mother tongue

noun

1
: one's native language
2
: a language from which another language derives

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This suggested, startlingly, that birds could learn a literal mother tongue while still in ovo. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 The font on the album cover is a play on the Geʽez script used in Amharic, her mother tongue. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2024 Who among us doesn’t feel — either occasionally or always — like social codes are a chaotic second language that other people were born speaking like a mother tongue? David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2024 And when this Medellín native greets me in his mother tongue, the melody of his voice is nearly as tender as his ballads. Patricia Alfonso Tortolani, Allure, 23 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for mother tongue 

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 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

mother tongue

noun
1
: one's native language
2
: a language from which another language develops
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!