▪ I. tongue, n.
(tʌŋ)
Forms: 1–6 tunge, (3 tunke, tonke), 3–6, 7 Sc. tonge, (4 tungge, tongge), 3–8 tounge, 4 Sc. towng, -e, 4–6 tung (also 8 Sc.), Sc. twng, 4–7 toung, tong, (5 tounghe), 5–7 toong, (6 toongue, 6–7 toungue), 5– tongue.
[OE. and ME. tunge wk. f. = OFris. tunge, OS. tunga (MLG., LG. tunge, MDu. tonghe, Du. tong), OHG. zunga, zunka (MHG., Ger. zunge), ON. tunga (Da., Norw. tunge, Sw. tunga), Goth. tuggô:—OTeut. *tungôn-, held to be cogn. with L. lingua tongue, for older *dingua (as lacrima:—dacrima: see tear n.1).
The natural mod.Eng. repr. of OE. tunge would be tung, as in lung, rung, sung (and as the word is actually pronounced); but the ME. device of writing on for un brought in the alternative tonge with variants tounge, townge; app. the effort to show that the pronunciation was not (tundʒ(ə) led to the later tounghe, toungue, tongue, although it is true that these hardly appeared before final e was becoming mute, so that its simple omission would have been equally effective. The spelling tongue is thus neither etymological nor phonetic, and is only in a very small degree historical.]
I. The bodily member.
1. a. An organ, possessed by man and by most vertebrates, occupying the floor of the mouth, and attached at its base to the hyoid bone; often protrusible and freely movable. In its development in man and the higher mammals, it is tapering, blunt-tipped, muscular, soft and fleshy, important in taking in and swallowing food, also as the principal organ of taste, and in man of articulate speech.
In some mammals, as the ant-eaters, it is attenuated, long, and worm-like; in most birds it is pointed, hard, and horny; in fishes, hard and immovable; in snakes and many lizards, cylindrical, slender, and forked, and an important tactile organ; in some amphibia, it is fixed at the front and free at the hinder end, and (as also in chameleons) used in licking up their prey.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xliii. 309 Ðætte he ᵹewæte his ytemestan finger on wættre, & mid ðæm ᵹecele mine tungan. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 272 Do hwon on þine tungan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 181 Teð hine grindeð, tunge hine swoleȝeð. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 372 And atter on is tunge cliuen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 206/206 For Anguische þe eorþe heo freten, and hore tongene gnowen al-so. 13.. Cursor M. 16767 + 15 (Cott.) He tast it with tonge Bot þer-of toke he noght. c 1380 Wylcif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 29 Crist touchide his tonge..and þe bonde of his tonge was opened for to speke. c 1380 ― Wks. (1880) 110 He schal make his tounge cleue faste to þe roof of his mouþ. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiii. (Bodl. MS.), Soune..is yschape with þe wraaste of þe tunge and þanne wise men clepeþ it a voice. 1530 Palsgr. 284/1 Tunge to speke with, langue. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 221, I had rather haue this tongue cut from my mouth. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 666 A Snake..Erect, and brandishing his forky Tongue. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 29 The tongue in the Mammalia is always fleshy, and attached to the hyoid bone, which bone is suspended by ligaments to the cranium. 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 586 The Tongue, a symmetrical organ,..situated in the interior of the mouth, extending from the hyoid bone and epiglottis to behind the incisive teeth. |
b. In reference to invertebrate animals, applied to various organs or parts of the mouth having some of the functions of the tongue of vertebrates, or some analogy to it.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Tongue of a Mussel,..an organ by means of which it spins a sort of threads..to fix itself to the rocks by. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. 358 Lingua (the Tongue). The organ situated within the Labium or emerging from it, by which insects in many cases collect their food and pass it down to the Pharynx. 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life Introd. 87 ‘Odontophorous’ Mollusca..possessing the peculiar dentigerous rasping organ known as the tongue. |
c. Erroneously regarded as the ‘stinging organ’.
| 1581 J. Hamilton in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 78/30 Venemous serpentis to stang thame vith the fyrie edge of thair tungis. 1595 Shakes. John iii. i. 258. 1599 ― Much Ado v. i. 90 Villaines, That dare as well answer a man indeede, As I dare take a serpent by the tongue. |
2. A figure or representation of this organ.
a. A symbolic figure or appearance as of a tongue, as those that appeared on the day of Pentecost.
| [c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 314 And wæs æteowed bufon heora ælcum swylce fyrene tungan.] c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 89 Biforan heore elche swilc hit were furene tungen. 1382 Wyclif Acts ii. 3 And tungis dyuersely partid as fyer apperiden to hem. 1526 Tindale Acts ii. 3 And there apered vnto them cloven tonges, as they had bene fyre..: and they..began to speake with other tonges. a 1740 Watts Remnants of Time xi[i], On that day when the tongues of fire sat on his twelve apostles. 1792 Haweis Hymn, ‘Enthroned on high’ ii, Though on our heads no tongues of fire Their wondrous powers impart. |
b. A delineated or artificial figure of a tongue.
| 1488–92 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 81 A grete serpent toung set with gold, perle and precious stanes. 1536 Register of Riches in Antiq. Sarisb. (1771) 199 Having..two white Leopards and two dragons facing them as going to engage, their tounges are done in curiousest wyse. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 849/1 Then entered a person called Report, apparelled in crimsin sattin full of toongs, sitting on a flieng horsse..called Pegasus. 1886 Edin. Rev. July 151 The classical ‘egg and tongue’ and ‘tongue and dart’ patterns are branches from the same stem. |
3. The tongue of an animal as an article of food;
esp. an
ox-tongue or
neat's tongue.
| c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 26 Take tho ox tonge and schalle hit wele. 1598 Epulario C iv, To seeth Tongues. 1653 Walton Angler viii. 165 The tongues of Carps are noted to be choice and costly meat. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol iii. Poems (1749) 158 Black Hams, and Tongues that speechless can persuade To ply the brisk Carouse. 1869 ‘L. Carroll’ Phantasm. 112 Dispense the tongue and chicken. |
II. In reference to speech.
4. a. Considered as the principal organ of speech; hence, the faculty of speech; the power of articulation or vocal expression or description; voice, speech; words, language. Also
fig. In many contexts it is impossible to separate the sense of the organ from that of its work or use.
| c 890 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxv. [xxiv.] (1890) 348 Seo tunge, þe swa moniᵹ halwende word in þæs scyppendes lof ᵹesette. c 1000 ælfric Exod. iv. 10 Þa cwæþ Moises..ic hæfde þe lætran tungan. c 1200 Ormin 4879 Þuss spacc þe Laferrd Jesu Crist Þurrh his prophetess tunge. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 282 in O.E. Misc. 118 Wymmon is word-woþ & haueþ tunge [v.r. tunke] to swift. c 1290 Beket 645 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 125 No tounge telle ne may. 13.. Cursor M. 8404 (Gött.) Þou salamon mi sone be ȝong, He es wijs and of redi toung. 1414 26 Pol. Poems xiii. 100 He wolde trouþes tonge were tyȝed. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 6 A hie point for them to beat there heds and whet there tungs about. 1587 Mirr. Mag., Brennus xxxiv, What tong can tell thy mothers griefe. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 16 This our life..Findes tongues in trees, bookes in the running brookes. 1888 F. Hume Mme. Midas i. Prol., As you have not even a tongue to contradict. |
b. In many colloquial and proverbial expressions of obvious meaning.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints l. (Katerine) 257 Na man of ws had tuth na towng To conclud hir, þocht scho be ȝounge. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. 46 Tong breketh bon, thegh hym-self ne hawe none. 1484 Caxton Fables of Auian xxii, The felauship of the man whiche hath two tongues is nought. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 64 Her tong ronth on patens. 1562 ― Prov. & Epigr. 163 Thy tounge runth before thy wit. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass i. (1664) 2 Pythagoras..had this golden Poesie ever on his tongues end. 1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin iii. iii. 77 For a Tongue to pierce an Inch-Board, commend me to Tursellinus. 1820 Scott Abbot iv, I would..give him a lick with the rough side of my tongue. 1859 Reade Love me Little x, Wasn't your tongue a little too long for your teeth just now? 1870 Dickens E. Drood ii, Have you lost your tongue, Jack? 1890 Major-Gen. A. F. Bond in Rogerson Hist. Rec. 53rd (Shropshire) Regt. 206 Having..given them a taste of his rough tongue. 1895 E. Anglia Gloss. s.v. Length, To give one the length of your tongue, to slang. 1899 Raymond Two Men o' Mendip xv. 248 Vather'll..call ee everything he can lay his tongue to. 1911 H. H. Harper Bob Hardwick 88, I was so angry at her that I..made no answer... Presently she said, ‘Has the cat got your tongue?’ 1940 ‘J. Falstaff’ Jacoby's Corners vi. 69 The cat has got his tongue. 1981 I. St. James Balfour Conspiracy vi. 229 Shaughnessy shook his head. ‘Cat got your tongue?’ |
c. to hold one's tongue, to refrain from speech, keep silence, say nothing.
† to keep one's tongue, (
a) to keep one's word; (
b) to hold one's tongue.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxviii. 276 Se mon se ðe ne mæᵹ his tungan ᵹehealdan sie ᵹelicost openre byriᵹ. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 146 Hold þi tonge, mercy! It is but a trufle þat þow tellest. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 143 Ther schal a worthi king beginne To kepe his tunge and to be trewe. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 83 Þe toder..flate with hym agayn & bad hym hold his tong. 1535 Coverdale Matt. xxvi. 63 Iesus helde his tonge. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 214, I will charme him first to keepe his tongue. 1605 ― Macb. ii. iii. 125 Why doe we hold our tongues? 1672 Mede's Wks. p. xvii, It was a frequent Proverbial speech of our Author's, He that cannot hold his tongue can hold nothing; and he practis'd accordingly. 1749 Lady Luxborough Let. to Shenstone 28 Nov., Shocked to hear in rough English Hold your tongue. 1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. vii, Hold your impertinent tongue, Sir. 1884 G. M. Craik G. Helstone 26 Here is your father who knows it is, though he thinks it best to hold his tongue. |
d. Phr.
to put, or speak with, one's tongue in one's cheek, to speak insincerely. Also in
phr. to stick (or thrust) one's tongue in one's cheek, as a gesture of sly or
† contemptuous humour; hence
with (one's) tongue in (one's) cheek, with sly irony or humorous insincerity.
Cf. tongue-in-cheek a.
and adv.| 1748 [see cheek n. 2]. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. viii. 153 The fellow who gave this all-hail thrust his tongue in his cheek to some scapegraces like himself. 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. ii. Black Mousquetaire ii. xv, He..Cried ‘Superbe!—Magnifique!’ (With his tongue in his cheek). 1849 Blackw. Edin. Mag. Oct. 450/2 Hows'ever, I just sticks my tongue in my cheek,..watches my chance, an' off by a track-boat..to New Orleens. 1869 M. Arnold Cult. & An. Pref. 56 If statesmen, either with their tongue in their cheek or through a generous impulsiveness, tell them [etc.]. Ibid. 123 He unquestionably..knows that he is talking clap-trap, and, so to say, puts his tongue in his cheek. 1887 R. H. Roberts In Shires i. 10 [He] sticks his tongue in his cheek, and whispers to his neighbour. 1898 Sir E. W. Hamilton Gladstone 10 There was no speaking ‘with his tongue in the cheek’. He spoke straight from the heart. 1928 Observer 19 Feb. 5/1, I must confess my utter inability to grasp what Mr. B. Nicholson is after, though I am loath to believe that he painted his apparently flippant still life arrangements with his tongue in his cheek. 1951 Sport 30 Mar.–5 Apr. 9/3 Walsall fans will tell you, with tongue in cheek, that the Fellows Park club is always on the alert where transfer of players is concerned. |
e. with (one's) tongue hanging out and
varr., with great thirst or (
fig.) eager expectation.
colloq.| 1897 Kipling Day's Work (1898) 102 They've been waiting for this youth with their tongues hanging out. 1928 Wodehouse Money for Nothing x. 222, I should hurry. His tongue was hanging out when I left him. 1967 E. Lemarchand Death of Old Girl xii. 141 My tongue was hanging out, so I thought I'd..see if there was any sherry going. 1974 L. Lamb Man in Mist ii. 16, I don't have to run round to them with my tongue hanging out the moment I am promised something. |
5. a. The action of speaking; speech, talking, utterance, voice; also, what is spoken or uttered; words, talk, discourse.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. i. 27 Ac sio tunge bið ᵹescended on ðæm lareowdome ðonne hio oðer lærð, oðer hio ᵹeleornode. c 1020 Rule St. Benet (Logeman) 4 Se ðe na deþ facn on his tungan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 78 Wite ich wel mine tunge, ich mei wel holden þene wei toward heouene. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 86 Hose is trewe of his tonge..is a-counted to þe gospel. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 294 He was wondyr fayr, Nocht large of tong. 1520 Whitinton Vulg. (1527) 3 b, He is full of tongue [linguax]. 1604 S. Harrison Archs of Triumph B j, Their lastingnes should liue but in the tongues and memories of men. 1667 Dryden Sir Martin Mar-All iii. iii, Sometimes you have tongue enough; what, are you silent? 1835 Montgomery Hymn, ‘For ever with the Lord’, The choral harmonies of Heaven Earth's Babel tongues o'erpower. |
b. Speech as distinguished from or contrasted with thought, action, or fact; mere words.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 John iii. 18 Loue we not in word, nether in tunge, but in werk and treuthe. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 54 Þe tung a lone is not to be axid, but the lif. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iii. 23 Bot offir thame ȝour daly observance Be tung, tho{supt} naþir hairt nor mynd consentis. 1853 Lynch Self-Improv. iv. 102 If religion begins with your tongue, it is very likely only to end there; but if religion is in your heart, it must needs come to your tongue sometimes. 1866 Carlyle in Morn. Star 4 Apr. 5/4 It seems to me the finest nations of the world—the English and the American—are going all away into wind and tongue. |
† c. Spoken as distinct from written or other communication;
by tongue, by word of mouth.
Obs.| 1549 Compl. Scot. xi. 94 The messengeir gat nay ansuer be tong fra ald tarquine. 1553 Janet Bethune in Maitl. Cl. Misc. (1840) I. 41 note, I haif committit sum part of my mynd be toung to my broder. |
† d. A ‘voice’, vote, suffrage.
Obs. rare.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 216 Have you, ere now, deny'd the asker: And now againe, [? on] him that did not aske,..Bestow your su'd-for Tongues? |
† e. Eulogy, fame.
Obs. rare.
| c 1616 Fletcher Thierry & Theod. v. (last sp.), And because She was born Noble, let that Title find her A private grave, but neither tongue nor honor. |
6. Manner of speaking or talking, with regard to the sense or import of what is said, the mode of expression or form of words used, or the sound of the voice.
| c 1460 How Gd. Wif thaught hir Doughter 19 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 181 Be of a good berynge and of a good tonge. 1595 Enq. Tripe-wife (1881) 147 Keepe a good tung in your head, least it hurt your teeth. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 114 With soft lowe tongue, and lowly curtesie. 1596 ― Merch. V. ii. vi. 27 Who are you? tell me for more certainty, Albeit Ile sweare that I do know your tongue. 1664 in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 204 She gros very malisas in hur toung to us all. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 86 Ye..ha' na learn'd the beggars tongue. 1828 Trial of W. Dyon at York Assizes 10, I knew him by his tongue. |
7. Of a dog.
a. In phrases:
to move (its) tongue, to bark (
arch.);
to give tongue,
to throw (its) tongue, properly of a hound: to give forth its voice when on the scent or in sight of the quarry. Also
transf. of persons.
| 1535 Coverdale Josh. x. 21 No man durst moue his tunge agaynst the children of Israel. 1539 Bible (Great) Exod. xi. 7 But amonge all the children of Isrl' shal not a dogg moue his tonge, nor yet man or beast. 1737 Hervey Mem. II. 374 To speak in the sportsman's style, he has not given tongue often. 1742 Fielding Jos. Andrews iii. vi, Ringwood..never threw his tongue but where the scent was undoubtedly true. 1843 R. Palmer in Mem. (1896) I. xxiv. 353, I nearly picked a quarrel with a Repealer, who opened tongue to the people in the market place of Larne. 1857 Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life, Amos Barton ii, When Papa opened the door Chubby was giving tongue energetically. 1859 Art of Taming Horses xii. 203 When a hound throws his tongue he is said to speak. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xx. 518 He was for a moment undisputed lord, without a dog moving his tongue against him, from the Orkneys to the Angevin march. 1893 Black & White 15 July 81/1 He has a tendency to throw his tongue too freely, to speak without fair warrant. |
b. Hence, the hunting-cry or ‘music’ of a hound in pursuit of game.
| 1787 Hunter in Phil. Trans. LXXVII. 266 Others, as the Hound, have a peculiar howl, which, by huntsmen, is called the tongue. 1879 Dogs Gt. Brit. & Amer. 56 (Cent.) The tongue [of the bloodhound should be] loud, long, deep, and melodious. 1890 The Tongue of the Hound in Sat. Rev. 1 Feb. 134/2 It is odd that the English hound, alone of hounds, should have this melodious tongue. Ibid. 135/1 How the squires of bygone times valued the tongues of their hounds. |
8. a. The speech or language of a people or race; also, that of a particular class or locality, a dialect.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark xvi. 17 Hi sprecaþ niwum tungum. a 1300 Cursor M. 233 Þis ilke boke is translate In to Inglis tong to rede. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. vii, Enditing In his faire latyne tong. 1485 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 375/1 Maister Stephen Fryon', our Secretary in Frensh tonge. a 1560 Rolland Seven Sages (1837) A ij, In vulgar toung he bure the bell that day To mak meter. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 233 Erasmus compareth the English toong to a Dog's barking that soundeth nothing els but Baw waw waw in Monosillable. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 501 To speak all Tongues, and do all Miracles. 1689–90 Temple Ess. Learning Wks. 1731 I. 165 The three modern Tongues much esteemed, are Italian, Spanish and French. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 1 ¶3 Celebrated Books, either in the learned or the modern Tongues. 1868 Gladstone Juv. Mundi iii. (1869) 89 There were many races in Crete, and there was a mixture of tongue. 1908 [Miss E. Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 307 Now the local tongue is becoming too ‘correct’ to be characteristic and picturesque. |
b. the tongues , foreign languages; often
spec. the classical or learned languages;
† the three tongues, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
| [c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 4 The Barbar tonge is euery tonge in þe world whech is fer fro þe iij principall tongis, Hebrew, Grek, & Latyn.] 1535 Joye Apol. Tindale (Arb.) 11 A man of grete lerning..both in the scriptures and the tongues. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 37 Excellencie in the knowledge of all three tonges. 1577 Harrison England ii. iii. (1877) i. 71 In..Cambridge & Oxford..the vse of the toongs..are dailie taught and had. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. i. 33 Haue you the Tongues?..My youthfull trauaile, therein made me happy. 1617 Minsheu Ductor Title-p., The Guide into the tongues. With their agreement and consent one with another..in these eleuen Languages, viz. [etc.]. 1691 Ray Creation i. (1692) 162 We content ourselves with the knowledge of the Tongues. 1907 A. Lang in Blackw. Mag. July 17 He was well-educated, familiar with ‘the tongues’. 1912 Bodleian Library, Man. for Readers 4/1 The rooms once used for the teaching of..the two Tongues (Greek and Hebrew). |
c. The knowledge or use of a language. Esp. in phrases
gift of tongues,
to speak with a tongue (tongues), in reference to the Pentecostal miracle and the miraculous gift in the early Church; also simply
tongues (
pl. in
collect. sense).
| 1526 Tindale [see 2 a]. ― 1 Cor. xii. 30 Do all speake with tonges? Ibid. xiii. 8 Though that prophesyinge fayle, other tonges shall cease, or knowledge vanysshe awaye. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 48 The halie spreit..gaif to thayme ye gift to speik with al twngis. 1538 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 144 Ioynyng wyth you Maister Mason..to declare your purpose for that having the tongue he may doo..it more fully thenne you could percace easly vtter the same. 1593 R. Harvey Philad. 3 Neither can you proue that hee had not wealth enough to serue his vses, or tongue enough in euery place of his trauell. a 1637 B. Jonson Underwoods, Execration upon Vulcan 75 Their..bright stone that brings Invisibility, and strength, and tongues. 1879 Farrar St. Paul I. 96 The glossolalia or ‘speaking with a tongue’, is connected with ‘prophesying’, that is, exalted preaching. 1965 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 5 Dec. 31/5 Some parishioners have complained to the Diocesan authorities..about Mr. Schofield's interest in speaking with tongues. 1972 S. Tugwell Did you receive Spirit? v. 40 Some manifestation, usually tongues, is generally expected; indeed, strict Pentecostals demand it. 1976 Church Times 5 Mar. 14/2 Tongues is a personal and devotional gift as opposed to the others, which are intended to help people. |
9. transf. in biblical use: A people or nation having a language of their own. Usually in plural:
all tongues, people of every tongue.
| 1382 Wyclif Rev. v. 9 In thi blood, of al lynage, and tunge, and puple, and nacioun. 1526 Tindale ibid., Thou..haste redemed vs by thy bloud, out of all kynreddes, and tonges, and people, and nacions. 1535 Coverdale Isa. lxvi. 18, I wil come to gather all people and tonges. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxvii. (1592) 433 All People, Nations, and Toungs shal serue that Kingdome. 1745 Scot. Paraphr. xviii. ii, To this the joyful nations round, all tribes and tongues shall flow. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost ix. 234 Throughout all lands, and people, and tongues. |
III. Anything that resembles or suggests the human or animal tongue by its shape, position, function, or use; a tapering, projecting, or elongated object or part,
esp. when mobile, or attached at one end or side.
10. Any tongue-like part or organ of the human or animal body.
† tongue of the throat, the uvula.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiv. (Bodl. MS. lf. 13 b/1), [Þis] þe phisicians clepiþ þe tunge of þe throte and Cataracta also. 1483 Cath. Angl. 396/2 A Tunge in the throte, vua; or ye palase of ye mowthe. 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 253 The Trachelo-Mastoideus (Complexus Minor),..arises from the last four transverse processes of the neck, and three or four of the back, by tendinous and fleshy tongues. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 527 A projecting tongue [of splenic tissue] becoming pedunculated. |
† 11. A wedge, an ingot of gold or silver.
Obs. (In
quot. a
lit. rendering of
Heb. l{p}shōn zahab.)
| 1535 Coverdale Josh. vii. 21 And two hundreth Sycles of syluer and a tunge of golde, worth fiftye Sycles in weight. |
12. (
= tongue-fish.) A young or small-sized sole.
[So, in same sense, early
mod.Du. tonghe (Kilian),
Ger. zunge,
Da. tunge,
Sw. tungfisk.]
| a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Tongue, a small sole, from its shape. 1881 Daily News 4 Mar. 4/6 Large soles are put at the top and bottom of the box, and the ‘tongues’ stowed cleverly in the middle, so that the sole buyer..has but scant opportunity of fairly judging its contents. 1881 Daily Tel. 11 Mar., The fishermen know the ground on which little else than tongues can be caught, and they should be prevented fishing over that ground. 1884 F. Day Fishes Gt. Brit. II. 40 Sole..slips, or tongues, the market terms for the young. |
13. A tongue-like projecting piece of anything.
a. A narrow strip of land, running into the sea, or between two branches of a river, or two other lands; also a projecting horizontal point or spit of ice in the sea, a narrow inlet of water running into the land, etc.
b. A narrow and deep part of the current of a river, running smoothly and rapidly between rocks.
c. A tapering jet of flame.
d. Geol. A part of a formation that projects laterally into the material of an adjacent formation, becoming thinner in the direction of its length.
e. gen.| a. 1566 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1577. 735/1 Duas acras vocatas the kirk-dur-keyis (..descendendo cum uno lie tung inter terras de Erlishall). 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 231 There is a double haven devided by a tongue of rocke. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece i. 27 You see the Sea on both sides of this long Tongue of Land. 1693 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 89 The Windsor Castle run on the tongue of the Goodwin sands. 1766 J. Bartram Jrnl. 12 Jan. 33 A long tongue of marsh comes from the N.E. end. 1771 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 73/1 Whitehaven..the tide..overflowed the quays and tongues, and ran..into the market-place. 1775 Romans Florida App. 48 To the westward of Stirrup's Key is a tongue of ocean water shooting into the bank. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 228 A tongue is a point of ice projecting nearly horizontally from a part that is under water. Ships have sometimes run aground upon tongues of ice. 1832 Act 2 & 3 Will. IV, c. 64 Sched. O, 16 The tongue of land in the river just above Kingsbury fish⁓pond. 1839 Murchison Silur. Syst. i. x. 134 A..smaller tongue of the coal measures passes from the Forest of Wyre to the left bank of the Severn. 1857 Livingstone Trav. xx. 404 A tongue of rather high land, formed by the left bank of the Lucalla, and right bank of the Coanza. 1895 M. Kingsley W. Africa 573 Tongues of forest go up the mountain in some places a hundred yards or more above the true line of the belt. |
| b. 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v., A tongue is well-known to anglers as a favorite resting-place of salmon in their laborious ascent of rapid streams. |
| c. 1797 Coleridge Christabel i. 159 A tongue of light, a fit of flame. 1849 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sc. xxxiii. (ed. 8) 370 The flame of a taper..is immediately divided into two tongues by the electric current. 1872 W. Hanna Resurrection ix. 178 That broad strong tongue of flame. |
| d. 1917 L. W. Stephenson in Jrnl. Washington Acad. Sci. VII. 245 It is..proposed that such features as x and y in figure 1 be designated ‘tongues’... A tongue is not a member nor a lentil, either one of which differs lithologically from the typical material composing the formation of which it forms part. 1953, 1970 [see lentil 5]. |
| e. 1881 E. A. Freeman Sk. Subject & Neighbour Lands Venice 207 Columns with richly carved capitals, and..with tongues of foliage at their bases. 1954 F. T. Prince Soldiers Bathing 7 Letting the sea-waves coil Their frothy tongues about his feet. 1965 E. L. Myles Emperor of Peace River ii. iv. 226 The frantic bawling of a calf in the edge of a tongue of brush near the river's bank. 1966 D. Bagley Wyatt's Hurricane v. 129 They emerged on to an open place, an incursive tongue of the countryside licking into the suburbs. |
14. In many technical applications.
a. The pin of a buckle or brooch.
b. The pointer of a balance; also of a
dial. c. A thin elastic vibratory strip of metal, covering the aperture of a reed in an organ-pipe:
= reed 8 c; hence
transf. an analogous device in a seed-sowing machine (
obs.); also, a reed in the oboe or bassoon:
= reed 8 a; the vibrating fork in the Jew's harp or ‘trump’; hence
fig. the essential or principal person in a company or the like; also, a plectrum or jack in the harpsichord (
= Jack n.1 14).
d. The clapper of a bell; hence, the pistil or a stamen of a bell-flower.
e. The pole of a wagon or other vehicle;
† the head of a plough (
obs.).
f. A projecting piece of leather or the like forming a tab or flap, or means of fastening; the strip of thin leather or kid closing the opening in a boot which is laced or buttoned; hence, any similar appendage.
† g. In
Fortification, a pointed horn-work; see
quot. Obs. h. The movable tapered piece of rail in a railway switch.
i. The wedge-shaped or tapered end of a scion in grafting.
j. A projecting tenon along the edge of a board, to be inserted into a groove or mortise in the edge of another board; also, a connecting slip, often of iron or steel, which joins two grooved boards; in
Mech. a projecting flange, rib, or strip for any purpose (
Cassell's Encycl. Dict. 1888).
k. The tapered end of a pole, etc. by which it is fixed in a socket; also, the upper main-piece of a made mast.
l. A short piece of rope spliced into the upper part of the standing backstays, etc.
m. Of a sword or knife: see
quots. n. Of a bevel: see
quots. o. Mus. = plaque 1 d.
| a. c 1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 150 Einsy doyt le hardiloun [gloss, the tungge]. Passer par tru de subiloun [gloss, a bore of an alsene] [nalkin]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 506/1 Tunge of a bocle, lingula. 1483 Cath. Angl. 396/2 A Tunge of ye belte, lingula. 1524 in G. Oliver Hist. Coll. (1841) App. 15 A silver bokyll without a tong. 1530 Palsgr. 281/2 Tong of a buckell, hardillon. 1608 in Archæologia XI. 93 Sixteen gold buckles with pendants and toungs. 1802 Trans. Soc. Arts XX. 334 A buckle, with its double tongue received in a groove. 1851 D. Wilson Preh. Ann. (1863) II. 258 The acus or tongue is wanting. |
| b. 1429 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 349/1 So yat ye tunge of ye balance encline not to on party. 1530 Palsgr. 281/2 Tong of a balaunce, languette. 1626 Massinger Roman Actor v. ii, As I can move this dial's tongue to six. a 1691 Boyle Hist. Air (1692) 91 The scales being gently stirred, the tongue would play altogether on that side, at which the bubble was hung. 1896 M. Rutherford Cath. Furze vi, It was just a tremble of the tongue of the balance. |
| c. 1551 Turner Herbal i. E ij, Ther are dyuerse kyndes of reedes, some are thicke redes; wherof arrowes are made,..some serue for to make tonges for pypes. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Organ, The degree of acuteness and gravity in the sound of a reed pipe, depends on the length of the tongue. 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxii. 319 The Tongue of the Seed-Box..differs from that in the Sound-Board of an Organ..in Shape. 1786 Jefferson Writ. (1859) I. 503 The last invented tongue for the harpsichord. 1795 Burns Election ii, An' there will be black-lippit Johnnie, The tongue o' the trump to them a'. 1854 Bushnan in Orr's Circ. Sc. I. Org. Nat. 127 The air throws the tongue..into a state of vibration. 1879 Stainer Music of Bible 78 The real difference between an oboe and a clarinet is, that the former has a double tongue which vibrates, the latter a single tongue. 1898 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v. Organ Construction 345 The reed is a brass tube..having a narrow orifice over which lies the tongue, a thin elastic piece of brass large enough to cover the orifice and its edges... The lower end of the tongue is..perfectly free. |
| d. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 65 By plucking out the little yellowe toongs from the bell. 1578 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (Maitl. Club) 104 For ane tong to Sanct Mungowes bell 2/. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 370 The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelue. 1595 ― John iii. iii. 38. 1690 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 258 For leather to the bell tongues, 2s. 8d. 1721 Wodrow Sufferings Ch. Scot. (1838) I. i. iv. §i. 333/1 The bell's tongue in some places was stolen away, that the parishioners might have an excuse for not coming to church. 1842 Belfast & Environs 71 This fine bell, which—except that the tongue is wanting—is in as fine preservation as at the moment it was originally cast. |
| e. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Pertiga de carreta, the toong of a plowe, (L.) temo. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New Hampsh. III. 106 The oxen which are nearest to the tongue are sometimes suspended. 1827 F. Cooper Prairie I. ii. 27 The men..applied their strength to the wagon, pulling it by its projecting tongue. 1858 Lewis in Youatt Dog (N.Y.) ii. 54 Constantly by the side or at the heels of the horses, or under the tongue of the vehicle. |
| f. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 32 b/1 The hornes hauinge internally a little leatherne tunge which stoppeth the hoales. 1643 Sir T. Hope Diary 25 June (1843) 191 Quhil I wes pulling on my left buit both the tungis of it brak. 1830 Marryat King's Own x, He passed the leathern tongue of the [pocket-] book through the strap. 1840 J. Devlin Shoemaker 65 A further closing..beginning at the turn of the..counter, and going right round, along the range, and up the tongue. 1912 W. H. Stevenson in Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. 7 The writs of Edward the Confessor have pendent seals affixed to a tongue of the parchment. |
| g. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 99/1 Tongues..are outworks that differ from Horn-works only in this, that in two halfe Bulworks they haue only an acute angle: and this sort is called the Single Tongue: it is called a double Tongue work, when it hath two outward angles with one inward. |
| h. 1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 257/1 Switches are moveable rails placed at the point where two tracks fall into one,..to guide vehicles from the single track into either of the two... In the old railways this was effected by short tongues of iron, moved by hand. 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Tongue..the short movable rail of a switch, by which the wheels are directed to one or the other lines of rail. |
| i. 1832 Planting 30 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The upper division of the scion made by the slit, termed the tongue or wedge, is then inserted into the cleft of the stock. 1887 Nicholson's Dict. Gard. s.v. Tongue-grafting, A small, thin tongue is cut in an upward direction in the scion, and also a notch the opposite way in the stock. |
| j. 1842 Francis Dict. Arts, etc., Tongue, a projecting part at the edge of a board, to be inserted into a groove ploughed in the edge of another. 1902 How to Make Things 57/1 Then add the other boards, fitting the tongue of one into the groove of the other. |
| k. 1815 Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine 568/1 Tongue, in mast-making, the taper part of the lower end of a spindle, or of a scarph. |
| l. 1815 Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine, Tongue, a short piece of rope spliced into the upper part of standing backstays, &c. to the size of the topmast-head. |
| m. 1853 Stocqueler Milit. Encycl., Tongue of a Sword, that part of the blade on which the gripe, shell, and pummel, are fixed. 1869 Boutell Arms & Arm. ix. (1874) 170 The tongue..is the spike..which is fixed into the hilt in order to join the hilt and the blade together. |
| n. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Tongue of a bevel,..by which the angles or bevellings are taken. 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Tongue,..the movable arm of a bevel, the principal member being the stock, which forms the case when the instrument is closed. |
| o. 1953, 1957 [see plaque 1 d]. 1977 Goossens & Roxburgh Oboe iii. 34 The scraping tongue (or plaque). A flat oval plate of steel... Some players prefer a narrower plate to prevent the knife from coming into contact at the edges. |
IV. attrib. and
Comb. (very numerous: the following are examples).
15. a. Simple
attrib., as
tongue-battery,
tongue-battle,
tongue-bolt,
tongue-bully,
tongue-combat,
tongue-compliment,
tongue-craft,
tongue-debate,
tongue-drill,
tongue-fire,
tongue-government,
tongue-grace,
tongue-itch,
tongue-metal,
tongue-part (of a top-boot),
tongue-plague,
tongue-play,
tongue-position,
tongue-powder,
tongue-prayer,
tongue-root,
tongue-saw,
tongue-sin,
tongue-skirmish,
tongue-squib,
tongue-structure,
tongue-tangle,
tongue-tattle,
tongue-tip,
tongue-toil,
tongue-valour,
tongue-vice,
tongue-war,
tongue-warrior,
tongue-weapon.
b. objective and
obj. genitive, as
tongue-biting,
tongue-cutting,
tongue-lolling,
tongue-paralysing,
tongue-scraper,
tongue-taming,
tongue-wagger,
tongue-wagging (so
tongue-wag vb. intr.),
ns. and
adjs. c. instrumental, as
tongue-bang,
tongue-hammer,
tongue-kill,
tongue-lash,
tongue-taw vbs.;
tongue-baited,
tongue-bitten,
tongue-rent adjs.;
tongue-lashing,
tongue-murdering,
tongue-scourging,
tongue-smiting,
tongue-travailing ns. and
adjs.;
tongue-banger,
tongue-smiter ns. d. locative, similative, etc., as
tongue-bound,
tongue-doughty,
tongue-dumb,
tongue-flowered,
tongue-free,
tongue-gilt,
tongue-haltered,
tongue-leaved,
tongue-like,
tongue-proof,
tongue-puissant,
tongue-valiant,
tongue-wanton adjs.| 1750 Student I. 304 Socrates was too much *tongue-baited. |
| 1880 Tennyson Northern Cobbler iv, Sally she turn'd a *tongue-banger, an' räated me. |
| 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 97 The feminine accomplishment of scolding, (*tongue-banging, it is called in our parts, a compound word which deserves to be Greek). 1881 Good Wds. 842/2, I heerd her tonguebanging o' ye as I cum past the house. |
| 1671 Milton Samson 404 Mustring all her wiles, With blandisht parlies, feminine assaults, *Tongue-batteries. |
| a 1743 Ozell tr. Brantome's Span. Rhodomontades (1744) 84 He did by no means like Handy-blows, but only your *Tongue-Battles. |
| 1898 J. Hutchinson in Arch. Surg. IX. No. 34. 126 It [an epileptic fit] came without warning, and was attended by *tongue-biting. |
| 1615 Day Festivals xii. 335 Now for us..who are thus *Tongue-bitten and Reviled in such sort. |
| 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster ii. ii, Look well about you and you may find a *tongue-bolt. 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) II. viii. iv. 52 The..doctors of Lyons hurled back his tongue-bolts with the dreaded cry of heresy. |
| 1906 E. A. Abbott Silanus xxix, I stood silent,..as it were *tongue-bound. |
| a 1834 Coleridge Notes & Lect. (1849) I. 283 Such a mouthing Tamburlane, and bombastic *tongue-bully as this Cethegus of his! |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 354 The most important factors in the *tongue-coating of fever. |
| 1623 Hexham (title) A *tongve-combat, lately happening be-tweene two English Souldiers in the Tilt-boat of Grauesend. |
| 1660 Fuller Mixt Contempl. (1841) 198 The rent-completing of the one, and the *tongue-compliments of the other. |
| 1837 C. Lofft Self-formation I. 220 Despatch..is a surpassing quality in *tonguecraft. |
| 1697 Dryden æneid xi. 588 Ever foremost in a *tongue-debate. |
| 1671 Milton Samson 1181 *Tongue-doubtie Giant, how dost thou prove me these? |
| 1886 Tupper My Life as Author 73 That was the sort of *tongue-drill and nerve-quieting recommended and enforced. |
| 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) H ij, You thoughte..to rendre me *tonge domme. |
| 1876 Swinburne Erechtheus 642 *Tongue-fighters, tough of talk and sinewy speech. |
| 1690 C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 19 This raging *tongue-fire causeth great confusion. |
| 1890 Cent. Dict. s.v. Serapias, S. Lingua is known as the *tongue-flowered..orchis. |
| 1617 Bp. Hall Quo Vadis xxi, Others more capricious, some more *tongue-free; few euer better. 1907 ‘J. Halsham’ Lonewood Corner 116 John Board.. to the last degree tongue-free. |
| 1608 Machin & Markham Dumb Knight iii. i. F j b, Thus are the pauement stones before the doores Of these great *tongue guilt Orators, worne smoth With clients. |
| 1656 E. Reyner Rules Govt. Tongue 97 *Tongue-government is needfull to prevent Miseries from our selves. |
| 1637 Rutherford Lett. clxxxi. (1881) 314 O that He would give me more than..*tongue-grace. |
| 1847 Fr. Oxford to Rome (ed. 2) 105 The din of word-battles and *tongue-hammers. |
| 1836–48 B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Knights ii. iii, Handed it o'er To us to be *tongue-hammered loudly. |
| 1540 Cranmer Pref. to Bible, Wherof commeth all this *tongue itche, that we haue so moch delight to talke & clatter. |
| 1676 Dryden Aureng-zebe ii. i, My Ears still ring with Noise, I'm vex'd to Death: *Tongue-kill'd. |
| 1887 Baring-Gould Red Spider ii, Let yourself be led and *tongue-lashed by your housekeeper. |
| 1881 ‘Mark Twain’ Prince & Pauper xix. 222 She promptly brought the King out of his dreams with a brisk and cordial *tongue-lashing. 1885 H. C. McCook Tenants Old Farm 74 You..deserve a little tongue-lashing. |
| 1822 Hortus Angl. II. 374 C. Myconis. *Tongue-leaved Chrysanthemum. Leaves tongue-shaped, obtuse, serrate. |
| 1832 Planting 31 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The scion [should be] split..so as to form the two divisions into *tongue-like processes. |
| 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 256 Smoking, and leering, with *tongue-lolling cheek. 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. I. iii. 44 The yelps and tongue-lollings of the dog. |
| 1611 Coryat's Crudities, Char. Authour, He is alwaies *Tongue-major of the company. |
| 1608 Pennyless Parl. in Harl. Misc. III. 79 A quart or two of fine Trinidado shall arm us against the gun-shot of *tongue-metal. |
| 1599 Broughton's Let. v. 18 Such a *tongue-murthering Cain..cannot withhold. |
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 410/2 It..goes twice through the hands of the workman; the first time to do what is called the *tongue part, the closing of the vamp and counter to the leg. 1617 Lane Cont. Sqr.'s T. iv. 159 What faleshode (which this witch termes veritie)! what *tonge-plages (cowardlie scurrilitie)! |
| 1872 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 52 The pur⁓blind..policy of sword-play and *tongue-play. |
| 1918 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics vi. 16 We examine the *tongue positions of these five classes [of vowels]. 1977 Word 1972 XXVIII. 321 The most important feature for the correct perception of this phoneme from the viewpoint of the listener is high tongue position. |
| 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 7 He that hath most *toong powder hopes to driue the other out of the field first. |
| 1604 Hieron Wks. I. 491 Blind deuotions and *tong-prayers, which the hart doth not conceiue. |
| 1652 Bp. Hall Invisible World iii. v, Another while he bids him be *tongue-proof. |
| 1566 Drant Horace, Sat. vii. D vij, Two *tongue puisante knyghts. |
| 1607 Hieron Defence i. 3 b, Miserably slandered & *tongue-rente. |
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1375 Bot þou sal tak þis pepins thre..And do þam vnder his *tong rote. 1825 Jamieson s.v., It was juist at my tongue-roots,..intimating either that a person was just about to catch a term that had caused some degree of hesitation, or that he was on the point of uttering an idea in which he has been anticipated by another. |
| a 1711 Ken Edmund v. 82 Thus Dipsychus when he most Kindness feigns, With his *Tongue-Saw licks Mortals to their Banes. |
| 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 88/1 Then scrape your tunge with a wooden *tungescraper. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 245 ¶2 [She] carried off..a Silver Tongue-Scraper. 1897 Star 20 Apr. 4/7 A curious instrument possessed by everyone in China above the extremely poor is the tongue-scraper. |
| 1713 M. Henry Check to Ungoverned Tongue Wks. 1853 I. 149 Peter resolved against a *tongue-sin in his own strength. |
| 1822 T. Mitchell Aristoph. II. 214 What, my friends, if we quit This *tongue-skirmish of wit? |
| 1647 Trapp Comm. Matt. v. 11 There are *tongue-smiters, as well as hand-smiters. |
| 1690 C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 18 *Tongue-smiting is as smart as any hand-smiting. |
| 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] ii. 6 As for the crackers of the braine, and *tongue-squibs, they will dye alone, if I shall not reuiue them. |
| 1861 Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. VIII. 281 The *tongue-structure of folded anticlinals. |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 29 Nov. 2/3 He generally got into a *tongue-tangle over the word. |
| 1592 Lyly Midas v. ii, I feare nothing so much as to be *tongue tawde. |
| 1896 A. Morrison Child of the Jago 299 His *tongue-tip passed quickly over them. 1900 H. Sutcliffe Shameless Wayne ix, Martha had a keen answer on her tongue-tip. |
| 1609 Boys Expos. Script. Eng. Liturg. Wks. (1629) 29 He praiseth God but little, who makes it a *tongue-toile and a lip labour only. |
| 1603 Dekker Wonderfull Yeare B iv, *Tongue-trauelling Lawyers faint at such a day. |
| 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. Dd j, For the feare, that his *tongtromp (to you did sowne:) By thus manie flies: to thus few spiders seene. |
| a 1700 Dryden Iliad i. 336 *Tongue-valiant hero, vaunter of thy might, In threats the foremost, but the lag in fight! 1838–42 Arnold Hist. Rome II. xxx. 186 The Greeks being a tongue-valiant people returned an insulting refusal. |
| 1629 Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 383 You wel know what weather-cocks the Roman people are: and how great their *tongue-valour is. |
| 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xxx. 96 For the *tongue-vice, talkatiuenesse, I see not, but..Men may very well vie words with them [women]. |
| 1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers i. 16 He was blab-mouthed, a *tongue-wagger. |
| 1885 B. Harte Maruja vi, No..*tongue-wagging gossip. 1887 Pall Mall G. 27 Jan. 1/1 It is not necessary that he should say anything wise or true or new. All that he needs do is to keep on tongue-wagging. |
| 1820 T. Roscoe Gonzalo iii. i, Being *tongue-wanton of his noble friend, And crying up his many excellences. |
| 1730 B. Martyn Timoleon iv. iii, I hate This Female *Tongue-War, and will end it thus. 1820 T. Mitchell Aristoph. I. 190 A man in tongue-war His superior by far. |
| 1742 R. Blair Grave 297 The *tongue-warrior..cannot tell his ails. |
| 1681 S. Colvil Whigs Supplic. (1751) 131, I..have both will and wit to reckon, And beat thee at thy own *tongue weapon. 1849 Miss Mulock Ogilvies xviii, The sharpest tongue-weapons that sarcasm ever forged. |
| 1575 R. B. Appius & Virg. B j b, Content, for I shall repent it, for this my *tonge wralling. |
16. Special combs.:
tongue aloe,
Aloe linguæformis;
tongue-and-groove, applied (chiefly
attrib.) to boards in which a tongue along one edge fits into a groove along the edge of its neighbour, and to joints, etc., so made; also
fig.;
tongue-bar, each of the processes separating the gill-slits in
Balanoglossus and
Amphioxus, suggesting the tongue of a jews' harp (
Cent. Dict., Suppl. 1909);
tongue-bird, local name of the wryneck, from its long retractile tongue (Swainson
Provinc. Names Birds 1885);
tongue-bit, a bridle bit having a plate attached so as to prevent the horse from putting his tongue over the mouthpiece (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1877);
† tongue-blade, the shrub
Ruscus Hypoglossum;
= double-tongue 2;
tongue-bleed,
-bleeder, the Goose-grass or Cleavers (
Galium Aparine);
tongue-bone, the hyoid bone;
† tongue-butt [
butt n.6], a butt or odd corner of land at the end or side of a field;
tongue-case (
Entom.), the part of a pupa-case enclosing the ‘tongue’;
tongue-chain, the pole-chain of a vehicle:
= team n.1;
tongue-cheek (
Entom.), a side-piece of a moth's mouth;
tongue-compressor, a clamp for retaining the tongue during dental operations;
tongue-curve, a figure showing position and movement of the tongue in speech, etc.;
tongue-depressor, a surgical instrument for depressing the tongue during operations on the mouth or throat;
† tongue-evil [
evil n. 7], a disease of the tongue; in
quot. fig.;
tongue-fence, argument, debate;
tongue-fencer, a debater, skilful disputant;
tongue-fish, the sole:
cf. 12; in southern
U.S.,
Aphoristia (
Symphurus)
plagiusa, a small sole-like fish;
tongue-flower: see
quot.;
tongue-grafting, whip or splice grafting, in which a thin wedge-shaped tongue of the scion is fitted into a cleft in the stock;
tongue-grass, name for garden cress (
Lepidium sativum);
tongue-hero (
nonce-wd.), a braggart (
transl. G.
wortheld);
tongue-holder, an instrument for holding the tongue during dental operations;
tongue-hound [
hound n.2 2], one of the ‘hounds’ by which the tongue of a vehicle is braced (
Cassell's Encycl. Dict. s.v. tongue-support);
tongue-joint, a joint formed in metal by welding a tongue in one piece into a recess in the other;
tongue-key, in
Exper. Psychol., a reaction-key which is opened or closed by movement of the tongue;
tongue-membrane = tongue-ribbon;
tongue-mole (
Her.): see
quot., and
cf. hurt n.2;
tongue-oxen n. pl., the pair of oxen harnessed to the tongue of a plough, etc.;
tongue-pipe, a reed-pipe in an organ or similar instrument;
tongue-ribbon, the odontophore of a mollusc;
† tongue-ripe a., garrulous, loquacious, voluble, glib (of a person or his utterance);
tongue-scapular, a scapular on which tongues of red cloth were fastened, worn by the Cistercians as a punishment for evil-speaking (
Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895);
tongue-sewer, one who stitches the tongues into boots;
tongue-shell, a brachiopod of the family
Lingulidæ;
tongue-shot, speaking or talking distance, voice-range;
tongue-slip, a slip of the tongue;
† tongue-sore,
fig. evil-speaking;
cf. tongue-evil;
tongue-spatula = tongue-depressor (Knight);
tongue-speaker, one who speaks with tongues (see sense 8 c);
tongue-speaking, (
a) oral as distinct from written communication; (
b) speaking with tongues (see sense 8 c);
tongue-tacked,
-it a. Sc. = tongue-tied (
lit. and
fig.); so
tongue-tack v. trans., to put to silence;
tongue-test, a test of the existence or strength of an electric current by applying the tongue to a break in the circuit;
tongue-tooth, one of the teeth of the odontophore of a mollusc;
tongue-tree, the pole of a wagon;
tongue-triangle: see
quot.;
tongue-twist n., a mispronunciation, a provincialism;
tongue-twist v. intr., to twist the tongue; in
quot. to prevaricate;
tongue-twister, one or that which is said to twist the tongue;
spec. a sequence of words, often alliterative, difficult to articulate quickly;
tongue-twisting a., difficult to articulate;
tongue-violet, name for
Schweiggeria parviflora (N.O.
Violaceæ), an erect Brazilian shrub bearing white stalked violet-shaped flowers in the axils;
tongue-walk v. trans., to scold, abuse; hence
tongue-walking vbl. n.;
tongue-work, (
a) work in ‘the tongues’, philological labour; (
b) debate, discussion, dispute; (
c) chatter, gossip, babble;
tongue-worm,
† (
a) disease of the tongue (
fig.);
cf. tongue-evil; (
b) a tongue-shaped parasite which becomes adult in the nasal fossæ and frontal sinuses of the dog or wolf; a pentastom; (
c) the ‘worm’ of the tongue in dogs;
= lytta. See also
tongueman, -pad, -tie, etc.
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict., Aloe, Africana flore rubro,..The *Tongue Aloe. |
| 1882 W. J. Christy Practical Treat. Joints iii. 52 Joggle Joint.—This term is applied to a square, semi⁓circular,..or otherwise shaped *tongue and groove joint generally of equal depth the full way through. 1929 W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 353 He emerged carrying a sawn section of tongue-and-groove planking. 1939 ― Wild Palms 19 The flimsy walls (they were not even tongue-and-groove..but were of ship-lap). 1976 Southern Even. Echo (Southampton) 11 Nov. (Advt. Suppl.) 4/2 End terr. house, built 1972,..d. glazing, tongue and groove floors, etc. 1977 Time 3 Oct. 53/1 Despite its style and tongue-and-groove plotting, The Honourable Schoolboy sometimes displays a Balzacian tendency to turn urges into passions. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 85/1 The *tongue-bar is the essential organ of the gill-slit in Balano⁓glossus. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. xiv. 676 *Tongueblade or double tongue, his nature is to asswage payne. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Langue, Tong-blade, Double-tongue, Horse-tongue. |
| c 1450 Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.) 157 Rubea minor, cliure [= cleavers] uel *tongebledes. |
| 1853 G. Johnston Bot. E. Bord. 100 G. aparine... Children, with the leaves, practise phlebotomy upon the tongue..hence they call the plant Bluid-tongue or *Tongue-bluiders. |
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XX. 456/1 The body of the *tongue-bone is most frequently of a rhomboidal form. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 17 Apr. 10/2 These sounds are produced in a bony cavity formed by an enlargement of the hyoid, or tongue-bone. |
| 1220–51 Cockersand Chartul. (Chetham Soc.) II. i. 450 Et insuper super Waldemurfeld, duas *Tunge-buttes quæ jacent ex utraque parte terræ. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxxi. 250 Before from the middle [proceeds] the *tongue-case (Glosso-theca) [of pupæ]. 1885 H. C. McCook Tenants Old Farm 73 The long, slender object which you mistook for the cord by which a cocoon hangs is a tongue-case. |
| 1890 J. P. Ballard Among Moths & Butterfl. 108 The deep, rich, velvety side-pieces, or *tongue-cheeks. |
| 1902 E. W. Scripture Exper. Phonetics 469 Phonograms, palatograms, breath records, *tongue curves, etc. |
| 1872 Cohen Dis. Throat 6 A *tongue-depressor, with a handle which is out of the line of vision, is the proper instrument. |
| 1662 T. I. (title) A Cure for the *Tongue-Evill. Or, A Receipt against Vain Oaths. |
| 1644 Milton Divorce ii. xxi, To have her unpleasingness..bandied up and down and aggravated in open Court by those hir'd masters of *Tongue-fence. 1850 Blackie æschylus I. Pref. 18 Euripides, the great master of tongue-fence. |
| 1675 Crowne Country Wit ii, The most admirable *tongue-fencer I have heard! |
| 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Impr. (1746) 260 Soles or *Tongue-fishes are counted the Partridges of the Sea. 1672 J. Josselyn New-Eng. Rarities 30 Soles, or Tonguefish, or Sea Capon, or Sea Partridge. |
| 1884 Miller Plant-n., *Tongue-flower, Glossula tentacula; Australian [Tongue-flower], the genus Glossodia. |
| 1710 J. Harris Lex. Techn. II, *Tongue Grafting, is a way of Grafting in Roots. 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. 183 Tongue or Whip Grafting, is proper for small Stocks, of an Inch, half an Inch, or less Diameter. 1844 N. Paterson Manse Gard. 118 This is supposed to resemble a tongue, and hence this mode of operation is called tongue grafting. |
| 1726 C. Threlkeld Synopsis Stirp. Hibern. G viij, Nasturtium Hortense, the Garden Cresses, is..sold by the silly Name of *Tongue-grass, and used as a Sallet. 1887 Nicholson's Dict. Gard., Tongue Grass, a common name for Lepidium sativum. |
| 1800 Coleridge Piccolom. iv. vii, I Am no *tongue-hero, no fine virtue-prattler. |
| 1902 Baldwin's Dict. Philos. & Psychol. II. 419/2 The most common form of motor response is the act of pressing a telegrapher's key with the finger or hand. Other forms are with the lip key, *tongue key, and mouth or voice key. |
| 1562 Leigh Armorie (1597) 87 b, These appeare light blewe, and come by some violent strok on men, they are called hurtes, but on women they are commonly called *Tongue-molles. |
| 1851 Harper's Mag. III. 518 It would be impossible for the *tongue-oxen to resist the pressure of the load. |
| 1874 Wood Nat. Hist. 638 Feeding..on little bivalves, which they can assault with their short but strongly armed *tongue-ribbon. |
| 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God v. xxvii. 234 Their *tongue-ripe Satyrisme may more easily disturbe the truth of this world. 1627 [R. Bernard] Guide agst. Witches ii. ii. 93 They [women] are more tongue-ripe, and lesse able to hide what they know from others. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict., *Tongue-shell. 1895 Edin. Rev. Oct. 355 Tongue-shells and helmet-shells and lamp-shells. 1905 W. J. Sollas Age Earth i. 26 The little tongue-shell, Lingula, has endured..from the Cambrian down to the present day. |
| 1656 S. Holland Zara (1719) 82 Who was no sooner within *Tongue-shot of him, but alighting..she made most humble and lowly obeysance. 1860 Reade Cloister & H. lii, She would stand timidly aloof out of tongue-shot. |
| 1913 N.E.D. s.v. tongue sb. 15 a, *Tongue-slip. 1948 Sunday Pictorial 18 July 5/2 Freud took up this pioneer work and showed how the half-forgotten world of dreams and tongue-slips could be explored. 1978 Canadian Jrnl. Linguistics 1977 XXII. 179 The penultimate chapter of AM whips through pauses, tongue slips, and other topics in the science of word-botching. |
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. 22 b, Imputyng his *toungsore, not vnto maliciousnesse: but vnto the defaulte of right knowelage. |
| 1910 Encycl. Relig. & Ethics III. 370/2 The ‘*tongue-speaker’ needed as his complement the ‘interpreter’. 1978 Amer. Speech LIII. 59 They..associate these utterances with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, although tongue-speakers differ in their beliefs about the significance of the gift of tongues. |
| c 1545 Ld. Morley Hyst. Masscutio 12 b, Neyther with pen wrytyng nor with *tunge spekynge. 1902 Selwyn in Expositor Nov. 391 They continue tongue-speaking, which is such a marked feature of the Holy Apostolic Church. |
| 1685 R. Hamilton in A. Shields Faithf. Contendings (1780) 218 It..hath *tongue-tacked many a valiant hero for Christ in our day. 1727 P. Walker Remark. Passages (1827) 211 That sharp Challenge, which would strike our Mean-spirited Tongue-tacked Ministers dumb. Ibid. 228 If ever he saw such an Occasion, he should not be tongue-tacked. 1814 W. Nicholson Peacock iv. 44 Till fairly tongue-tack'd wi' a pension. |
| a 1877 P. P. Carpenter cited in Cent. Dict. for *Tongue-tooth. |
| 1829 T. Moore Hist. Devon I. iv. i 510 *Tongtree, the pole of an ox-cart. |
| 1899 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Tongue-triangle, the triangular or wedge-shaped red arch at the tip of a coated tongue seen in typhoid. |
| 1898 Tit-Bits 21 May 150/2 These little *tongue-twists..are of such small import. |
| 1836–48 B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Clouds ii. i, I shall be lost, unless I learn to *tongue-twist. |
| 1898 Echo 1 July 1/5 *Tongue-twisters had..composed a sketch called ‘The Race’. 1904 Speaker 4 June 229/1 The famous tongue-twister, Miss Smith's fish-sauce shop. |
| 1949 Koestler Insight & Outlook vii. 109 Its name, too, is funny—foreign and *tongue-twisting. 1961 E. S. Turner Phoney War viii. 109 Each new campaign brought them a crop of tongue-twisting place names. |
| 1884 Miller Plant-n., Schweiggeria, *tongue-violet. |
| 1841 Hartshorne Salopia Antiqua Gloss., *Tongue Walk v. to abuse or scold. Ex. ‘Pretty well tongue-walked him’. |
| 1888 Illustr. Lond. News Christmas No. 3/2 Give him a *tongue-walking. I would. |
| 1598 Florio Dict. To Rdr. 12 His labours..which..he may as iustly stand vpon in this *toong-work, as in Latin Sir Thomas Eliot, Bishop Cooper, and after them Thomas Thomas, and Iohn Rider. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 137 Seek then some other Law-courts..: tongue-work there may fill thy purse. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt xx, If a man takes to tongue-work it's all over with him. a 1899 R. Wallace Life & Last Leaves (1903) 6, I have done a considerable amount of penwork and tongue-work. |
| 1645 Ussher Body Div. (1647) 359 Those *tongue-wormes of swearing, blasphemy, and unreverent speaking of God. 1896 Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 161 The Tongue worm is found encysted in the viscera of cattle, sheep, and other animals. It is about a quarter of an inch long, and when eaten by dogs grows to be 2 to 5 inches long. |
▸
tongue ring n. a small ornamental bar worn through a pierced tongue.
| 1990 Seattle Times 26 July d1/1 Komar and Melamid reveal the esteem-building possible through a *tongue ring (every word a pearl). 2002 U.S. News & World Rep. 17 June 50/2 April Barrett has lost her tongue ring. She has 12 hours to replace it before the hole closes. |
▸
tongue stud n. a small ornamental stud or bar worn through a pierced tongue.
| 1992 Colorado Springs Gaz.Telegraph 16 Feb. d2/1 Some of the great issues of the day: purple hair, *tongue studs, other weird jewelry, oddly placed tattoos and the relative virtues of height, weight and shaven heads. 2001 C. Glazebrook Madolescents 293 Omigawd, it's Danny O'Hara! He of the tongue stud and shamrocked neck. |
▪ II. tongue, v. (
tʌŋ)
[f. tongue n.] 1. trans. To assail with words; to reproach, scold; to discuss or talk about injuriously. In
quot. 1388, to drive
out by talking against.
| 1388 in Wyclif's Sel. Wks. III. 493 If ony of þese curatus were trewe aungelis of God,..þai myȝtten sone be tongide out of court. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. iv. 28 But that her tender shame Will not proclaime against her maiden losse, How might she tongue me? 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. ii. App. (1852) 224 Sir William was very hardly handled (or tongued, at least), in the liberty which people took to make most..injurious reflections upon his conduct. 1872 H. Cowles in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. (1877) IV. 413 He that tongueth his neighbour secretly. 1901 Dundee Advert. 14 Feb. 2 She met him in Small's Wynd, and ‘tongued’ him. |
2. a. intr. To use the tongue, talk, speak;
esp. to talk volubly, to prate. (Chiefly
tongue it.)
| 1624 Gd. News fr. N. Eng. in Story Pilgr. Fathers (Arb.) 571 Shewing how base and womanlike he was, in tonguing it, as he did. 1679 Dryden Troil. & Cress. Pref., He shall tongue it as impetuously, and as loudly as the errantest hero in the play. 1885 Forfar Cornish Poems 19 The more they parley voo'd, the more Our maidens tongue'd away. 1898 Tit-Bits 21 May 150/2 [When] they tumble across a person who ‘tongues’ it different to them, they grimly smile. |
b. Of a hound: To give tongue.
| 1832 [see tonguing vbl. n.]. 1885 Househ. Words 20 June 142/2 ‘What's thee tonguing like that for, Dick?’..‘What's amiss?’ 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v. Tongy, I yeard the hounds tongy, and tho I zeed the fox gwain on under the hedge. |
c. Mus. To move the tongue when playing a woodwind instrument so as to interrupt the air flow briefly. Also
trans., to produce (a note) repeatedly interrupted in this way.
Cf. tonguing vbl. n. a.
| 1936 F. B. Chapman Flute Technique iv. 18 The student must..ultimately aim at producing notes by multiple tonguing..: he should..be able to tongue them continuously and quite clearly at the rate of nine or ten to the second. 1953 E. Rothwell Oboe Technique iii. 30 To ‘tongue’ a note pronounce the consonant ‘T’ with your tongue on the reed. 1977 Early Music July 343/1 Do not tongue too much or you may dislodge the reed from its staple. |
3. trans. To utter or turn
over with the tongue; to say; also, to pronounce, articulate (
dial.).
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 148 'Tis still a Dreame; or else such stuffe as Madmen tongue, and braine not. 1841 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) VI. 12 He took up the phrase, and tongued it over in his damning way. 1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. vii, The Colonel raged..and tongued a few anathemas inside of his shut teeth. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘I can't tongue 't’, cannot say the word. |
4. a. To touch with the tongue; also, to lick
up.
| 1687 Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 247. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Velvet. 1837 S. B. Harper in Fraser's Mag. XVI. 191 An icy shudder shook me through—it stuck there, As you'd tongued iron on a December morn. 1888 H. S. Merriman Young Mistley II. vi. 76 Fairy [a horse]..gently tongued the bit. 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty Alone II. 149 The fire..was tonguing up the heap, sending the tips of its flames tastingly towards him. |
b. To push
out or distend with the tongue.
rare.
| 1768 Woman of Honor I. 160 Exposing him..by winking with one eye, and tonguing out his cheek. |
5. intr. To project as a protruding tongue; to throw out tongues (of flame).
| a 1814 [see tonguing ppl. a. below]. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxiii. 282 Old ices bulge and tongue out below. 1859 Masson Brit. Novelists iv. 303 Scattered through all, is the fiercer element of Fire, here tonguing over the earth wherever it may be kindled, there flashing through the ether. 1871 G. Meredith H. Richmond xi, It really did look as if they [the firemen] were engaged in slaying an enormous dragon, that hissed and tongued at them. 1942 Bull. U.S. Geol. Survey No. 936. 374 In places a thick shale lens lies within, or tongues into, an ore-bearing sandstone lens. 1973 Nature 2 Mar. 41/2 The patch reef, 13 m long and over 2 m high, tongues out to the west. 1980 D. Creed Scarab iii. xix. 183 A low spit of land tongued out into the shallow water. |
6. trans. To furnish with a tongue (
lit. or
fig.).
[In this sense
perh. a back-formation from
tongued a.].
a. To give a speaking tongue or utterance to.
| 1602 Dekker Satirom. K ij, Yes, yes, true chastity is tongu'd so weake, 'Tis overcome, ere it know how to speake. 1807 J. Barlow Columb. viii. 323 What avails..To tongue mute misery, and re-rack the soul With crimes oft copied from that bloody scroll? 1838 S. Bellamy Betrayal iii. 102 This Nazarene..hath tongued With a strange speech this talking world of ours. |
b. (
a) To cut a tongue on (a plank, etc.). (
b) To slit or shape a tongue in (a plant-stem or shoot) for grafting or layering.
| 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 101 Make a Groove in each Plank, and put in a Slip of Wood, like a Lath, which the Carpenters call Tongueing it. 1766 Compl. Farmer s.v. Layer, Cut a slit upwards at a joint, as is practised in laying of carnations, which, by gardeners, is called tonguing the layers. 1825 Greenhouse Comp. I. 229 Let neither stock nor scion be tongued, but apply the scion to the stock..so that their barks on both edges and below may join. 1908 Daily Chron. 13 Nov. 6/5 Each length of maple..is tongued and grooved both at the side and ends. |
c. To join or fit together by means of a tongue and groove or tongue and socket.
| 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 163 The sections of two pieces of stuff, grooved and tongued together. 1835 Sir J. Ross Narr. 2nd Voy. iv. 55 Some convenient anchorage..where we could fish or tongue the foremast. 1862 Illustr. Catal. Exhib. I. 26 The gallery floor..was closely boarded and tongued, to prevent the passage of dust. |
d. To furnish with a tongue-like projection.
| 1900 Westm. Gaz. 6 July 5/2 Great curling clouds of black smoke, tongued with red and yellow where the light from the fire struck it. |
Hence
ˈtonguing ppl. a. (in
quot., throwing out tongues).
| a 1814 Apostate iv. iv. in New Brit. Theatre III. 336 The sense of guilt, With keener agony than tonguing flames Lick to the bone. |
Add:
[4.] c. To kiss with the tongue;
= French kiss vb. s.v. French a. 2 b.
slang.
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 173 Hot I tongued her. She kissed me. I was kissed. 1977 J. Crosby Company of Friends xiv. 100 She did..all the physical chores, kissing him, tonguing him,..caressing him. |