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Tongues

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tongue

   [tuhng] ,noun, verb tongued, tongu·ing.
noun
1.
Anatomy. 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.
2.
Zoology. an analogous organ in invertebrate animals.
3.
the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling.
4.
the human tongue as the organ of speech: No tongue must ever tell the secret.
5.
the faculty or power of speech: a sight no tongue can describe.
EXPAND
6.
speech or talk, especially mere glib or empty talk.
7.
manner or character of speech: a flattering tongue.
8.
the language of a particular people, region, or nation: the hebrew tongue.
9.
a dialect.
10.
(in the Bible) a people or nation distinguished by its language.
11.
tongues, speech, often incomprehensible, typically uttered during moments of religious ecstasy. Compare speaking in tongues, glossolalia.
12.
an object that resembles an animal's tongue in shape, position, or function.
13.
a strip of leather or other material under the lacing or fastening of a shoe.
14.
a piece of metal suspended inside a bell that strikes against the side producing a sound; clapper.
15.
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.
16.
the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it.
17.
a projecting strip along the center of the edge or end of a board, for fitting into a groove in another board.
18.
a narrow strip of land extending into a body of water; cape.
19.
a section of ice projecting outward from the submerged part of an iceberg.
20.
Machinery. a long, narrow projection on a machine.
21.
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.
22.
the pin of a buckle, brooch, etc.
COLLAPSE
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Ad
verb (used with object)
23.
to articulate (tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.) by strokes of the tongue.
24.
Carpentry.
a.
to cut a tongue on (a board).
b.
to join or fit together by a tongue-and-groove joint.
25.
to touch with the tongue.
26.
to articulate or pronounce.
27.
Archaic.
a.
to reproach or scold.
b.
to speak or utter.

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Tongues is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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verb (used without object)
28.
to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.
29.
to talk, especially idly or foolishly; chatter; prate.
30.
to project like a tongue.
Idioms
31.
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.
32.
give tongue,
a.
Fox Hunting. (of a hound) to bay while following a scent.
b.
to utter one's thoughts; speak: He wouldn't give tongue to his suspicions.
33.
hold one's tongue, to refrain from or cease speaking; keep silent.
34.
lose one's tongue, to lose the power of speech, especially temporarily.
35.
on the tip of one's/the tongue,
a.
on the verge of being uttered.
b.
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.
EXPAND
36.
slip of the tongue, a mistake in speaking, as an inadvertent remark.
37.
(with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (OL dingua); (v.) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun

Related forms
tongue·less, adjective
tongue·like, adjective
out·tongue, verb (used with object), -tongued, -tongu·ing.
un·tongued, adjective

Can be confused: thong, tong, tongue.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Tongues
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tongue
O.E. tunge "organ of speech, speech, language," from P.Gmc. *tungon (cf. O.S., O.N. tunga, O.Fris. tunge, M.Du. tonghe, Du. tong, O.H.G. zunga, Ger. Zunge, Goth. tuggo), from PIE *dnghwa- (cf. L. lingua "tongue, speech, language," from Old L. dingua; O.Ir. tenge, Welsh tafod, Lith. liezuvis, O.C.S.
EXPAND
jezyku). The substitution of M.E. -o- for O.E. -u- before -m- or -n- was a scribal habit (cf. some, monk, etc.) to avoid misreading the letters in the old style hand, which jammed them together; and the spelling of the ending of the word apparently is a 14c. attempt to indicate proper pronunciation, but the result is "neither etymological nor phonetic, and is only in a very small degree historical" [OED]. Meaning "foreign language" is from 1535. The verb meaning "to touch with the tongue, lick" is attested from 1687. Tongue-tied is first recorded 1529; tongue-in-cheek (adj.) is recorded from 1933, from phrase to speak with one's tongue in one's cheek "to speak insincerely" (1748), which somehow must have been suggestive of sly irony or humorous insincerity, but the exact notion is obscure.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

tongue (tŭng)
n.
A mobile mass of muscular tissue that is covered with mucous membrane, occupies much of the cavity of the mouth, forms part of its floor, bears the organ of taste, and assists in chewing, swallowing, and speech.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
tongue   (tŭng)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A muscular organ in most vertebrates that is usually attached to the bottom of the mouth. In snakes, the tongue is used as a sense organ. In frogs, the tongue is chiefly used to capture prey. In mammals, the tongue is the main organ of taste and is an important organ of digestion. In humans, the tongue is used to produce speech.

  2. A similar organ in certain invertebrate animals.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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