Glossal
/ˈɡlɒsəl/noun
Relating to the tongue.
Did you know?“Glossal” shares its Greek root with “glossolalia,” the ritual or ecstatic phenomenon commonly called speaking in tongues.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
γλῶσσα (glôssa)
“Tongue; language or dialect”
Hellenistic Greek
Greek
γλῶττα (glôtta)
“Tongue, with a dialectal form that also generated later scientific terminology”
Ancient Greek
Greek
γλωσσικός (glōssikós)
“Of or relating to the tongue or language”
Late Antiquity
Latin
glossa
“A tongue, language, or explanatory word”
19th Century
English
glossal
“Relating to the tongue, formed from gloss- with the adjective-forming suffix -al”
Modern English
English
glossal
“Used chiefly in anatomy, medicine, and linguistics for something pertaining to the tongue”
Explore more surprising origins