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lingual

/ˈlɪŋgwəl/
/ˈlɪŋgwəl/
IPA guide

Other forms: linguals

Something that's lingual has something to do with tongues — it's near a tongue, looks like a tongue, or is caused by a tongue. The lingual side of your teeth is the side closest to your tongue.

If you fall and bite your tongue, you suffer a lingual injury, and when you brush your tongue after finishing with your teeth, you could call it a lingual cleaning. Because speech sounds are formed with the help of the tongue, things related to language are also lingual. A skilled lingual learner is good at picking up languages, for example. The Latin root, lingua, unsurprisingly, means "tongue."

Definitions of lingual
  1. adjective
    pertaining to or resembling or lying near the tongue
    lingual inflammation”
    “the lingual surface of the teeth”
  2. noun
    a consonant that is produced with the tongue and other speech organs
    see moresee less
    type of:
    consonant
    a speech sound that is not a vowel
  3. adjective
    consisting of or related to language
    lingual diversity”
    synonyms: linguistic
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