on the tip of one's tongue

tongue

O o

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [tuhng]
- /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði tɪp ʌv, ɒv wʌnz tʌŋ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [tuhng]
- /ɒn, ɔn stressed ði tɪp ʌv, ɒv wʌnz tʌŋ/

Definitions of on the tip of one's tongue words

noun on the tip of one's tongue Anatomy. the usually movable organ in the floor of the mouth in humans and most vertebrates, functioning in eating, in tasting, and, in humans, in speaking. 1
noun on the tip of one's tongue Zoology. an analogous organ in invertebrate animals. 1
noun on the tip of one's tongue the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling. 1
noun on the tip of one's tongue the human tongue as the organ of speech: No tongue must ever tell the secret. 1
noun on the tip of one's tongue the faculty or power of speech: a sight no tongue can describe. 1
noun on the tip of one's tongue speech or talk, especially mere glib or empty talk. 1

See all 38 definitions of on the tip of one's tongue

Information block about the term

Origin of on the tip of one's tongue

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; (noun) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (OL dingua); (v.) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for On the tip of one's tongue

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of On the tip of one's tongue

on the tip of one's tongue popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

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