mouth
pronunciation
How to pronounce mouth in British English:
UK [maʊθ , maʊð]
How to pronounce mouth in American English:
US [maʊθ , maʊð]
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- Noun:
- the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
- the externally visible part of the oral cavity on the face and the system of organs surrounding the opening
- an opening that resembles a mouth (as of a cave or a gorge)
- the point where a stream issues into a larger body of water
- a person conceived as a consumer of food
- a spokesperson (as a lawyer)
- an impudent or insolent rejoinder
- the opening of a jar or bottle
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- Verb:
- express in speech
- articulate silently; form words with the lips only
- touch with the mouth
Word Origin
- mouth
- mouth: [OE] Mouth is part of a general Germanic family of ‘mouth’-words that go back to a prehistoric *munthaz: its modern relatives include German and Danish mund, Dutch mond, and Swedish mun. The loss of the nasal consonant is part of a general phenomenon that happened in primitive Old English (and also in Old Frisian and Old Saxon) whose effects can be seen also in goose (beside German gans) and tooth (beside German zahn). It is thought that *munthaz itself comes from the same Indo- European source as produced Latin mentum ‘chin’.
- mouth (n.)
- Old English muþ "mouth, opening, door, gate," from Proto-Germanic *munthaz (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian muth, Old Norse munnr, Danish mund, Middle Dutch mont, Dutch mond, Old High German mund, German Mund, Gothic munþs "mouth"), with characteristic loss of nasal consonant in Old English (compare tooth, goose), from PIE *mnto-s (cognates: Latin mentum "chin"). In the sense of "outfall of a river" it is attested from late Old English; as the opening of anything with capacity (a bottle, cave, etc.) it is recorded from c. 1200. Mouth-organ attested from 1660s.
- mouth (v.)
- c. 1300, "to speak," from mouth (n.). Related: Mouthed; mouthing. Old English had muðettan "to blab."
Example
- 1. Boedigheimer brought the characters to life by superimposing his own eyes and mouth on them .
- 2. If a person is covering his mouth while telling you something , he may be lying .
- 3. Everybody with a mouth and a computer .
- 4. This gesture mimes the closing of the mouth .
- 5. Certain diseases and medications also may cause mouth problems .