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Antonyms for tongue

Grammar : Noun
Spell : tuhng
Phonetic Transcription : tʌŋ

Definition of tongue

Origin :
  • Old English tunge "organ of speech, speech, language," from Proto-Germanic *tungon (cf. Old Saxon and Old Norse tunga, Old Frisian tunge, Middle Dutch tonghe, Dutch tong, Old High German zunga, German Zunge, Gothic tuggo), from PIE *dnghwa- (cf. Latin lingua "tongue, speech, language," from Old Latin dingua; Old Irish tenge, Welsh tafod, Lithuanian liezuvis, Old Church Slavonic jezyku).
  • For substitution of -o- for -u-, see come. 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 1530s. Tongue-tied is first recorded 1520s.
  • noun language
Example sentences :
  • A portly burgher was he, friendly of tongue and free of purse.
  • Extract from : « The Armourer's Prentices » by Charlotte M. Yonge
  • Often it has been on the tip of my tongue, and then it slipped away from me.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • Except for a very few words we do not know what sort of tongue it was.
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • Neither did Lizzie, though her tongue was a whip for Connie.
  • Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
  • The tongue is a fire, but there is a stronger fire than the tongue.
  • Extract from : « Weighed and Wanting » by George MacDonald
  • And yet it was a coward's blow, and one to stir the blood and loose the tongue of the most peaceful.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • It had been ready upon his tongue to tell him all when Sir Oliver had broken in upon them.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • "Keep your tongue still, or it will be the worse for you," shouted the most drunken of the archers.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Hold your tongue, simpleton; it is not for you to control the decrees of the faculty.
  • Extract from : « The Imaginary Invalid » by Molire
  • Probably he had a name in his own tongue, but we called him White Quiver.
  • Extract from : « The Trail Book » by Mary Austin

Synonyms for tongue

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019