyghur: تىل (ug) (til)
• Uzbek: til (uz)
• Venetian: łéngua f
• Vietnamese: lưỡi (vi)
• Vilamovian: cung
• Volapük: lineg (vo)
• Võro: kiil
• Walloon: linwe (wa) f
• Welsh: tafod (cy)
• West Frisian: tonge
• Yakut: тыл (tıl)
• Yiddish: צונג f (tsung)
• Yucatec Maya: aak’
• Zulu: ulimi (zu) class 11/10

language — see language

flap in a shoe

• Armenian: լեզվակ (lezvak)
• Czech: jazyk (cs) m
• Dutch: tong (nl) c
• Faroese: tunga f
• Finnish: kieli (fi), iltti (fi)
• French: languette (fr) f
• German: Zunge (de) f, Lasche (de) f
• Greek: γλώσσα (el) f (glóssa)
• Icelandic: tunga (is) f, tunga á skó f, skótunga f
• Italian: linguetta f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• Malay: lidah kasut
• Norwegian: tunge (no) c
• Portuguese: língua (pt) f
• Romanian: limbă (ro) f
• Russian: язычок (ru) m (jazyčók)
• Scottish Gaelic: teanga f
• Spanish: lengüeta (es) f
• Swahili: ulimi (sw)
• Swedish: plös (sv) c, tunga (sv) c

a projection that fits into a slot

• Maori: teremū
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

tongue (third-person singular simple present tongues, present participle tonguing, simple past and past participle tongued)

1. (deprecated template usage) (music, transitive, intransitive) 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).

   Playing wind instruments involves tonguing on the reed or mouthpiece.

2. (deprecated template usage) (slang) To manipulate with the tongue, as in kissing or oral sex.
3. To protrude in relatively long, narrow sections.

   a soil horizon that tongues into clay

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

   to tongue boards together

5. (deprecated template usage) (intransitive, obsolete) To talk; to prate.

   (Can we [[:Category:Requests for quotations/{{{2}}}|find and add]] a quotation of {{{2}}} to this entry?)

6. (deprecated template usage) (transitive, obsolete) To speak; to utter.
   • Shakespeare

     such stuff as madmen tongue

7. (deprecated template usage) (transitive, obsolete) To chide; to scold.
   • Shakespeare

     How might she tongue me.

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun or verb tongue

• beef tongue
• cat got someone's tongue
• double tonguing
• double-tongued
• forked tongue
• give tongue, give tongue to
• hold one's tongue
• law of the tongue
• mother tongue
• native tongue
• roll off the tongue
• sharp tongue

• silver tongue
• silver-tongued
• speak in tongues
• tongue and groove
• tonguage
• tongue depressor
• tonguedom
• tongue in cheek
• tonguing
• tongue lashing
• tongueless
• tonguely

• tongueman
• tongueness
• tongue sandwich
• tongue-shaped
• tongueship
• tonguesore
• tongue-tie
• tongue-tied
• tongue twister
• tonguey
• tonguework
• wicked tongue

Anagrams

• tounge