English
tongue
Tongue comes from Middle English tongue, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dn̥ǵʰwéh₂sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tungǭreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tungāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tunge
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tongue
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1515–1516same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dn̥ǵʰwéh₂sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tungǭreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tungāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tunge
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tongue
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1515–1516same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton: “But lering and lurking here and there like ſpies”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
language, lang, linguistic, bilingual, lingo, linguist, lingual, lingua, linguine, 22 more
through Proto-West Germanic *tungā
Today it means
noun 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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s / tongue