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tongue
tongue
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
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2009
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© The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information)
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tongue
/ təng/
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n.
1.
the fleshy muscular organ in the mouth of a mammal, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and (in humans) articulating speech.
∎
the equivalent organ in other vertebrates, sometimes used (in snakes) as a scent organ or (in chameleons) for catching food.
∎
an analogous organ in insects, formed from some of the mouthparts and used in feeding.
∎
the tongue of a hoofed mammal, in particular an ox or lamb, as food.
∎
used in reference to a person's style or manner of speaking:
he was a redoubtable debater with a caustic tongue.
∎
a particular language:
the prioress chatted to the peddler in a strange tongue.
∎
(tongues ) see the gift of tongues below.
2.
a thing resembling or likened to a tongue, in particular:
∎
a long, low promontory of land.
∎
a strip of leather or fabric under the laces in a shoe, attached only at the front end.
∎
the pin of a buckle.
∎
a projecting strip on a wooden board fitting into a groove on another.
∎
the vibrating reed of a musical instrument or organ pipe.
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a jet of flame:
a tongue of flame flashes four feet from the gun.
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v.
(tongues
, ton·gued
, ton·guing
/ ˈtənging/ ) [tr.]
1.
Mus.
sound (a note) distinctly on a wind instrument by interrupting the air flow with the tongue.
2.
lick or caress with the tongue:
the other horse tongued every part of the colt's mane.
PHRASES:
find
(or lose) one's tongue
be able (or unable) to express oneself after a shock.
get one's tongue around
pronounce (words):
she found it very difficult to get her tongue around the unfamiliar words.
the gift of tongues
the power of speaking in unknown languages, regarded as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
give tongue
(of hounds) bark, esp. on finding a scent.
∎
express one's feelings or opinions freely, sometimes objectionably so.
keep a civil tongue in one's head
speak politely.speak in tongues
speak in an unknown language during religious worship.
(with) tongue in cheek
without really meaning what one is saying or writing.
someone's tongue is hanging out
someone is very eager for something:
the tabloids have their tongues hanging out for this stuff.DERIVATIVES:
tongue·less
adj.
ORIGIN: Old English tunge, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tong, German Zunge and Latin lingua.
Cite this article
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Tongue measures in individuals with normal and impaired swallowing.(Research)
Magazine article from: American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology; 5/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...extant literature on measures of normal tongue function, to provide information on measures of tongue function in a group of individuals with...Performance Instrument was utilized to measure tongue function (strength and endurance) in a...
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Tongues of Fire/ Worshippers emit messages they can't put into words
Newspaper article from: The Gazette; 5/18/2002; ; 700+ words
; ...doesn't like speaking-in- tongues churches. The devil wouldn...Hayes' mouth is open. Her tongue is wagging up and down. The sounds are like soft cries. Her tongue works them as fingers would...later that she first spoke in tongues when she was 12, living in...
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TONGUE TIE AND BREASTFEEDING: Assessing and overcoming the difficulties
Magazine article from: Community Practitioner; 9/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; Tongue tie, a condition in which the tongue's mobility is restricted, may reduce the ability of babies...recently, overlooked. This article highlights the effects of tongue tie on breastfeeding and what health professionals should be...
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Tongues. (Buffalo tongue hunting)
Magazine article from: The American Poetry Review; 11/1/1993; ; 700+ words
; ...silent inside a vat of tongues. But I'm wondering...it was to cut the tongue out. How rigid were...alive when their tongues were cut out...excision, or was the tongue hacked out? What...of the hunters eat tongue raw as some people...cuts of beef? Were tongues that should have...
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Traditional Chinese tongue diagnosis applied in Western medicine.(strive: the student view)
Magazine article from: Access; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words
; Background The tongue diagnosis is one of the most important diagnostic...C.). Practitioners of TCM believe that the tongue's appearance can show a lot about someone's health. Tongue appearance is not used as a diagnostic tool by...
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Speaking in tongues remains fascinating, controversial.(The Gazette)
Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 5/22/2002; ; 700+ words
; ...than not, begin speaking in tongues. The sounds are hard to put...Hayes' mouth is open. Her tongue is wagging up and down. The sounds are like soft cries. Her tongue works them as fingers would...later that she first spoke in tongues when she was 12, living in...
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Tongue reconstruction offers hope for oral cancer patients. (Upfront).
Magazine article from: Journal of Dental Hygiene; 1/1/2003; ; 700+ words
; ...retaining more of the tongue's tissue than previous...than half of their tongues removed, but underwent tongue reconstruction at the...forward portion of the tongue reconstructed, while...coauthors reconstructed the tongues with tissue from the...
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+(via+Knight-Ridder%2fTribune+News+Service) "The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)")
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Speaking in tongues remains fascinating, controversial.
Newspaper article from: The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service); 5/18/2002; 700+ words
; ...than not, begin speaking in tongues. The sounds are hard to put...Hayes' mouth is open. Her tongue is wagging up and down. The sounds are like soft cries. Her tongue works them as fingers would...later that she first spoke in tongues when she was 12, living in...
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Flicking tongues.(why snakes flick their tongues)(includes related information on lizards)
Magazine article from: Highlights for Children; 9/1/1997; ; 700+ words
; ...the world. A Senseless Tongue? The taste idea looked...first a study of snake tongues showed some problems...discovered that a snake's tongue doesn't have any taste...ARTICLE: Lizards Are Tongue Flickers, Too Lizards...lizards also flick their tongues. But not all lizards...
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 "Sunday Mirror (London, England)")
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HEALTH: Tongue spied; The Year of the Goat starts next week, so we've been getting the lowdown on Chinese tongue diagnosis. Open up and say urgh!(Features)
Newspaper article from: Sunday Mirror (London, England); 1/26/2003; 700+ words
; ...from Chi Health Centres (020 7233 5566). Pale tongue Low energy, poor circulation and anaemia `Stella...to keep her blood sugar levels stable.' Plump tongue You're in good health. A tongue that looks thin from the side suggests tension...
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tongue
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Body
tongue The tongue plays an essential part in three main processes: in moving food around...the main salivary glands. The characteristic roughness of the healthy tongue is due to four types of papillae that cover the top and sides of the...
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TONGUE
Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
...isogloss , from the Greek glṓssa , tongue; the phrases mother tongue , foreign tongue , and the Biblical gift of tongues ; such idioms as Has the cat got your tongue ? (said to someone who will not speak), to bite one's tongue (to...
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Speaking in Tongues
Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained
...he phenomenon of speaking in tongues during ecstatic religious experiences...interpret what another speaking in tongues might be saying. Paul states that those who speak in a tongue that only God can understand...if one speaks in unknown tongues and no one can interpret the...
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Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc.
Book article from: International Directory of Company Histories
Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. One Jake Brown Road...Video Equipment Manufacturing Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc., located in Old...one-stop shopping approach, Blonder Tongue offers all the electronic equipment required...
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Slips of the Tongue
Dictionary entry from: International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis
SLIPS OF THE TONGUE Slips of the tongue are errors involving the uttering ( Versprechen ), or hearing...they introduce an incongruous and, in the case of slips of the tongue and dreams, an involuntary element. Freud's interest arose...
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