▪ I. mouth, n.
(maʊθ)
Forms: 1 m{uacu}þ, 3–4 muth, (mudh, moth), 3–5 mouþ(e, (3 mouthþ, 4 mouht, 6 mothe, Sc. mwtht), 4–7 mowth(e, 6 mougth, mought, 9 Sc. muthe, 3– mouth.
[Com. Teut.: OE. m{uacu}þ masc. = OFris. mûth masc. (in later texts mund, mond; mod.NFris. müth, müt, müs), OS. mûth masc., MDu. mont, mond, munt masc. and fem. (Du. mond masc.), OHG., MHG., mod.G. mund masc., ON. munn-r, muð-r masc. (Sw. mun masc., Da. mund), Goth. munþ-s masc.:—OTeut. *munþo-z:—pre-Teut. *m{ncircbl}to-s, corresponding formally to L. mentum chin.]
I. 1. a. The external orifice in an animal body which serves for the ingestion of food, together with the cavity to which this leads, containing the apparatus of mastication and (in man and other lungbreathing animals) the organs of vocal utterance.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xv. 17 Ne onᵹyte ᵹe þæt eall þæt on þone muþ gæþ on þa wambe. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2655 An in hise muth so depe he is [sc. burning coals] dede Hise tunges ende is brent ðor-mide. a 1300 Cursor M. 1904 Son sco [sc. the dove] com and duelld noght, An oliue branche in moth sco broght. 1486 Bk. St. Albans C vj b, For blaynis in haukes mouthes cald frounches. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 10 He was thrust in the mouth with a Speare. 1661 J. D. Civ. Warres 164 Every man might march away..Matches Lighted, Bullet in Mouth, &c. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 185 When it happens to burst within the lungs, the matter may be discharged by the mouth. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 837/1 The cavity of the mouth forms the commencement of the alimentary canal. |
b. In invertebrate animals.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., The mouth [of the garden-snail] is like a hare's. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. 416 The Mouth, or rather the orifice in which the trophi or organs of manducation are inserted. 1881 E. R. Lankester in Encycl. Brit. XII. 556/2 Hydrozoa. The mouth is either a simple opening at the termination of a rudimentary manubrium.., or it is provided with four or eight arm-like processes. |
c. In references to an open or gaping mouth as expressive of wonderment or vacancy of mind.
| 1693 Dryden Persius i. (1726) 239 The nauseous Nobles..With gaping Mouths to these Rehearsals come. 1859 Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 1242 Mouths that gaped, and eyes that ask'd ‘What is it?’ |
† d. to draw one's mouth: to extract a tooth.
| 1669 Pepys Diary 18 May, She being much troubled with the tooth-ake..I staid till a surgeon of hers come,..who hath formerly drawn her mouth, and he advised her to draw it. |
e. In expressions like
a good, bad, hard, etc., mouth, used with reference to a horse's readiness or the contrary to feel and obey the pressure of the bit. Hence
abstr. of a horse: Capability of being guided by the bit.
| 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Amble, Others attempt it by sudden stoping..but this is apt to spoil a good mouth and rein. 1731 Bailey vol. II. s.v., A fine mouth [Horsemanship]. A fix'd mouth, a certain mouth. A false mouth. A mouth of a full Appui. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. xvi. (1809) 133 One of my neighbours..tells me he has a horse that has no mouth. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 346/1 The..delicacy of mouth which is so essential to the action of the racehorse. Ibid. 347/1 To obtain the desired result of its [sc. the bit's] presence in the mouth, which is called ‘getting a mouth’, and which is merely the giving to the sense of touch in the lips an extra degree of delicacy. 1863 Le Fanu Ho. by Churchyard (ed. 2) III. 310 In the end his ‘mouth was made’. |
2. a. Considered as the receptacle of food or with reference to swallowing, devouring, the function of taste, etc.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xvi. 104 Ne forbinde ᵹe no ðæm ðerscendum oxum ðone muð. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7028 Þe mossel he dude in to is mouþ. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1519 His mouþe opened þai And pelt treacle in þat man. c 1475 Babees Bk. 149 Withe fulle mouthe drynke in no wyse. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 5 b, Whiche had the taste in theyr mouthes of all thynges pleasaunt and delectable. 1530 Palsgr. 468/2 This axes hath brought my mouthe quyte out of taste. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 216 And putting a little into his own Mouth, he seem'd to nauseate it. 1859 Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 771 This fruit is hung too high For any mouth to gape for save a queen's. |
b. transf. and
fig.| 1596 Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. i. 129 They fal into y⊇ mouths and teeth of biting and deuouring vsurers. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 81 That..boy..From the rude seas enrag'd and foamy mouth Did I redeeme. 1660 Jer. Taylor Worthy Communic. i. ii. 43 Christians are spiritual men; faith is their mouth, and wisdome is their food. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem. (1862) III. 823 The root of a plant may be considered as its mouth. |
c. Phrases.
the mouth waters (after, at something), (it)
makes (one's) mouth water, referring to the flow of saliva caused by the anticipation of appetizing food; also
fig. to have one's mouth made up (
U.S.), to have an expectant desire
for (a particular kind of food); also
fig. † to make up one's mouth, to finish one's meal with something specially delicious; also
fig. † to meet..in the mouth,
† to run into (another's) mouth, to meet face to face or full face.
to open one's mouth wide, to ask a high price. See also
hand to mouth.
| 1555 Eden Decades 143 These craftie foxes [sc. cannibals]..espying their enemies a farre of, beganne to swalowe theyr spettle as their mouthes watered for greedines of theyr pray. 1657 North's Plutarch, Add. Lives (1676) 76 The Mountains of Gold also..made his [Cortez's] mouth water. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy VI. xxviii, Never did my uncle Toby's mouth water so much for a pipe in his life. 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 274 He has drawn a picture..such as makes a brother naturalist's mouth water. |
| 1890 Century Dict. s.v. Mouth, His mouth was made up for a chicken salad. 1890 Harper's Mag. Oct. 715/2 No one who has his mouth made up for a laugh is prepared to relish a dose of reason. |
| 1546 Heywood Prov. (1867) 36 His wife to make vp my mouthe, Not onely hir husbandes tauntyng tale auouthe, But therto deuiseth to cast in my teeth, Checks and chokyng oysters. 1549 Latimer 1st Serm. bef. Edw. VI D vij, Surueiers there be, y{supt} gredily gorge vp their couitouse guttes,..honest men I touch not, but al such as so suruai thei make vp their mouthes, but the commens be vtterlye vndone by them. 1584 Cogan Haven Health (1636) 170 Commonly at great feasts..they use to serve vp sturgeon last, as it were to make up the mouth. 1640 Bp. Hall Chr. Moder. ii. x. 75 He to make up his mouth, shall goe away with an opinion of an hundred severall foule errors in Iohn Calvin. 1720 C'tess Cowper Diary (1864) 153 Walpole [is] to make up his Mouth by a Bubble, because he did not get enough in South Sea. |
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vii. 154 Foolish Curres, that runne winking into the mouth of a Russian Beare. 1605 ― Lear iii. iv. 11 Thou'dst shun a Beare, But if thy flight lay toward the roaring Sea, Thou'dst meete the Beare i' th' mouth. 1671 Milton Samson 1521 Best keep together here, lest running thither We unawares run into dangers mouth. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Wars iii. x. (1834) 672/1 So Titus pressed upon the hindmost, and slew them;..and some he prevented, and met them in the mouth, and run them through. 1762 Foote Lyar ii. Wks. 1799 I. 291 Gad, I had like to have run into the old gentleman's mouth. |
| 1891 C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 251 To use a vulgarism, he did not open his mouth so wide as the other, but at once offered me a through ticket to Liverpool for $72. 1898 Daily News 28 Oct. 3/1 Directly the word England is mentioned, the mouths of the Continental artists are opened so unconscionably wide. |
† d. the king's mouth: what pertains to the providing and preparing of food for the king.
Cf. bouche n.1 Obs.| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. V. 433/2 Suche [servants] as serve aboute the Kyngs persone, and for his mouthe. 1450 Ibid. 194/1 Yoman of oure Larder for oure Mouth. 1567 Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) F j, Was it you sir, who cryed so lowde, I trow And bid us take in Coles for the Kinges mouth euen now? 1578 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 689 The cair of the attendance upoun his Hienes mowth and dyet. |
e. A person viewed only as a consumer of food.
useless mouth, one who does no work but yet has to be fed.
Cf. F.
bouche inutile.
| c 1550 Decay of Eng. by Shepe (E.E.T.S.) 97 So many mouthes goith to motton, whiche causeth motton to be deare. 1609 B. Jonson Sil. Wom. iii. v, Where are all my eaters? my mouthes now? barre vp my dores, you varlets. 1637 Milton Lycidas 119 Of other care they little reck'ning make, Then how to scramble at the shearers feast,..Blind mouthes! 1722 De Foe Plague (1884) 253 Those who in Case of a Siege, are call'd the useless Mouths. 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 496/1 Having thus got rid of the useless mouths [sc. the drones] which consumed, without any advantage to the public, a large portion of their provisions [etc.]. |
3. a. Considered as the instrument of speech or voice.
Much less frequent in ordinary use than
tongue. All the
Eng. versions of the Bible have many examples in passages literally rendered from Hebrew or Hebraistic Greek.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 366 Hi habbað dumne muð and blinde eaᵹan. c 1205 Lay. 5726 Mid muðen heo seiden mid aðen heo hit sworen. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1030 Þe toun me clupeþ ludestoun þat is wide couþ & now me clupeþ it londone þat is liȝtore in þe mouþ. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 105 Rede me not..Reuþe to haue, Til Clerkes and knihtes ben Corteis of heore Mouþes. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xiii. 3 Who kepeth his mouth [Vulg. Qui custodit os suum], kepeth his soule. a 1450 Myrc 27 Of honde & mowþe þou moste be trewe. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 778 Neyther can there be any thing..amisse..but it shoulde be in mine eares or it were well out of their mouthes. c 1550 Cheke Matt. xv. 18 Thoos thinges y{supt} commeth forth of y⊇ mougth commeth forth of y⊇ hart, aud yei defile a man. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 239 You must borrow me Gargantuas mouth first: 'tis a Word too great for any mouth of this Ages size. 1611 ― Cymb. iv. ii. 79 Thy words I grant are bigger: for I weare not My Dagger in my mouth. 1638 R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 77, I will come and learne from your own Mouth, all the particulars. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 38, I had the relation from his own mouth. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 16 The Frank..learned..his faith from the mouth of the Roman priest. |
| transf. and fig. 1595 Shakes. John iii. iii. 38 The mid⁓night bell Did with his yron tongue, and brazen mouth Sound on. a 1628 Preston New Covt. (1634) 440 Where the Scripture hath a mouth to speake, Faith hath an eare to heare. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 967 And Discord with a thousand various mouths. |
b. Used as the subject of a verb of speaking. Hence
rhetorically put for the person speaking.
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 30 Ase godes oghe mudh hit seid. a 1400–50 Alexander 904 As Alexander awyn mouth had þam all enfourmed. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iii. 104 Saynt Bernard..sayth that the mouthe that lyeth destroyeth the sowle. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 265 O morall Gower, and Ludgate laureate,..Your angel mouthis most mellifluate Our rude langage has clere illumynate. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. vi. §1 His own mouth told him he was a lying Prophet. 1713 Addison Cato ii. ii, You don't now thunder in the capitol, With all the mouths of Rome to second you. 1864 Tennyson Sea Dreams 14 He cursed..that one unctuous mouth which lured him, rogue, To buy strange shares in some Peruvian mine. |
c. † by mouth (
obs.),
by word of mouth: by spoken words, orally; often opposed to ‘by writing’.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 299 Bi letter & bi mouth he praied þam of socoure. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 2060, I had left hit vntolde—Nowthyr by mowthe nor in remembraunce Put hit in wrytyng. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 29 Commaunding thee..to declare what thou wilte do herein, by mouthe, and not by writynge. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 209, I will deliuer his Challenge by word of mouth. 1720 Gordon Independent Whig No. 6. 41 Not content to abuse each other by Word of Mouth, they sometimes scolded in Writing. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 96 ‘This’, he said, ‘is not a court in which written charges are exhibited. Our proceedings are summary, and by word of mouth.’ |
d. by (formerly † through) the mouth of: through (some one) as spokesman. (
Cf. Luke i. 70.)
| c 1400 Rule St. Benet (E.E.T.S.) 2 We aske þe, lauerd, þurȝ þe muȝ [read muþ] of þe profete. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 24 b, They rode forthe to mete the Emperour, whom..they receiued honorably by the mouthe of my Lorde of Mentz. 1870 Eng. Gilds (E.E.T.S.) Gloss., Assoyne,..excuse sent by the mouth of another for non-appearance. |
e. from the mouth of (a person): from him as the speaker.
in the mouth of (a person): when spoken or spoken of by (him);
† also
transf. So
in or with a French, an English, etc. mouth (sometimes with reference to pronunciation).
it does not lie in his mouth to (say something): it is not befitting for him.
(to condemn a person) out of his own mouth (Luke xix. 22): by his own evidence.
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 153 And for whose death, we in the worlds wide mouth Liue scandaliz'd. 1614 Bradshaw Unreasonableness Separ. (1640) 56 Why may not preaching [etc.]..be sufficient to argue our ministers to be true pastors and teachers, notwithstanding that in the mouth of the Law, they are sometimes called Priests and Deacons. 1644 Milton Educ. 4 To smatter Latin with an english mouth, is as ill a hearing as law French. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 500 Hence, in a Roman mouth, the graceful name Of prophet and of poet was the same. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xiii, My princely nephew entertains with so much suspicion any admonition coming from my mouth. 1859 Tennyson Merlin & V. 644 How, in the mouths of base interpreters..Is thy white blamelessness accounted blame! 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxxv, It did not lie in his mouth to be curious on the subject. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) II. vii. 221 In other mouths Rousseau's sentiment..became unnequivocally misanthropical. 1885 R. Churchill Sp. (1889) I. 245 Does it lie in the mouth of members of that Government to taunt the Tory party with having no policy? |
f. from mouth to mouth: from one speaker to another; also, speaking in turn or in succession.
| 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxx, The stories they invent..and bandy from mouth to mouth! 1847 Tennyson Princess Prol. 189 We..often told a tale from mouth to mouth As here at Christmas. |
g. † (to have..) in mouth (
obs.),
(to be) in the mouth or mouths of = in one's speech or conversation, on one's lips.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4136 And fra þis dede be made couþe alle men sal ȝou haue in mouth. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 767 It redowneth greatly to the dishonour..of the kinges highnesse..to haue it runne in euery mans mouth..that the kings brother should be faine to kepe sanctuarie. 1555 Eden Decades 242 Which sayinge was afterwarde in euery mans mouth. 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates i. (S.T.S.) I. 13 All man hes this word reformatioun in mothe. 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 187 Yong Arthurs death is common in their mouths. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 447 ¶1 A Common Saying..we often hear in the Mouths of the Vulgar. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 505 The names of..the..chiefs of the conquering army, were in many mouths. |
† h. with full mouth [
= L.
pleno ore],
with open mouth: loudly, aloud.
to open full mouth: to rail furiously. Also
(to come, laugh) full mouth,
= ‘with full mouth’.
Obs.| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 86/93 Loude he gradde with folle Mouth: ‘Ich am cristine Man.’ 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4442 Þey..bad me þat y shuld hyt rede..; And y þat neuer on boke couþe, Alle y hit red with opun mouthe. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1545) 39 The fryer..ragynge oute with open mouthe lyke a madde man agaynste the lyfe of princes. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. ii. 230 Either our History shall with full mouth Speake freely of our Acts, or else our graue, Like Turkish mute, shall haue a tonguelesse mouth. 1652 J. Wright tr. Camus' Nat. Paradox ix. 215 Then Belinda, who being a Married Wife had somewhat more confidence, laughing full mouth, said [etc.]. 1677 Govt. Venice 117 The Embassador coming to the Colledg full mouth with the news of his Master's Victory. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. xxix. 52 He opened full mouth against the Christians. 1702 Farquhar Inconstant ii. 16 She was coming full mouth upon me with her Contract. |
i. with one mouth, with one voice or one consent; unanimously. (A Hebraism, as in 2
Chron. xviii. 12,
margin.) Now
rare.
| c 1290 Beket 915 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 132 We habbez ore red þarof i-nome: and mid one mouþe ech-on to queme þe kinge we redez þe. a 1300 Cursor M. 15039 All þai sang als wit a muth. 1738 Wesley Jrnl. 12 May, They added with one mouth that this faith was the gift..of God. |
j. mouth to mouth, also, more rarely
† mouth with mouth,
= in close and intimate conference; face to face. (Now
rare; a Hebraism, as in
Num. xii. 8, where the Vulgate has
ore ad os.) Hence
mouth-to-mouth vb. (burlesque
nonce-wd.) to speak face to face.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 105 And bigan to turnen þe iuele to gode mid his wise wordes, þe he wið hem spec muð wið muðe. 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 174/2 But he [God] tolde it you not mouth to mouth. 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. ii. i, Madona, there is one..that would very desireously mouth to mouth with you. 1895 Salmond Chr. Doctr. Immort. ii. iv. 241 A fellowship in which Jehovah speaks mouth to mouth with his servant. |
k. † to hold one's mouth [
cf. G.
den mund halten]
= to ‘hold one's tongue’, be silent.
to open one's mouth: to begin speaking.
to open the mouth of: to give the power of speech to. (See also
open v. IV.)
to close, shut one's mouth: to refrain from speaking.
† to make up one's mouth: to finish speaking.
to stop (a person's) mouth = to keep (him) from talking.
| c 1290 Beket 2035 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 165 Beo stille,..hold þinne mouthþ, ich rede. a 1300 Cursor M. 19941 Petre opend þan his muth..he said [etc.]. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 85 Sche Commandeth me my mowth to close. c 1520 Nisbet New Test. in Scots (S.T.S.) I. 11 And how Christ stoppit the mowthis of the Saduceis. 1549 Latimer 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI, E viij margin, A preacher offyce is to be a mouth stopper. But not to haue hys one mouthe stopped wyth a benefice or byshoprike. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 154 Shut your mouth Dame, Or with this paper shall I stop it. 1606 Dekker Sev. Sins i. 2 The poore Orator hauing made vp his mouth, Bankruptisme gaue him very good words. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xiii. (1840) 219 We stopped his mouth with his share of two hundred thousand pieces of eight. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xiii, I stopped his mouth by telling him that [etc.]. 1895 Pocock Rules of Game 1 (Farmer) ‘Shut your mouth’, he said, ‘or I'll knife you!’ |
l. to put words into another's mouth = to tell him what to say.
to put (a speech) into a person's mouth: to represent him as having uttered it.
to take the words out of another's mouth: to anticipate what another was about to say.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Sam. xiv. 3 Forsothe Joab putte the wordis in hire mouth. 1530 Palsgr. 751/1 It is no good maner to take the worde out of my mouthe, or I have made an ende of my tale. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 100 The Pope..takyng their wordes out of their mouthes, sayd [etc.]. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. vii. 45 It is not well done (marke you now) to take the tales out of my mouth, ere it is made and finished. 1725 Pope Wks. of Shaks. Pref. 19 Many speeches also were put into the mouths of wrong persons, where the Author now seems chargeable with making them speak out of character. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. App. 627 The strong legitimist harangue which is put into his mouth by Richer. |
m. to make a poor mouth,
to put on (or up) a poor mouth, to plead poverty.
| 1822 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 307/1 I'm sure ye may weel spare twa three pounds... It's no right o' you to be aye making a puir mouth. 1885 Howells Silas Lapham xxv, You wanted to..make a poor mouth to Mrs. Lapham. 1892 ‘Mark Twain’ Amer. Claimant iii. 37 Any selfish tramp..can come and put up a poor mouth. 1949 F. Urquhart Ferret was Abraham's Daughter i. vii. 26 ‘Charity!’ Bert shouted. ‘Aye puttin' on a poor mouth.’ |
† n. Used for: (A person's) utterance.
Obs.| a 1400 Pistill of Susan 253 (Vernon MS.) For I am dampned, I ne dar disparage þi mouþ. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. vi. 33 Wherby we see that they flatly resist Gods mouth. 1702 Lex Vera 1 They unanimously barricado'd their Ears against the Mouth of the Prophet. |
o. give it mouth imp. = express it with vehemence.
to give mouth to = to express in words.
| 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge lxv, What I say in respect to the speeches always is, Give it mouth. 1865 ― Mut. Fr. ii. vii, I have an opinion of you, sir, to which it is not easy to give mouth. 1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I am xxi, Give it mouth, boys. |
p. With reference to the barking or baying of a hound.
to spend their mouths,
to give mouth: to bark or bay vehemently, to give tongue, also
transf. of a person.
| 1590 Cokaine Treat. Hunting D ij b, At which time the houndes will spend their mouthes verie lustely. Ibid., They will so double their mouthes and teare them together, that you would thinke there were more houndes in companie than your owne. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 128 My hounds are..match'd in mouth like bels. 1591 ― 1 Hen. VI, ii. iv. 12. 1599 ― Hen. V, ii. iv. 70. 1648 Heylin Relat. & Observ. i. 134 The Beagles of the faction spent their mouths freely against the said Commissioners again. 1700 Dryden Meleager & Atalanta 108 The boar Deals glancing wounds; the fearful dogs divide: All spend their mouth aloft, but none abide. 1854 Card. Wiseman Fabiola i. vi, Calpurnius, thus challenged,..solemnly gave mouth: ‘The Christians’, said he, ‘are a foreign sect’ [etc.]. 1859 Tennyson Marr. Geraint 186 They listen'd..for the baying of Cavall, King Arthur's hound of deepest mouth. a 1872 B. Harte Goddess 28 The watch-dog on the distant shore Gives mouth. |
q. plum-in-the-mouth adj. phr.: see
plum n. 4. a. The exterior opening or orifice of the mouth considered as part of the face.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. ii. (1890) 156 Swa þæt he for þy sare ne meahte furðon his hond to muðe ᵹedon. a 1225 Ancr. R. 102 Osculetur me osculo oris sui; þæt is cus me, mi leofmon, mid cosse of þine muðe, muðene swetest. a 1300 Cursor M. 8081 Þair muthes wide, þair eien brade, Vn-freli was þair face made! c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 153 Hir mouth ful smal, and ther-to softe and reed. 1457–8 Anc. Cal. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 298 Men with bardys above the mowth. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 61 Pist. Touch her soft mouth, and march. Bard. Farwell Hostesse. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iii. vi. §26 There can be no reason given,..why, a visage somewhat longer,..or a wider mouth, could not have consisted..with such a soul. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 209 A very good Mouth, thin Lips, and his fine Teeth well set. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VI. 112/1 Of Drawing Faces... The middle of the mouth must always be placed upon the perpendicular line. 1820 Keats Lamia i. 60 She had a woman's mouth with all its pearls complete. 1847 Tennyson Princess vi. 252 And on her mouth A doubtful smile dwelt like a clouded moon In a still water. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 837/1 The corners of the mouth can be drawn to one side or the other, by the action of various muscles. |
b. Phrases.
down in (rarely of) the mouth, having the corners of the mouth turned downwards, as a sign of dissatisfaction; dejected, dispirited; so also
down-at-mouth.
to flap in the mouth (with a lie): see
flap v. 1 c.
to laugh (on) the wrong side of one's mouth, in early use to laugh in an evidently forced manner; now, to lament instead of laughing (see
laugh v. 1 b); so,
to sing on the wrong side of one's mouth.
to make a (wry, ugly, hard, etc.) mouth, or mouths: to express disapproval, derision, etc., by distorting or putting awry one's mouth, to grimace; of an animal, to menace with the mouth; also
fig. to refuse to believe or accept. Const.
at,
upon.
to shoot off one's mouth: see
shoot v. 23 g.
| 1649 Bp. Hall Cases Consc. i. vi. (1650) 43 The Roman Orator was downe in the mouth; finding himselfe thus cheated by the money-changer. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. (1737) 224 You are damnably down o' the Mouth. 1764 Foote Patron iii. Wks. 1799 I. 356 Poor lad! he will be most horribly down in the mouth: a little comfort won't come amiss. a 1850 Rossetti Dante & Circle i. (1874) 224 He'll never more be down-at-mouth, but fill His beak at his own beck. 1891 Freeman in Life & Lett. (1895) II. 426, I got down-in-the-mouth yesterday. |
| 1714 T. Lucas Mem. Gamesters (ed. 2) 65 But tho' he laugh'd; 'twas on the wrong side of his Mouth. 1761 Brit. Mag. II. 498 They'll quick make you sing the wrong side of your mouth. 1884 W. E. Norris Thirlby Hall xxxiii, We shall be laughing on the wrong side of our mouths before the day is over, unless I'm mistaken. |
| 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 71 And as he was thus saying, he shaked his heade, and made a wrie mouth. 1579 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 69 Me thinkes I see the make a mowthe At certayne Tuscane brave conceites. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 238 Counterfeit sad lookes, Make mouthes vpon me when I turne my backe, Winke each at other. 1681 Otway Soldier's Fort. ii. i, I desire you to..make ugly Mouths, laugh aloud, and look back at me. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 481 ¶3 They say he's a warm Man, and does not care to be made Mouths at. 1868 Browning Ring & Bk. iv. 127 How long, now, would the roughest marketman..Harass a mutton ere she made a mouth Or menaced biting? |
II. Transferred applications to persons.
5. One who speaks on behalf of another or of others; a spokesman.
Cf. mouthpiece.
Obs. exc. in renderings of foreign modes of speech.
| 1563 J. Davidson in Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) I. 253 The Spirit of God, quha spake be his prophetis,..(as his mouth). 1591 R. Bruce Serm. iii. E 7 For seing the Lord hath appoynted vs to be his mouth, we man not speak what we please. 1666 Pepys Diary 20 Oct., I was but the mouth of the rest, and spoke what they have dictated to me. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 403 ¶2 Every Coffee-house has some particular Statesman belonging to it, who is the Mouth of the Street where he lives. 1892 Rider Haggard Nada 188 You are a little man to be the mouth of so big a chief. |
6. slang. a. A silly person; a dupe.
| 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 7 The whole Gang will be ever and anon watching an opportunity to make a Mouth of you. 1753 Discov. J. Poulter (ed. 2) 31 One shall lead a Horse about, and another shall look out for a Mouth [note, an ignorant Person] that has a Horse to sell or change. 1823 ‘Jon Bee’ Dict. Turf, s.v., ‘I've a mouth at the Mint, as brings me out plenty o' gold blanks’. |
b. A noisy person.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew Mouth, a noisy Fellow. 1725 in New Cant. Dict. 1811 in Lex. Balatr. |
III. Applied to things resembling a mouth.
7. a. The opening of anything having a containing capacity, by which it is filled or emptied.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2216 Ðo breðere seckes hauen he filt..And bunden ðe muðes ðor bi-foren. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 21 Þe maris..closiþ hir mouþ, þat þer myȝte not entre the poynt of a nedle. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 347/2 Mowthe of a bottelle, lura. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 47 They will put good corne in the top or mouth of the bag. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. 97 Stop the mouth of your Syringe close with your finger. a 1745 Swift Direct. Serv. i. Wks. 1751 XIV. 18 And lastly, wipe the Mouth of the Bottle with the Palm of your Hand. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 139 In natural labour which, consists in a gradual enlargement of the mouth of the womb, &c. |
b. The aperture for charging or filling (an oven, a furnace, or the like).
| 1574 R. Scot Hoppe Garden 41 At one ende belowe, besides the mouth of the furnace, you must make a little doore into the roume beneath the bedde [or upper floor of the ‘Oste’]. 1608 Shakes. Per. iii. Gower 7 And Cricket sing at the Ouens mouth. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 888 They..like a Furnace mouth Cast forth redounding smoak and ruddy flame. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XV. 389/1 He then discontinues the fire, and entirely closes up the mouth of the [porcelain] furnace. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Mouth, the hole in a furnace out of which melted metal flows. |
8. The ‘door’ of a beehive, entrance-hole to a nest, etc.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §122 It is conuenyent that the hyue be set in a garden..and the mouth of the hyue towarde the sonne. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 657 The mouth of their [sc. Squirrels'] nest is variable, sometimes at the sides, and sometimes at the top. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 49 Whether thou build the Palace of thy Bees With twisted Osiers, or with Barks of Trees; make but a narrow Mouth. |
9. a. The surface opening of a pit, cave, well, ditch, and
fig. of the pit of Hell.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 43 Þe pit tineð his muð ouer þe man, þe lið on fule synnen. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxiii. (VII Sleperis) 159 Þane til his mene cane he byd, þat þai suld..þe cawe mowth stope. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. Pref., In dichyng, if he kepe not a proportion of bredth in the mouthe, to the bredthe of the bottome..the diche shall be faultie. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 12 His deepe devouring jawes Wyde gaped, like the griesly mouth of hell. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 216 This is the mouth o'th Cell. 1702 Savery Miner's Friend 35 The Coals commonly burned on the Mouths of the Coal-Pits. 1876 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iii. iii. (ed. 5) 334 The rise in price at the pit's mouth was..not less than 10s. a ton. |
b. The crater of a volcano.
| 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. ii. 119 Those which are in the Vulcans and mouths of fire at the Indies. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 59 A mouth continually throwing forth boiling pitch. 1813 Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 230 The ancient mouth or crater of Teneriffe. 1830 Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 340 The great crater of Vesuvius had been gradually filled by lava..and by scoriæ falling from the explosions of minor mouths. |
10. The muzzle (of a gun).
| 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1410/1 The earle..laid the mouth of the dag vpon his left pap..and..discharged the same. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 381 Their battering Canon charged to the mouthes. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 72 You put the Brass into the Mouth of the Piece. 1802 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 396 Are our arguments to fly from the mouths of our cannon? |
11. The outfall of a river; the entrance to a haven, valley, etc.
In this sense
OE. had the derivative
m{uacu}ða str. masc. (
= OFris. mûtha,
ON. munne:—
OTeut. *munþon-); but this did not survive into
ME. Cf. F.
bouche.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. an. 792 (Laud MS.), & his lic liᵹð æt Tinan muþe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 474 A lute bi norþe cornewaile as in an hauene mouþ. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xv. cix. (1495) 528 Hollond is a prouynce by the mouth of the Ryne. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. ix. 121 [Arabia] ioyneth there with the firme land of Egypt..at the mouth of the red sea. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 422 The riuer Volga..hath threescore and ten mouthes or falls into the Caspian Sea. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 15 We stood south again past the mouth of the Straits of Magellan. 1796 Marshall W. Eng. II. 178 The narrowed mouth of the Vale of Taunton. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 556 The castle of Ealan Ghierig, situated at the mouth of Loch Riddan. |
12. The opening out of a tube, passage, drain, burrow, and the like;
spec. in
Physiol. of a vessel.
| 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. 79 b, There were twentie Trumpets..the mouthes whereof, were..set with stone. 1634 T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. ix. i. (1678) 216 That solution of Continuity, which happens in the vessels, their mouths being open, is termed Anastomosis. 1839 Longfellow Hyperion i. vi, The valley..opens upon the broad plain of the Rhine, like the mouth of a trumpet. 1839–47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 228/2 The lacteals commence..not by open mouths, but by a delicate network of vessels. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 563 The mouth of the main drain at its outlet should be protected with masonry. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 865 The mouth of the burrow..is usually marked by a vesicle. |
13. a. The hole in the stock of a plane through which the shavings
pass.| 1694 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ii. 68 Nor doth it [sc. the Rabbet-Plane] deliver its shaving at a Mouth on the top of the Stock as the other Planes do: But it hath its mouth on the sides. 1846 Holtzapffel Turning, etc. II. 478 In all the bench planes..the mouth is a wedge-formed cavity. |
b. The aperture in a musical pipe by means of which the sound is produced.
| 1727–52 [see lip n. 5 f]. 1855 Hopkins Organ xviii. 83 The mouth..is the horizontal cutting or opening that occurs at the junction of the body and foot of the pipe. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Mouth, in a flute,—the edge of the opening against which the air from the mouth of the performer is cut. |
14. Conch. The aperture of a univalve shell.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) III. 104 As the body of the snail can be extended no where but to the aperture, the mouth of the shell only can..receive augmentation. 1776 Da Costa Elem. Conchol. 97 The mouth is oblong-oval. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 107/1 [Helix.] 4th Group... Mouth rounded. |
15. Bot. a. The orifice of the tube of a corolla.
b. The opening which is produced by the dehiscence of the sporangium of mosses (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1891).
| a. 1759 Miller Gard. Dict. (ed. 7) Rosmarinus..The Flower has..the Mouth erect, and divided into two Lips. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxii. (1794) 314 Snapdragon... The colours of these are red with white or yellow mouths. 1857 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. (1861) IV. 32 (Hound's Tongue.).. Its mouth closed by prominent blunt scales. |
| b. 1857 Henfrey Bot. 161 When the lid falls off, the border of the mouth of the capsule [of moss] is found either naked or furnished with..teeth. 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 377 The stoma or mouth is entire. |
16. The fork between the open jaws of scissors, pincers, or a vice.
| 1576 R. Scot Hoppe Garden 23 They [sc. pincers] must be one yarde in length, whereof sixe or seauen ynches maye be allowed for the mouth or lower end of them, which serueth to claspe..the Poale,..the mouth [should be] somewhat hollowe in the middest. 1611 Cotgr., Forpie, the mouth, or middle of an opened paire of sheeres. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Mouth, the opening of a vice between its chops, chaps, cheeks, or jaws. |
17. The cutting or working edge (of a tool).
| 1851 H. Stephens Bk. Farm (ed. 2) §5812 The..earth is removed..with the narrow spade..having a mouth 6 inches wide. |
18. Fortif. (See
quots.)
| 1839 F. A. Griffiths Artill. Man. xi. 223 The mouth of the embrazure is the outward or widest part of it. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 126 The opening of the embrasure is termed the neck,..that towards the country, the mouth. |
19. Short for
mouth-piece:
a. of a bridle bit;
b. of a pipe. ?
Obs.| 1607 Markham Caval. ii. (1617) 53 This mouth giueth all possible libertie to the tongue. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Bit, The cannon with a fast mouth all of a piece. 1821 Byron Juan v. liii, Pipes decorated With amber mouths. |
IV. Attributive uses and Combinations.
20. a. simple
attrib., as
mouth-aperture,
mouth-articulation,
mouth-cavity,
mouth-gesture,
mouth-gymnastics,
mouth-heat,
mouth-opening,
mouth-part,
mouth-passage,
mouth-rim,
mouth-sound; (surgical instruments for the mouth), as
mouth-gag,
mouth-glass,
mouth-syringe, etc.; (pertaining to or composing the oral cavity in echinodermata), as
mouth-papillæ,
mouth parts,
mouth-plate,
mouth-shield; with the meaning ‘coming from the mouth only and not from the heart’, as
mouth-charity,
mouth-friend,
mouth-honour,
mouth-love,
mouth-mercy;
b. objective as
mouth-stopper;
mouth-embracing,
mouth-opening,
mouth-stopping adjs.;
c. appositive, as
mouth-hole;
d. locative, as
mouth-deep,
mouth-high advs.;
mouth-shrivelled adj.;
e. instrumental, as
mouth-breathing;
mouth-blown,
mouth-formed,
mouth-made adjs.| 1953 K. H. Jackson Lang. & Hist. Early Brit. 573 The degree of *mouth-aperture. |
| 1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. 6 The nasal consonants n and m are stops in their *mouth-articulation, opens in their nasality. |
| 1930 R. Paget Human Speech 231 A separate *mouth-blown vowel or consonant resonator. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 673 The difficulty in breathing through the nose leads to *mouth-breathing. |
| 1924 R. M. Ogden tr. Koffka's Growth of Mind iii. 132 The most primitive phenomena are figural; as examples..the too cold or too warm milk in contrast with the temperature level of the *mouth-cavity. 1964 C. Barber Ling. Change Present-Day Eng. iii. 38 A vowel is a voiced sound..in which there is a free flow of air out of the mouth, without any audible friction or any obstruction of the mouth-cavity. |
| 1692 South Serm. (1697) I. 463 Why, then answers the Man of *Mouth-Charity again, and tells you, That..he can give nothing, but he will be sure to pray for the poor Gentleman. |
| 1906 Daily Chron. 28 June 5/3 Two had to wade *mouth-deep in water. |
| 1883 E. R. Lankester in Encycl. Brit. XVI. 674/1 The *mouth-embracing foot [of a Nautilus]. |
| 1930 R. Paget Human Speech 111 A *mouth-formed whistle. |
| 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. vi. 99 May you a better Feast neuer behold You knot of *Mouth-Friends. |
| 1895 Arnold & Sons' Catal. Surg. Instruments 217 Harelip, mouth and cleft palate instruments. *Mouth Gag. Mouth Prop. Mouth Dilator. Mouth Retractor. Mouth Speculum. |
| 1930 R. Paget Babel 60 Making the same *mouth-gesture. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Mouth glass, a small hand-mirror for inspecting the teeth and gums, &c. |
| 1921 H. E. Palmer Princ. Lang.-Stud. 89 We must go through a course of *mouth-gymnastics. |
| 1942 W. Faulkner Go Down, Moses 103 Not even warmed from *mouth-heat. |
| 1790 J. Fisher Poems 66, I did awake—my heart yet loups *Mouth high for fear. |
| 1683 Pettus Fleta Min. i. iii. 10 Leave in the sides [of the assay-oven] Wind-holes, and in the fore-part leave also a *Mouth-hole. |
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. iii. 27 Honor, Loue, Obedience..I must not looke to haue: but in their steed, Curses,..*Mouth-honor. 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara Pref. 157 The mouth-honor paid to poverty and obedience by rich and insubordinate do-nothings. |
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia i. (1622) 64 Vowing..that neither heart nor *mouth-loue should euer anie more intangle him. |
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iii. 30 Those *mouth-made vowes, Which breake themselues in swearing. |
| 1647 Trapp Comm. 1 John iii. 18 There is a great deal of *mouth-mercy abroad. |
| 1875 Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. (1883) 208 Enlarge the *mouth-opening. 1960 Guardian 3 May 7/7 A truly mouth-opening recording of Handel's ‘Messiah’. |
| 1876 J. H. Kidder Nat. Hist. Kerguelen Isl. ii. 74 This species..[of Echinoderm] differs widely..in the characters of the *mouth-papillæ and mouth-shields. |
| 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 119 Let the *mouth part of the muffle be placed fronting the mouth of the furnace. |
| 1964 C. Barber Ling. Change Present-Day Eng. iii. 47 This [l] is a lateral consonant: to produce it, you press the tip of the tongue against the teeth-ridge, thus blocking the centre of the *mouth-passage. |
| 1882 Sladen in Jrnl. Linn. Soc., Zool. XVI. 194 *Mouth-plates short. |
| 1933 Burlington Mag. June 265/1 It was customary to bind the *mouth-rims of bowls and dishes with metal. |
| 1876 *Mouth shield [see mouth-papillæ]. |
| 1925 Blunden Eng. Poems 89 That old man, face like parchment tanned, Wrinkled, *mouth-shrivelled. |
| 1929 W. Faulkner Sartoris ii. i. 74 All the other *mouth-sounds that stood for repose. |
| 1549 *Mouth stopper [see 3 k]. |
| 1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Vind. Answ. §6. 85 Good reader, consider this mighty *mouth-stopping argument. |
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 427/1 A *Mouth or Ear Syringe; so called, because used chiefly about those parts. |
21. Special comb.:
mouth-arm, each of the several tentacles or prolongations from the mouth of a jelly-fish, with which it catches its prey;
mouth-bearing a., (of a protozoan) having a definite oral cavity or cell-mouth;
mouth-blower (
Cent. Dict. 1889),
blowpipe, a blowpipe operated by the mouth;
mouth-board, a wooden instrument to which the mouth is applied, in order to secure a constant position of the head for observation or experiments;
mouth-breather, a person who breathes through the mouth;
mouth-breeder, a fish of the families Cichlidæ or Ariidæ which protects its eggs, and sometimes its newly-hatched offspring, by carrying them in its mouth; so
mouth-breeding ppl. a.;
mouth canker Path., gangrenous stomatitis or
Noma (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1891);
mouth-case, that part of the integument of a pupa that covers the mouth (
Cent. Dict.);
mouth-filling a. fig., (of an oath, compliment, etc.) that fills the mouth, bombastic, inflated;
mouth-flying a., that evades the mouth;
mouth-foot = foot-jaw (see
foot n. 35); so
mouth-footed a. (see
quot.);
mouth-funnel, the funnel-shaped mouth of a rotifer;
mouth-gauge (see
quot.);
† mouth-grenado [after
hand grenade], a violent or ‘explosive’ speech;
mouth guard, a protector for the mouth of an operative in needle-manufacture;
mouth-harness jocular, provisions of food;
mouth-harp = mouth-organ 1;
mouth hoop, the hoop forming the entrance to a decoy;
mouth infection, communication of disease by the medium of the mouth;
mouth music, (
a)
= mouth-harp; (
b) singing without distinct utterance of words;
mouthparts Ent., the organs surrounding the mouth of an insect or other arthropod, specially adapted to the particular method of feeding of the animal concerned;
mouth pipe Organ-building (see
quot.);
mouth plate, a plate fitted into the mouth in the surgical treatment of the palate;
mouth-pore Physiol. Bot., a stoma or breathing-pore in leaf-structure;
mouth provision, provisions of food (for an expedition);
mouth ring, (
a) the ring forming the mouth of a bottle; (
b)
= nerve ring (see
nerve n. 12);
mouth root U.S., the plant
Coptis trifolia (see
quot.);
mouth rot, an oral canker sometimes affecting snakes in captivity;
mouth-to-mouth a., involving the contact of one individual's mouth with another's;
spec. applied to a method of artificial respiration in which a person places his mouth tightly over the patient's and blows into him every few seconds so as to inflate his lungs; also
absol.; (for
fig. sense see 3 j); similarly
mouth-to-nose a.;
mouth wash,
-water, (
a) a therapeutic wash for the mouth; also
transf.; (
b) nonsense, twaddle;
mouth-watering n., the flowing of saliva in the mouth (
cf. 2 c above);
mouth-watering a., (of a person) that experiences mouth-watering; (of a thing) that causes the mouth to water;
mouth-way, entrance;
mouth-wise adv. (
nonce-wd.), by means of the mouth, by speech.
| 1884 R. von Lendenfeld in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Dec. 411 The Melbourne specimens [of this medusa] possess *mouth-arms which are deep purple throughout. |
| 1885 E. R. Lankester in Encycl. Brit. XIX. 835/1 The *mouth-bearing corticate Protozoa. |
| 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. iv. 109 The *mouth blow-pipe. |
| 1901 E. B. Titchener Exper. Psychol. I. ii. 245 Materials.—Head-rest, with *mouth-board and sighting mark. |
| 1910 Practitioner Jan. 69 The child was a *mouth-breather and showed signs of adenoids. |
| 1927 Sunday at Home June 239/1 The *mouth-breeder protects her eggs by carrying them about in her mouth. 1962 K. F. Lagler et al. Ichthyol. x. 298 (caption) Mouthbreeding catfish. Ibid. 301 Some African fishes, Tilapia, are called ‘mouth-breeders’ because the young when they are hatched escape at time of danger into the oral cavity of the female. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 259 Sweare me..A good *mouth-filling Oath. 1873 L. Stephen Ess. Freethinking 286 The flattery..was..reciprocal; and perhaps the great man pours out more mouth-filling compliments than his satellite. |
| 1625 K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis v. i. 330 Condemn'd, like Tantalus, with vaine pursuit To gape at water, and *mouth-flying fruit. |
| 1841–71 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 448 The Stomapoda (*Mouth-footed Crustaceans) are so called on account of the size and preponderant development of the jaw-feet. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 662/1 The sub-class Gnathopoda, ‘mouth-footed’. |
| 1862 Gosse Rotifera in Pop. Sci. Rev. I. 40 The *mouth-funnel was well marked. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Mouth-gage (Saddlery), a device for measuring a horse's mouth. |
| 1651 Cleveland Poems 34 Yet to expresse a Scot, to play that prize, Not all those *mouth-Granadoes can suffice. 1693 Humours Town 27 The roaring Mouth-Granado's of Oaths. |
| 1852 M. T. Morrall Needle-Making (1862) 25 A *mouth guard, which was approved of and found to answer when used by the needle pointers. |
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xxxii. 147 We are here but badly victualled, and furnished with *mouth-harnasse very slenderly. |
| 1903 Ade In Babel 40 I'd walked from Loueyville over to Terry Hut with a nigger that played the *mouth-harp. 1968 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlix. 15 The lack of familiarity with the musical instrument probably accounts for the decline of juice harp and jew's harp and the student's use of mouth harp. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 76/5 She takes out a mouth harp, fills her cheeks with wind, and blows ‘the ballad of the shadows’. |
| 1895 E. R. Suffling Land of Broads 28 The *mouthhoop would be perhaps 5 yds. across. |
| 1903 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 14 Mar. 43 A paper on *mouth infection. |
| 1887 Lantern (New Orleans) 3 Sept. 3/2 The music was furnished by a kid with a *mouth music. 1936 C. Day Lewis Hope for Poetry (Postscript) 93 A new language of purely emotive sounds (e.g. the ‘mouth-music’ of the Hebridean islanders). 1938 L. MacNeice I crossed Minch i. iv. 45 An example of the old ‘mouth-music’—Port a Beul—to which the islanders used to dance before they had musical instruments. 1973 Boyd & Parkes Dark Number ix. 96 He gave way to a brief rendering of the mouth music of his youth. |
| 1869 A. S. Packard Guide to Study of Insects 34 We have already treated of the external appendages (*mouth-parts) which prepare the food for digestion. 1905 V. L. Kellogg Amer. Insects i. 6 Attached to the thorax are three pairs of legs, which are jointed appendages, homologous in origin and fundamental structure with the mouth-parts and antennæ. 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Mar. 206/2 There are, too, such enigmas as trophia, for which we guess mouthparts. 1972 L. E. Chadwick tr. Linsenmaier's Insects of World 24/1 The variations of the insect mouth and mouthparts are nearly limitless. Here we find an assemblage of instruments such as only a surgeon, an artisan, or a burglar might wish for—from a harmless sucking proboscis, through implements for boring, sawing, pinching, and cutting, to such devilish contraptions as poison syringes or stilettos that snap out to pierce the prey. 1974 Sci. Amer. Apr. 103/1 When feeding, adult beetles busily squeeze pellets of moist dung between their mouthparts and suck in the expressed juice. |
| 1855 Hopkins Organ xviii. 83 Lip, *mouth, or flue pipes..are such as have an oblong opening, called the mouth, at the junction of the body with the foot. |
| 1876 Trans. Clinical Soc. IX. 126 That part which connected the *mouth-plate with the nasal rim. |
| 1888 Clodd Story Creation (1894) 72 The carbonic acid which the plant absorbs through the numberless stomata or *mouth-pores in its leaves or integuments. |
| 1746 Rep. Cond. Sir J. Cope 184 We..have no other Way of carrying ‘*Mouth Provision’ with us but by the East Coast. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 578 The finisher..cracks off the bottle smoothly at its *mouth-ring. 1903 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 384 The anterior knots of the mouth-ring [of the cray-fish] have swelled into a still larger brain. |
| 1784 Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. (1785) I. 457 Goldenthread. *Mouth Root...The roots are astringent, and of a bitterish taste. Chewed in the mouth they cure apthas and cankerous sores. 1847 W. Darlington Amer. Weeds (1860) 31 Coptis trifolia... A domestic remedy for the sore mouths of children; whence the name ‘Mouth-root’. 1931 W. N. Clute Common Names of Plants 123 The canker-root (Coptis trifolia) or mouth-root, as it is called,..continues to hold its place among medicines for the cure of sore mouth. |
| 1961 C. H. Pope Giant Snakes (1962) 195 Another threat to captive snakes..is *mouth rot, which is also called canker mouth and osteomyelitis. 1965 R. & D. Morris Men & Snakes vii. 145 Snakes are very liable to mouth-rot when their jaws are damaged. 1969 A. Bellairs Life of Reptiles II. xii. 516 Among the more important bacterial diseases are the oral canker or ‘mouth rot’ seen in captive snakes and apparently caused by species of Pseudomonas and Pasteurella. |
| 1909 Lancet 13 Mar. 747/2 By 1782 the Royal Humane Society recommended inflation by bellows in preference to the *mouth-to-mouth method. 1932 E. Step Bees, Wasps, Ants 32 The first eggs hatch, and the legless little [bee] larvae have to be fed, which is a direct mouth-to-mouth exchange between mother and larva. 1941 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 6 Dec. 1942/2 Mouth to mouth insufflation has many adherents. It permits an exchange of gases under proper conditions as to temperature, content of moisture and carbon dioxide. 1961 Sunday Times 17 Sept. 4/5 Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, by which a life-saver inflates a victim's lungs with his own breath, was approved officially by the British Red Cross Society last week. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 113 The bush nurse gave him mouth to mouth and got his heart going again. 1970 S. J. Perelman Baby, it's Cold Inside 203 Luckily, before Wemyss had to apply mouth-to-mouth breathing, the three of us recovered. |
| 1954 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 6 May 754 Without the mask a *mouth-to-nose technic with a handkerchief ‘filter’ is effective. 1961 Times 6 Dec. 9/4 A life-size inflatable doll for demonstrating mouth-to-mouth and mouth-to-nose artificial respiration. 1962 S. Miles Underwater Med. xiv. 224 Those who advocate ‘mouth to mouth’ claim that better inflation is possible, it is more natural and nasal obstruction may be an obstacle if ‘mouth to nose’ is used. |
| 1840 Pereira Mat. Med. 1260 An astringent *mouth-wash. 1920 Ade Hand-Made Fables 5 The Cleaners left nothing behind them in Glass Receptacles except Bluing and Mouth-Wash. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 60/2 Mouth washes, gargles..are backed by long-standing national advertising campaigns. 1957 C. S. Lewis Let. 2 Sept. (1966) 279 Give your imagination a good mouth⁓wash by a reading..of the Odyssey. 1971 Mod. Law Rev. XXXIV. 630 Any suggestion that the principle was also applied can be dismissed as so much mouth-wash. |
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 24 b/2, A *mouth-water, or gargrise, made of barley-water. 1706 S. Sewall Diary 28 Dec., He call'd for Mouth-Water..and then for his little pot to void it into. |
| 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 71 *Mouth-watering:—Produced by the sight, smell or thought of agreeable food. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 67 The mouth watering bystanders sigh as they see and smell the rich freight steaming away from them. 1900 Speakers 3 Jan. 338/2 The White Star shareholders have made a most mouth-watering bargain. 1960 Guardian 7 Oct. 12/5 A mouth-watering bowl of fruit. 1973 Country Life 29 Nov. 1796/2 Mouthwatering grills—fish, meat, vegetables. |
| 1920 A. E. W. Mason Summons xii. 121 Crossed the road and disappeared into the *mouth⁓way of an alley. |
| 1876 Browning Pacchiarotto 403 So grind away, *mouth-wise and pen-wise, Do all that we can to make men wise! |
Add:
[3.] r. Extravagant, insolent, or boastful talk, or a propensity for this (
esp. to be all mouth); empty bragging, impudence.
Cf. lip n. 3 c.
slang (
orig. U.S.).
| 1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. ii. 49 She got plenty hips, plenty mouf and no brains. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §351/2 Impudent talk,..mouth. a 1961 Time in Webster s.v., He is not all mouth..he gets results. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, you Bastard ii. 75 The youth..for all his mouth and supposed cleverness was easily tricked. 1973 Time Out 2–8 Mar. 13/2 Even then, it was all mouth, to be truthful. 1986 City Limits 12 June 10 You're mouth man. All mouth. |
▪ II. mouth, v. (
maʊð)
[f. mouth n.] 1. a. trans. To pronounce, speak; to give utterance to.
Obs. exc. arch.| a 1300 Cursor M. 18941 Was na langage man for to muth, at þai [sc. the apostles] ne all kindli it cuth. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iv. 115 Til lordes and ladies louien alle treuthe, And haten al harlotrye to heren it, or to mouthen it. c 1450 J. Metham Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 33 And Amoryus this mowthyd to plese Cleopes. 1621 Quarles Argalus & P. (1678) 47 He that knows not how to mouth a curse. 1744 Akenside Ep. to Curio, From year to year the stubborn herd to sway Mouth all their wrongs. 1822 Byron Werner ii. ii, Who Taught you to mouth that name of ‘villain’? 1871 Rossetti Dante at Verona xlviii, Lords mouthed approval. |
† b. intr. To speak, talk.
Obs.| a 1375 Cursor M. 21419 (Fairf.) Quat þing þat ho him of wald mouþ atte hir deuise make he couþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 686 Þere Medea the mylde met hym hir one, And with myrthe at þere metyng mowthet togethir. |
2. a. trans. To utter in a pompously oratorical style, or with great distinctness of articulation; to declaim. Also with
out.
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. v. i, With mouthing words that better wits haue framed, They [sc. actors] purchase lands. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 3. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. li. (1632) 167 When I heare our Architects mouth-out those big, and ratling words of Pilasters, Architraves [etc.]. 1761 Churchill Rosciad Poems 1763 I. 16 He..mouths a sentence, as curs mouth a bone. 1842 Tennyson Epic 50 And the poet..Read, mouthing out his hollow oes and aes. 1892 A. Birrell Res Judicatæ v. 144 The pompous high-placed imbecile mouthing his platitudes. |
b. intr. To admit of being ‘mouthed’.
| 1762 Wilkes N. Briton No. 11 It [the word ‘glorification’] found favour among their long-winded divines, only because it was so long, and mouthed so well. |
c. trans. To declaim against.
rare—1.
| 1742 R. Blair Grave 386 Then might the debauchee Untrembling mouth the heavens. |
3. intr. To mouth one's words; to use a pompous or affected style of utterance; to declaim. Also
to mouth it.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. i. 306 Nay, and thoul't mouth, Ile rant as well as thou. 1682 Dryden & Lee Dk. Guise ii. ii, You have Mouth'd it bravely. 1713 Addison Cato i. iii, I'll..mouth at Cæsar 'till I shake the Senate. 1891 E. W. Gosse Gossip in Library xx. 256 The poet tramped the grassy heights..mouthing and murmuring as he went. |
4. a. trans. To put or take (something,
esp. as food) in the mouth; to seize with the mouth; to press (a thing) with the mouth or lips.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 748* (Dubl. MS.) For other mete þan manysflesche mouthed he neuer. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 132 Corne carried, let such as be poore go and gleane, and after, thy cattle to mowth it vp cleane. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. ii. 20 He keepes them like an Ape in the corner of his iaw, first mouth'd to be last swallowed. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vii. (1626) 146 The Beast..Appeares to catch th'vncaught; and mouthes the aire. 1693 Dryden Persius (1697) 417 He mouth'd 'em, and betwixt his Grinders caught. 1717 Eusden Ovid's Met. iv. 162 She found the veil, and mouthing it all o'er, With bloody jaws the lifeless prey she tore. 1847 Tennyson Princess vi. 196 [She] in her hunger mouth'd and mumbled it [sc. her restored babe], And hid her bosom with it. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. 406 note, The satisfaction first of mouthing the object [the lamb's mother's teat]. 1867 F. Francis Angling iv. (1880) 119 If the fish mouths it. |
b. spec. Of a hound: To mangle (dead game) with the mouth.
| [1693: see 6.] 1884 T. Speedy Sport ix. 158 It [sc. the dog] showed a very slight disposition to mouth its game when shot. |
c. Cock-fighting.
to mouth it: to fight with the mouth or beak.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Sparring-blows,..those in a Battel before the Cocks come to Mouth it. |
5. To train the mouth of (a horse); to accustom to the use of the bit.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) E vij b, Gyue hym..a sharpe bytte to thentente that he be well mouthed. 1618 M. Baret Horsemanship i. 14 For he is accompted a good Horse-man in other parts thereof if he can but mouth a Horse. 1690 Lond. Gaz. No. 2590/4 Stolen.., a bay Colt.., newly mouth'd and pac'd. 1860 Luck of Ladysmede (1862) I. 339 There is the new palfrey which you have been mouthing for me. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 94 Why, he cannot be nearly mouthed. |
† 6. intr. (
contemptuously.) To join lips (
with); to kiss. (In
quot. 1693
app. with allusion to 4 b.)
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. ii. 194 The Duke..would mouth with a beggar, though she smelt browne-bread and Garlicke. 1693 Congreve Old Bach. i. iv, Heart. And it should be mine to let 'em [sc. partridges] go again. Sharp. Not till you had mouthed a little, George. |
7. To ‘make mouths’; to grimace; to make derisive grimaces and noises with the mouth.
| 1827 Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. i, He drew the cork from his bottle..and mouthed at his companions even while he bowed to them. 1883 Ld. R. Gower My Remin. I. viii. 148 The unfortunate queen..retaining her calm demeanour as the mob shouted and mouthed around her. |
8. Of a river: To disembogue (
in,
into).
| 1598 Florio, Sboccare, to mouth, or fall into the sea, as a river doth. 1831 F. Trollope Dom. Manners Amer. (1894) II. 16 The Ohio and Chesapeake canal..there mouths into the Potomac. 1881 R. F. Burton in Academy 21 May 366/1 He had originally intended to explore this great stream, which mouths as the ‘Nourse River.’ |
9. trans. To point the mouth of (a pistol).
nonce-use.
| 1612 Dekker If it be not good K i b, Fetch me deare friend, An armed Pistoll, and mouth it at my breast. |
10. trans. To estimate the age of (a sheep) by examining the teeth.
Austral. and
N.Z.| 1933 Bulletin (Sydney) 6 Sept. 24/1 Graziers buy old ewes without troubling to ‘mouth’ them. a 1948 L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 404 A competent shepherd should be able to do anything necessary with sheep—draft, shear, mouth, [etc.]. 1972 P. Newton Sheep Thief ix. 74, I found the opportunity to mouth several of those double fork sheep—and one was only a four tooth. |
Add:
[1.] c. To articulate (a word, etc.) silently or whisperingly; to form on the lips without voicing. Freq. with direct speech as
obj.| 1960 M. Spark Bachelors ix. 134 He mouthed and breathed a message to her, contorting his face as if she were a lip-reader. 1968 M. Woodhouse Rock Baby xxiii. 227 ‘Security patrol,’ she mouthed, and pulled my head down next to hers. 1981 M. Gee Dying, in Other Words 101 He still kept reading, bent over and frowning and sometimes mouthing a word. 1975 R. Hill April Shroud i. 11 ‘Good luck,’ mouthed Dalziel at the passenger window. 1983 E. Pizzey Watershed i. xv. 123 ‘Enjoying yourself?’ Charles said. ‘Lovely,’ she mouthed back. |
▪ III. mouth obs. pa. tense of
may v.
1