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Webster 1913 Edition

Mouth

Mouth

(mouth)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Mouths
(mouthz)
.
[OE.
mouth
,
muþ
, AS.
mūð
; akin to D.
mond
, OS.
mūð
, G.
mund
, Icel.
muðr
,
munnr
, Sw.
mun
, Dan.
mund
, Goth.
munþs
, and possibly L.
mentum
chin; or cf. D.
muil
mouth, muzzle, G.
maul
, OHG.
mūla
, Icel.
mūli
, and Skr.
mukha
mouth.]
1.
The opening through which an animal receives food; the aperture between the jaws or between the lips; also, the cavity, containing the
tongue
and
teeth
, between the lips and the pharynx; the buccal cavity.
2.
Hence:
An opening affording entrance or exit; orifice; aperture;
as:
(a)
The opening of a vessel by which it is filled or emptied, charged or discharged;
as, the
mouth
of a jar or pitcher; the
mouth
of the lacteal vessels, etc.
(b)
The opening or entrance of any cavity, as a cave, pit, well, or den.
(c)
The opening of a piece of ordnance, through which it is discharged.
(d)
The opening through which the waters of a river or any stream are discharged.
(e)
The entrance into a harbor.
3.
(Saddlery)
The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal.
4.
A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece.
Every coffeehouse has some particular statesman belonging to it, who is the
mouth
of the street where he lives.
Addison.
5.
Cry; voice.
[Obs.]
Dryden.
6.
Speech; language; testimony.
That in the
mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Matt. xviii. 16.
7.
A wry face; a grimace; a mow.
Counterfeit sad looks,
Make
mouths
upon me when I turn my back.
Shakespeare
The mouth
of them that speak lies shall be
stopped
.
Ps. lxiii. 11.
Whose
mouths
must be
stopped
.
Titus i. 11.

Mouth

(mouth)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Mouthed
(mouthd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Mouthing
.]
1.
To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour.
Dryden.
2.
To utter with a voice affectedly big or swelling; to speak in a strained or unnaturally sonorous manner;
as,
mouthing
platitudes
.
“Mouthing big phrases.”
Hare.
Mouthing
out his hollow oes and aes.
Tennyson.
3.
To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear her cub.
Sir T. Browne.
4.
To make mouths at.
[R.]
R. Blair.

Mouth

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To speak with a full, round, or loud, affected voice; to vociferate; to rant.
I’ll bellow out for Rome, and for my country,
And
mouth
at Caesar, till I shake the senate.
Addison.
2.
To put mouth to mouth; to kiss.
[R.]
Shak.
3.
To make grimaces, esp. in ridicule or contempt.
Well I know, when I am gone,
How she
mouths
behind my back.
Tennyson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Mouth

MOUTH

,
Noun.
1.
The aperture in the head of an animal, between the lips, by which he utters his voice and receives food. In a more general sense, the mouth consists of the lips, the gums, the insides of the cheeks, the palate, the salival glands, the uvula and tonsils.
2.
The opening of a vessel by which it is filled or emptied; as the mouth of a jar or pitcher.
3.
The part or channel of a river by which its waters are discharged into the ocean or into a lake. The Mississippi and the Nile discharge their waters by several mouths.
4.
The opening of a piece of ordnance at the end, by which the charge issues.
5.
The aperture of a vessel in animal bodies, by which fluids or other matter is received or discharged; as the mouth of the lacteals.
6.
The opening or entrance of a cave, pit, well or den. Dan.8.
7.
The instrument of speaking; as, the story is in every body's mouth.
8.
A principal speaker; one that utters the common opinion.
Every coffee house has some statesman belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives.
9.
Cry; voice.
The fearful dogs divide,
All spend their mouth aloft, but none abide.
10. In Scripture, words uttered. Job.19. Is.49. Ps.73.
11. Desires; necessities. Ps.103.
12. Freedom and boldness of speech; force of argument.
Luke 21.
13. Boasting; vaunting. Judges 9.
14. Testimony. Deut.17.
15. Reproaches; calumnies. Job.5.
To make a mouth, to distort the mouth;
To make mouths, to make a wry face; hence, to deride or treat with scorn.
1.
To pout; to treat disdainfully.
Down in the mouth, dejected; mortified.
To have God's law in the mouth, to converse much on it and delight in it. Ex.13.
To draw near to God with the mouth, to make an external appearance of devotion and worship, while there is no regard to him in the heart. Is.29.
A froward mouth, contradictions and disobedience. Prov.9.
A smooth mouth, soft and flattering language. Prov.5.
To stop the mouth, to silence or to be silent; to put to shame; to confound. Rom.3.lay the hand on the mouth, to be struck silent with shame. Mic.7.
To set the mouth against the heavens, to speak arrogantly and blasphemously. Ps.73.

MOUTH

,
Verb.
T.
To utter with a voice affectedly big or swelling; as, to mouth words or language.
Twitch'd by the sleeve, he mouths it more and more.
1.
To take into the mouth; to seize with the mouth.
2.
To chew; to grind, as food; to eat; to devour.
3.
To form by the mouth, as a bear her cub. [Not used.]
4.
To reproach; to insult.

MOUTH

,
Verb.
I.
To speak with a full, round, or loud, affected voice; to vociferate; to rant; as a mouthing actor.
I'll bellow out for Rome and for my country,
And mouth at Caesar, till I shake the senate.

Definition 2024

mouth

mouth

See also: mouþ

English

Alternative forms

Noun

mouth ‎(plural mouths)

  1. (anatomy) The opening of a creature through which food is ingested.
    "Open your mouth and say 'aah'," directed the doctor.‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
  2. The end of a river out of which water flows into a sea or other large body of water.
    The mouth of the river is a good place to go birdwatching in spring and autumn.‎
  3. An outlet, aperture or orifice.
    The mouth of a cave‎
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess:
      ‘It was called the wickedest street in London and the entrance was just here. I imagine the mouth of the road lay between this lamp standard and the second from the next down there.’
  4. (slang) A loud or overly talkative person.
    My kid sister is a real mouth; she never shuts up.‎
  5. (saddlery) The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal.
  6. (obsolete) A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece.
    • Addison
      Every coffeehouse has some particular statesman belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives.
  7. (obsolete) Cry; voice.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  8. (obsolete) Speech; language; testimony.
    • Bible, Matt. xviii. 16
      that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established
  9. (obsolete) A wry face; a grimace; a mow.
    • Shakespeare
      Counterfeit sad looks, / Make mouths upon me when I turn my back.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:mouth

Translations

Verb

mouth ‎(third-person singular simple present mouths, present participle mouthing, simple past and past participle mouthed)

  1. (transitive) To speak; to utter.
    He mouthed his opinions on the subject at the meeting.
    • Hare
      mouthing big phrases
  2. (transitive) To make the actions of speech, without producing sound.
    The prompter mouthed the words to the actor, who had forgotten them.
  3. (transitive) To pick up or handle with the lips or mouth, but not chew or swallow.
    The fish mouthed the lure, but didn't bite.
  4. (obsolete) To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
  5. (obsolete) To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear licks her cub.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Thomas Browne to this entry?)
  6. (obsolete) To make mouths at.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of R. Blair to this entry?)

Translations

Derived terms

Look at pages starting with mouth.

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: boys · joy · green · #681: mouth · generally · ago · easily

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English mūþ.

Noun

mouth (plural mouths)

  1. mouth

Descendants

Etymology

From Middle English mouth, from Old English mūþ ‎(“mouth, opening, door, gate”), from Proto-Germanic *munþaz ‎(“mouth”), from Proto-Indo-European *ment- ‎(“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with Scots mouth ‎(“mouth”), North Frisian müd, müth, müss ‎(“mouth”), West Frisian mûn ‎(“mouth”), Dutch mond ‎(“mouth”), muide ‎(“river mouth”) and mui ‎(“riptide”), German Mund ‎(“mouth”), Swedish mun ‎(“mouth”), Faroese muður, munnur ‎(“mouth”), Icelandic munnur ‎(“mouth”), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 ‎(munþs, “mouth”), Latin mentum ‎(“chin”) and mandō ‎(“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ ‎(mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι ‎(masáomai, “to chew”), Albanian mjekër ‎(“chin, beard”), Welsh mant ‎(“jawbone”), Hittite [script needed] ‎(mēni, “chin”).

An illustration of the inside of a human mouth, with cheeks cut and lips pulled back.

Pronunciation

(noun):

  • enPR: mouth, IPA(key): /maʊθ/
  • (Canada) IPA(key): /mʌʊθ/
  • Rhymes: -aʊθ

(verb):

  • enPR: mouth, IPA(key): /maʊð/
  • (Canada) IPA(key): mʌʊθ, /mʌʊð/
  • Rhymes: -aʊð

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