mouth English · revision 2862

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 830|origins=gem-pro *munþaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: noun /maʊθ/, verb /maʊð/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mouthe]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|mūþ|t=mouth; opening, door]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*munþaz|alt=*munthaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian mūth, Dutch mond, German Mund, Old Norse munnr and Gothic munþs.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English lost the nasal before th, as in [[tooth]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The wider origin is disputed:^(Etymonline) it may be related to Latin mentum “chin” and Welsh mant “jawbone”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*men-|t=to project]], with a shift from “chin” to “mouth”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster compares Latin mandere “to chew”.^(MWU 2024) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The opening through which an animal or person takes food: before 830, in the Vespasian Psalter.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first example is from about 897, of the mouth as what swallows food.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The outfall of a river is from late Old English,^(Etymonline) and the opening of a bottle, cave or other container from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline) ''To put words in someone's mouth'' is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) ''word of mouth'' by the 1550s,^(Etymonline) ''to take the words out of someone's mouth'' from the 1520s,^(Etymonline) and ''down in the mouth'', “dejected”, from the 1640s, from the corners of the mouth turning down.^(Etymonline) ''Mouth organ'' is from before 1668^(Barnhart 1988) and ''mouthpiece'' from 1683.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb meant “to speak” before 1325;^(Barnhart 1988) in the 17th and 18th centuries it was used especially of pompous or affected speech,^(Etymonline) and forming words with the lips without sound is by 1953.^(Etymonline) ''Mouth-to-mouth'' is from 1909.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 830 – the mouth.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late Old English – a river mouth.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – any opening.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – verb, to speak.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – ''word of mouth''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – ''down in the mouth''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1683 – ''mouthpiece''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1909 – ''mouth-to-mouth''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1953 – verb, to form words silently.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The opening through which an animal takes in food, with the [[lips]], [[tongue]] and teeth.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An opening, entrance or outlet: ''the mouth of a cave''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The place where a river flows into a larger body of water.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' Impudent or boastful talk.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To say in a pompous way, or without meaning it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To form words with the lips without making a sound.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To take or move about in the mouth.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mouthlike]]

+ * [[mouther]]

+ * [[mouthless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tooth]]

+ * [[mandible]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}