Collins English-English Dictionary

tongue [t^ŋ]

1. 1. n a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In man it plays an important part in the articulation of speech sounds

2. 2. n null tongue in cheek

3. 3. n an analogous organ in invertebrates

4. 4. n the tongue of certain animals used as food

5. 5. n a language, dialect, or idiom

   the English tongue

6. 6. n the ability to speak

   to lose one's tongue

7. 7. n a manner of speaking

   a glib tongue

8. 8. n utterance or voice (esp in the phrase give tongue)

9. 9. n See gift of tongues

10. 10. n [plural] anything which resembles a tongue in shape or function

    a tongue of flame

    a tongue of the sea

11. 11. n a promontory or spit of land

12. 12. n a flap of leather on a shoe, either for decoration or under the laces or buckles to protect the instep

13. 13. n [music] the reed of an oboe or similar instrument

14. 14. n the clapper of a bell

15. 15. n the harnessing pole of a horse-drawn vehicle

16. 16. n a long and narrow projection on a machine or structural part that serves as a guide for assembly or as a securing device

17. 17. n a projecting strip along an edge of a board that is made to fit a corresponding groove in the edge of another board

18. 18. vb to articulate (notes played on a wind instrument) by the process of tonguing

19. 19. vt. [tr] to lick, feel, or touch with the tongue

20. 20. vt. [tr] [carpentry] to provide (a board) with a tongue

21. 21. vi. [intr] (of a piece of land) to project into a body of water

22. 22. vt. [tr] [obsolete] to reproach; scold

23. 23. vt. [Etymology] Old English tunge; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse tunga, Old High German zunga, Latin lingua