tongues

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tongue.

   The cattle licked the salt block with their rough tongues.

   Travelers fluent in several tongues found work as interpreters.

   Note

   A plural that carries two very different things: the muscular organs in many mouths, and the languages those organs produce. The second meaning is a metonymy, naming speech after the organ that shapes it, so travelers "fluent in several tongues" know languages, not anatomy. Older English stretched the word further, to a people sharing a language and to a person's voice or accent, but both uses are now obsolete.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tongue.

   A skilled clarinetist tongues every note to keep the rhythm crisp.

   The machine tongues the edge of each plank before it reaches the assembly line.

   Note

   The trade in the sentence decides what this form means. A flutist tongues a passage, starting each note with a tap like a spoken "t" or "d"; a woodworker tongues a board so it fits a groove. The verb also has a vulgar slang use for licking during sex, so keep the musical and joinery meanings in plainly technical contexts. In older English it could simply mean to talk or prate, a use now obsolete.

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