mother tongue

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(muᵺ′ər tung′ for 1; muᵺ′ər tung′ for 2)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
moth•er tongue  (muᵺ′ər tung′ for 1; muᵺ′ər tung′ for 2),USA pronunciation 
  1. Linguisticsthe language first learned by a person;
    native language.
  2. LinguisticsSee mother language. 
  • Middle English moder tonge 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
mother tongue n
  1. the language first learned by a child
  2. a language from which another has evolved
'mother tongue' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Afrikaner - creole - pidgin - second language - mother language

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