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Examples of mother tongue in a Sentence
although the anthropologist could speak the local language fairly well, she was always glad to find someone who shared her mother tongue
Recent Examples on the Web
In our Romansh language, which is my mother tongue, Igniv means bird's nest, which is perfect for sharing.
—Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
How could someone who’d left China in fifth grade have kept up her mother tongue so well?
—Shuang Xuetao, The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2024
Help with that one comes from Emery and his coaching staff, who have been asked by Onana to address him in their mother tongue.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Aug. 2024
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of mother tongue was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near mother tongue
Cite this Entry
“Mother tongue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother%20tongue. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
mother tongue
noun1
: one's native language
2
: a language from which another language develops
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