tʌŋ n. & v. --n. 1
the fleshy muscular organ in the
mouth used in
tasting,
licking,
and swallowing, and (in man)
for speech. 2 the tongue of an ox etc. as
food. 3 the
faculty of or a
tendency in speech (a
sharp tongue). 4 a
particular language (the
German tongue). 5 a
thing like a tongue in
shape or
position, esp.: a a long low
promontory. b a strip of
leather etc., attached at
one end only,
under the laces in a
shoe. c the
clapper of a bell. d the
pin of a
buckle. e the projecting strip on a
wooden etc.
board fitting into the
groove of
another. f a vibrating slip in the reed of
some musical instruments. g a jet of
flame. --v. (tongues, tongued, tonguing) 1 tr.
produce staccato etc. effects
with (a
flute etc.) by
means of
tonguing. 2 intr.
use the tongue in
this way. øfind (or lose) one's tongue be
able (or unable) to express
oneself after a shock etc. the
gift of tongues the
power of
speaking in
unknown languages, regarded as one of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
keep a
civil tongue in one's
head avoid rudeness. tongue-and-groove
applied to boards in
which a tongue
along one
edge fits into a groove along the edge of the
next,
each board having a tongue on one edge and a groove on the
other. tongue-in-cheek adj.
ironic; slyly
humorous. --adv. insincerely or ironically. tongue-lashing a
severe scolding or
reprimand. tongue-tie a speech
impediment due to a
malformation of the tongue. tongue-tied 1
too shy or embarrassed to
speak. 2 having a tongue-tie. tongue-twister a
sequence of words
difficult to
pronounce quickly and correctly. with one's tongue
hanging out eagerly or expectantly. with one's tongue in one's
cheek insincerely or ironically. øøtongued adj. (also in comb.). tongueless adj. [OE tunge f. Gmc, rel. to L lingua]
