Alternative spellings

• tounge (considered a misspelling); tung (informal/eye dialect); tong, tonge, toong, toongue, toung, toungue, tunge (obsolete)

Noun

Singular tongue

Plural tongues

tongue (plural tongues)

1. The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.
2. A language.

   He was speaking in his native tongue.

3. In a shoe, the flap of material that goes between the laces and the foot, so called because it resembles a tongue in the mouth.
4. Any large or long physical protrusion on an automotive, a machine part or any other part that fits into a long groove on another part.

Synonyms

• (language): language, lingo (colloquial)

The tongue is a muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing and swallowing (deglutition). It is the primary organ of taste, as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. A secondary function of the tongue is speech. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels to help it move.

Description

Structure

The tongue is made mainly of skeletal muscle. The tongue extends much further than is commonly perceived, past the posterior border of the mouth and into the oropharynx.

The dorsum (upper surface) of the tongue can be divided into two parts:

• an oral part (anterior two-thirds of the tongue) that lies mostly in the mouth
• a pharyngeal part (posterior third of the tongue), which faces backward to the oropharynx

The two parts are separated by a V-shaped groove, which marks the terminal sulcus

Other divisions of the tongue are based on the area of the tongue:

wanis

wings in the upper flap