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on the tip of one's tongue

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tongue

  [tuhng] ,noun, verb tongued, tongu⋅ing.
Use on the tip of one's tongue in a Sentence
–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.
6. speech or talk, esp. 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.
–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.
–verb (used without object)
28. to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.
29. to talk, esp. 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, esp. temporarily.
35. on the tip of one's (or 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.
36. slip of the tongue, a mistake in speaking, as an inadvertent remark.
37. (with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME tunge, OE; c. D tong, G Zunge, ON tunga, Goth tuggo; akin to L lingua (OL dingua); (v.) ME tungen to scold, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
tongueless, adjective
tonguelike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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. 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tongue
Pronunciation: 't&[ng]
Function: noun
: a process of the floor of the mouth that is attached basally to the hyoid bone, that consistsessentially of a mass of extrinsic muscle attaching its base to other parts, intrinsic muscle by which parts of the structure move in relation to each other, and an epithelial covering rich in sensoryend organs and small glands, and that functions especially in taking and swallowing food and as a speech organ
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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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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Idioms & Phrases

on the tip of one's tongue

Ready to utter something but unable to remember it at the moment, as in I met him last year and his name is on the tip of my tongueit'll come to me in a minute. [Early 1700]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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