lingual

Forms

lingual (feminine linguale, masculine plural linguaux, feminine plural linguales)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin linguālis, from lingua (“tongue, language”).^[2][3][1] The TLFi treats it as a learned derivative of the Latin noun with the suffix -al.^[4][5] English lingual is older, recorded about 1400 meaning tongue-shaped.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1694 in Dangeau's Discours, in the phonetic phrase voyelles linguales;^[4] Gile Vaudelin wrote of lingoualles consonants in 1713.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word lived in two technical fields.^[4] In phonetics it described sounds made with the tongue, and was used as a noun from 1765.^[4] In anatomy it meant “of the tongue” from 1735 (Heister's Anatomie), as in artère linguale and nerf lingual, which Littré records in 1867.^[4][5] Bloch and Wartburg give 1708 as its first date.^[2] English had used lingual in anatomy since 1650 and in phonetics since 1668.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – English lingual is recorded in the sense “tongue-shaped”.^[4]
• 1694 – Dangeau writes of voyelles linguales.^[4]
• 1713 – Lingoualles is used of consonants by Gile Vaudelin.^[4]
• 1735 – First anatomical use, in Heister's Anatomie.^[4][3]
• 1765 – Used as a noun in the Encyclopédie.^[4]
• 1867 – Littré records nerf lingual and the noun linguale.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (anatomy) Of or belonging to the tongue: les muscles linguaux, artère linguale.^[4][6][7]
2. (anatomy, dentistry) Facing the tongue: face linguale (of a tooth).^[4][5]
3. (phonetics) Produced with a movement of the tongue: consonne linguale.^[4][6][7]

Noun

1. (phonetics) Linguale (feminine): a lingual consonant.^[4][5]
2. (anatomy) Lingual (masculine): the lingual muscle.^[4]

Related words

• langue
• linguiste
• Latin lingua
• English lingual

Usage notes

Littré notes the masculine plural linguaux pronounced lin-gô.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette