tonguely
English edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈtʌŋli/, /-ɡli/
Audio (Southern England) (file) Audio (GA) (file) - Hyphenation: tongue‧ly
Etymology 1 edit
From tongue + -ly (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the sense “appearing like or resembling [what is denoted by the noun]”).
Adjective edit
tonguely (not comparable) (informal, rare)
- Of or pertaining to the tongue; lingual.
- 1973, The Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought, volume XV, Pittsburgh, Kan.: Kansas State College of Pittsburg, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 374:
- [A] meadow / in his own right, all inwardly afire, ten / thousand tonguely shadings painting him / angelic warden of the face of earth.
- 1998, H. Lloyd Goodall, Food Talk: A Man’s Guide to Cooking and Conversation with Women, Greensboro, N.C.: Snowgoose Cove Pub., →ISBN, page 91:
- However simple this basic recipe for tonguely delight seems, many men mess it up in gender-specific ways.
- 2003, Elizabeth George, “I, Richard”, in I, Richard, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 196:
- A quick dash back to the bed. A tonguely examination of her dental work. A frantic clutching between her legs.
- 2005, Matthew Pateman, “Lolita—A Region in Flames”, in Nicole Bracker, Stefan Herbrechter, editors, Metaphors of Economy (Critical Studies; 25), Amsterdam, New York, N.Y.: Editions Rodopi, →ISBN, page 119:
- "Lo-lee-ta." Our palatal journey, our physical introduction, our tonguely tour of her body in all its divisibility, takes us to her complete sundering: the phonemes have become, as indeed they ought to be as the true bearers of signification, whole in themselves.
- 2016, Esther Leslie, “Meltwater”, in Liquid Crystals: The Science and Art of a Fluid Form, London: Reaktion Books, →ISBN, page 189:
- Language must be further defined through language, more tonguely flexing, more mobilized spittle, more swirls of ink.
- Pertaining or relating to languages; lingual, linguistic.
- 1847 May, Fanny Forester [pseudonym; Emily Chubbuck], “A Dream”, in George R[ex] Graham, editor, Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume XXX, number 5, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R. Graham & Co. […], →OCLC, page 316, column 1:
- Women are proverbial for tonguely gifts, and orators do not require very great depth. Like the belle with her chit-chat, it is the tone and manner which do execution.
- [1974, Werner Manheim, “The Dialogical Principle”, in Martin Buber (Twayne’s World Authors Series, Germany; TWAS 269), New York, N.Y.: Twayne Publishers, →ISBN, page 31:
- Only the silence of the spirit in which Thou is addressed can liberate Thou, as [Martin] Buber says, out of the "pre-tonguely," pre-speech-formed It-world.]
- 2011, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles, Montecore: The Silence of the Tiger (A Borzoi Book), 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, part 2, footnote 9, page 79:
- His English was and is excellent, just like his French and Spanish. "Few men share this man's tonguely talent for languages!" auctioned Qaddafi [i.e., Muammar Gaddafi] in a speech of praise to your father when he was delegated Libya's official photo prize recently.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
of or pertaining to the tongue — see lingual
pertaining or relating to languages — see linguistic
Etymology 2 edit
From tongue + -ly (suffix forming adverbs from adjectives and nouns).
Adverb edit
tonguely (not comparable)
- (nonstandard, rare) In terms of or with the tongue; lingually.
- 2006, Shawn Postoff, “Sir Richard Wadd, Pornographer”, in Sky Gilbert, editor, Perfectly Abnormal: Seven Gay Plays, Toronto, Ont.: Playwrights Canada Press, →ISBN, page 132:
- How can such a head not tempt him tonguely? And so he tastes it; […]
Translations edit
in terms of or with the tongue — see lingually
