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tongue(tung),USA pronunciationn., v.tongued, tongu•ing. n.
[Anat.]the usually movable organ in the floor of the mouth in humans and most vertebrates, functioning in eating, in tasting, and, in humans, in speaking. See diag. under mouth.
[Zool.]an analogous organ in invertebrate animals.
the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling.
the human tongue as the organ of speech:No tongue must ever tell the secret.
the faculty or power of speech:a sight no tongue can describe.
speech or talk, esp. mere glib or empty talk.
manner or character of speech:a flattering tongue.
the language of a particular people, region, or nation:the Hebrew tongue.
a dialect.
(in the Bible) a people or nation distinguished by its language.
tongues, speech, often incomprehensible, typically uttered during moments of religious ecstasy. Cf. speaking in tongues, glossolalia.
an object that resembles an animal's tongue in shape, position, or function.
a strip of leather or other material under the lacing or fastening of a shoe.
a piece of metal suspended inside a bell that strikes against the side producing a sound; clapper.
a vibrating reed or similar structure in a musical instrument, as in a clarinet, or in part of a musical instrument, as in an organ reed pipe.
the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it.
a projecting strip along the center of the edge or end of a board, for fitting into a groove in another board.
a narrow strip of land extending into a body of water; cape.
a section of ice projecting outward from the submerged part of an iceberg.
[Mach.]a long, narrow projection on a machine.
that part of a railroad switch that is shifted to direct the wheels of a locomotive or car to one or the other track of a railroad.
the pin of a buckle, brooch, etc.
find one's tongue, to regain one's powers of speech; recover one's poise:She wanted to say something, but couldn't find her tongue.
give tongue:
[Fox Hunting.](of a hound) to bay while following a scent.
to utter one's thoughts; speak:He wouldn't give tongue to his suspicions.
hold one's tongue, to refrain from or cease speaking; keep silent.
lose one's tongue, to lose the power of speech, esp. temporarily.
on the tip of one's (or the ) tongue:
on the verge of being uttered.
unable to be recalled; barely escaping one's memory:The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't think of it.
slip of the tongue, a mistake in speaking, as an inadvertent remark.
(with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.
v.t.
to articulate (tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.) by strokes of the tongue.
[Carpentry.]
to cut a tongue on (a board).
to join or fit together by a tongue-and-groove joint.
to touch with the tongue.
to articulate or pronounce.
[Archaic.]
to reproach or scold.
to speak or utter.
v.i.
to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.
to talk, esp. idly or foolishly; chatter; prate.
to project like a tongue.
bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (Old Latin dingua); (verb, verbal) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun, nominal
a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In humans it plays an important part in the articulation of speech sounds
Related adjective(s): glottic, lingual
an analogous organ in invertebrates
the tongue of certain animals used as food
a language, dialect, or idiom: the English tongue
the ability to speak: to lose one's tongue
a manner of speaking: a glib tongue
utterance or voice (esp in the phrase give tongue)