tonguage

T1O1N1G2U1A1G2E1

noun

Any activity involving the tongue; tonguing.

Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nountonguage (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAny activity involving the tongue; tonguing.
  2. nonstandardrareuncountableLanguage; spoken language, as opposed to other forms of language (body language, written language, etc.).

    I like the French now but can't get on with the Italian tonguage (good word).

    1956, Edward Elgar, Percy Marshall Young, Letters of Edward Elgar and other writings
    3 more examples

    Whether the ideas underlying them are expressed and conveyed by eyeage or by tonguage is a detail that matters nothing.

    1890, Samuel Butler, Essays on Life, Art, and Science

    In all the districts of Maharashtra except Aurangabad and Bhandara, the number of persons who returned Hindi as a subsidiary language outnumber those with Hindi as mother tonguage.

    1961, India. Office of the Registrar General, Census of India, 1961: Maharashtra

    We have a language of social relations, even though we're not thoroughly aware of it— but it isn't all "language" in the sense of "tonguage."

    1973, Howard Paul Becker, Man in reciprocity

Origin

From tongue + -age modelled after language; or a blend of tongue + language.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tonguage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonguage

MLA

“tonguage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonguage. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tonguage,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonguage.

Source: tonguage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.